Overview of the March 2026 Subclass 189 EOI Backlog Data
The EOI data was updated at the end of March, so as usual let’s look at the backlog comparison for the four major occupations — the “three treasures” (early childhood education, nursing and social work) plus secondary teaching — along with a few popular occupations.
Subclass 189 — May invitation round
Last week the MIA gave advance notice, and the Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that the next Subclass 189 round will be issued in May. It also noted that, because the November round issued a large number of invitations, there are still plenty of applications on hand, so the third quarter of this financial year was skipped. As for the May round, a cautiously optimistic estimate is a further 3,000-5,000 invitations.
Backlog Growth Comparison and Trend Summary for Popular Occupations
Early childhood education:
The backlog at 85 points and above surged by 300 in a single month, with the total backlog now exceeding 1,600. For the May round, the cut-off will most likely land at 90 points (163 EOIs), so 85 points can only hope for a lucky break. Same advice as always: early childhood applicants on 85 points should also look more closely at the various states.
Nursing:
The backlog at 80 points and above grew by 277, but the backlog at 85 points and above rose by only 89. Although the total backlog in the pool is close to 14,000, the high-scoring band of 85 points and above makes up only a small proportion, and nursing has always had the most generous quota ceiling, so 85 points is still fairly safe while 80 points will need to wait.
Social work:
The backlog at 80 points and above grew by 53 in the month, for a total of 345. Compared with early childhood education, social work’s growth is more moderate, and even though little of the occupation’s quota remains, 85 points is safe and the chance of an invitation at 80 points is still quite high — it remains one of the reliable “three treasures”.
Secondary teaching:
The backlog at 80 points and above grew by only 27 in the month. The employment gap is large, yet the pool’s backlog is growing very slowly. 85 points is safe, and the backlog at 80 points is under 300. It comes down to how many invitations the Department is willing to issue to secondary teaching in the May round; past experience has been rather erratic, but if more are issued, some 80-pointers could also receive invitations in the next round.
Civil engineer
In March, the backlog growth in the high-scoring band was still very large. The backlogs for civil engineering and accounting are roughly level, and both saw growth in the high-scoring band. Accounting applicants should give more thought to employer sponsorship or the various states’ options — just today, an accounting applicant received a Tasmanian state-nominated Subclass 190 invitation. For highly competitive occupations that receive few Subclass 189 invitations, you really do need to plan well ahead! For civil engineering applicants, the backlog for civil engineering draftsperson/technician is comparatively small. For civil engineering applicants on 85-90 points, passing the draftsperson/technician skills assessment offers slightly better chances than civil engineering itself.
Now let’s look at two trade occupations.
Carpentry:
The backlog at 65 points and above grew by under 100 in the month, of which 65 points rose by 44, for a total of 368; 70 points has 207. If the May round issues few invitations, then only 70 points is safe, while 65 points will be a matter of luck.
Painting:
The overall backlog is even higher than carpentry, but it is growing more slowly. 65 points has close to 400, 70 points has 253, and even 75 points has over 100. The May round may well require 75 points to be reasonably safe.
The trade occupations’ current growth rate and volume still cannot compare with the common professional occupations, but every pathway is becoming more and more crowded. So if your own field and occupation offer slim chances on points, we still recommend deciding early — switch to a trade occupation early, while you are still on a student visa or in the early stages of a Subclass 485.
Look forward to the May Subclass 189 round! The volume shouldn’t be large, but there are still some opportunities, and clearing whatever we can is worthwhile. At the same time, for those in the higher-scoring bands, the various states still have plenty of quota left. With only the last 3 months of the financial year remaining, plan as early as you can — and move as early as you can!
