1. QLD lifts allocation + first round issued, keyword: working in state

QLD’s allocation this year is1,850 Subclass 190 and 750 Subclass 491 places — an increase of 1,250 and 150 respectively,making it one of only two states to increase allocations this year. The other is the Northern Territory, which has added 50 Subclass 190 places — an increase neither the magnitude nor the scale of QLD can compare to,so QLD is the only real winner among state-nomination programs this year.Admittedly, QLD’s 600 + 600 places last year were also out of step with its status as the third-largest state;its current total of 2,600 places now ranks fourth across all states, behind WA.

Another advantage of QLD’s allocation this year is thatas at the end of October 2025 only 24 Subclass 491 places had been used, so you could say those 2,600 are virtually untouched,, whereas WA, NSW and VIC have already issued some nominations and pre-invitations.

QLD is using a ROI system similar to VIC’s this year: beyond the priority level of the occupation itself, it looks at whether the applicant has a current job, annual salary for onshore applicants, and then English and partner points, and so on.

On the evening the allocations were announced, QLD issued a small initial ROI round.Below is the data from our clients and what we have gathered — the number issued is not large, with construction and engineering the focus of this round,, and because no invitations have been issued for a long time, it is reasonable to first pull up the small top-salary group of applicants.

With 2,600 places in hand, we hope QLD will issue invitations more steadily over the next six months. We expect invitation thresholds to come down gradually and more occupations outside construction to be invited.

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2. NT offshore 491 list released, race opens on the 24th

The NT offshore 491 pathway was last year’s biggest surprise, possibly the single biggest.It gave applicants with lower scores, or in humanities and business occupations, a genuine chance of invitation — of the dozens of clients we lodged late last year, all ultimately received their 491 grants.With migration in Australia heavily clustered around priority occupations and popular occupations needing sky-high point scores, the NT pathway is a rare opportunity for many offshore applicants.

This year’s lodgement requirements remain very basic:

– IELTS 6 across all four bands

– A skills assessment

– At least 2 years of relevant experience in the past 5 years (first four digits of the ANZSCO code must match)）

– Reach at least 50 points on your own

Our MARA-registered migration team had everything prepared over the weekend for signed-on clients, ready to lodge the moment applications open on the 24th — we look forward to the good news rolling in from early 2026.

The NT has once again removed popular occupations such as FIA, 261313 and vocational teacher. These occupations are also unlikely to receive low-score invitations in other states,so a small group of clients who hesitated and missed last year’s lodgement, or who came to us this year after a DIY refusal, will now have to wait another year,。again proving the value of preparing your skills assessment early and being cautious with DIY.

3. VIC issues another ROI invitation round, priority occupations only

On the 18th, VIC issued another ROI invitation round — not a large number,still predominantly onshore priority occupations

This VIC round most favoured teaching and health-care occupations: early childhood teachers, secondary teachers, nurses and broader health occupations likely accounted for well over half,followed by engineering and construction occupations. In VIC, holding a job in your occupation is standard — salaries were not particularly high.This round saw construction project managers invited at scores as low as 65, a profession that has also been seeing 70 + 5 scores in NSW and QLD.As long as you have 1 year of work experience and can complete your skills assessment, and stay employed, this occupation currently has clear invitation prospects across all parts of Australia.

VIC’s Subclass 190 allocation hasn’t been cut by much this year, but with 491 sharply reduced, 190 competition is bound to become fiercer. Those onshore still need to work hard to find a job in their profession — occupations outside the priority areas should lower their expectations this year.

5. 2025–26 state-nomination allocations finally revealed, SA and VIC also cut

After long anticipation, total state-nomination allocations this year come to just 20,350 — consistent with the earliest reporting — made up of 12,850 Subclass 190 and 7,500 Subclass 491 places. That is 3,650 fewer 190s and 2,260 fewer 491s than the previous financial year.

TAS, NSW and the ACT were the first to have their allocations confirmed as cut. The NT then confirmed an increase of 50 Subclass 190 places, leaving VIC, SA, WA and QLD.

WA and VICeach had an overall cut of 32%, bringing the totals to 3,400 each — 200 below NSW in first place. The difference: WA cut more 190s, while VIC’s cut fell mostly on 491, down 1,300 places.SAsaw a cut of nearly 41%, the largest proportional cut of any state, mainly with 1,650 fewer 190 places.

State-by-state summary:

NSW: 190 has had two rounds issued; 491 is not yet open for applications and no invitations have been issued

VIC: 190 and 491 have each had two rounds issued;this week is the second round

ACT: 190 and 491 have each had one round issued, after which the occupation list was substantially adjusted

SA: policy has not yet been announced and ROI lodgement is not yet open

TAS: 190 and 491 have both entered the stable phase of weekly invitations and rolling formal-nomination processing(also issued invitations this Thursday, andSubclass 190 scores continue to drop, with ROI at 40 points being invited

QLD: the ROI pathway has long been open for applications,with the first round issued on the 18th

WA: 190 and 491 had their first round issued, focused on construction trades. The official website says another round will follow in November — earlier advice was that formal nomination processing would only start once the final allocation was received