Iscah has just shared an update from the Department of Home Affairs regarding the Subclass 189 — the full statement is in the header image
A complete direct translation is as follows: the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has confirmed that the November 2025 Subclass 189 Skilled Independent invitation round was conducted under the new occupation tiering system.
[Already announced] The next invitation round (Quarter 2, Q2) will be held on 13 November,
and invitations will cover occupations across all four priority tiers, with the following emphasis:
- Tier 1 will allocate a higher proportion to the broad health category (doctors, etc.).
- Tier 2, as defined by Ministerial Direction No. 105, covers health workers and teachers, and will also place particular focus on construction-related occupations.
November round allocation
- 10,000 invitations for the Subclass 189 Skilled Independent visa
- 300 invitations for the Subclass 491 (Family-Sponsored) visa.
At this scale of invitations, the existing pool of applications is expected to be sufficient to meet the 2025–26 Migration Program quota.
[The next new round] In addition, a smaller invitation round will be held in Quarter 3 (Q3) to top up the program quota if required.
This is broadly in line with the analysis we have been sharing all along. After all, the total Subclass 189 grant quota for this financial year is only 16,900, and 16,887 invitations have already been issued (6,887 + 10,000 — we will not revisit here the relationship between grant quota and the number of invitations). It is now very clear that a further round will still be issued in Q3, simply in a smaller batch; and if a Q4 round eventuates, it should follow the same pattern as Q3.
Over the next few months, state nomination is likely to be the more realistic avenue for many applicants. The Department of Home Affairs also recently published feedback on the skilled migration reform consultation draft, which is very likely paving the way for a formal reform announcement in the near future. When time allows in the coming days, we will put together a brief summary and share a few thoughts on it.
