Australia Migration Weekly Bulletin #266: Subclass 189 Backlog Surges — But Still the Fastest? ACT Issues More Subclass 190 to Compete for Skilled Migrants! Multiple Bodies Push for Better PR Pathways for International Students!

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This Issue’s Migration Weekly Highlights ——
1. Canberra’s Final 2022 Matrix Round — More Subclass 190 Issued, Score Cuts on the Horizon
2. Subclass 189 Backlog Surges, Subclass 491 Finally Drops, Subclass 190 Stays Steady
3. Department Updates Processing Times — Is Subclass 189 Still the Fastest?
4. Migration Reform Proposals Continue — Better PR Pathways for International Students
5. Weekly Summary: Visa Grants, Invitations, Skills Assessments & Citizenship Processing

1. Canberra’s Final 2022 Matrix Round — More Subclass 190 Issued, Score Cuts on the Horizon

Canberra is the territory holding on right through to the final week before the holiday break. Last weekend many people received what felt like a “Christmas gift” — lower-score invitations from Western Australia. For details see:Great Subclass 190 opportunity at 70 points for Accounting, IT, Engineering and other popular occupations! Interstate/overseas applicants now being invited!

This week it’s Canberra’s turn for state nomination. In fact, an email the state government sent to migration agents last Friday already mentioned that with the increase in the Subclass 190 state nomination quota,They expect the Subclass 190 matrix invitation score to fall to 70 points and Subclass 491 to 60 points, encouraging in-state applicants to try Subclass 190, while purely offshore applicants are expected to find more opportunities through Subclass 491.

Sure enough, once the invitation data for this round was released, Subclass 190 matrix invitations outnumbered Subclass 491, and overall invitation volumes also came in higher.

– General onshore stream: 171 Subclass 190 invitations issued, 64 Subclass 491 — previously Subclass 491 had outnumbered Subclass 190 in most rounds
–– Small Business stream: 7 Subclass 190 invitations issued, with a minimum of just 85 points required
– Offshore stream: 81 Subclass 190 and 231 Subclass 491 invitations issued
– The state government also noted that for occupations of particularly high priority with very few applicants in the pool, they may on a case-by-case basisissue invitations with significantly reduced points requirements — and we have already seen this in the current round

The minimum matrix scores by occupation have not yet been released, but it appears that scores have already dropped to some degree. Thresholds should continue to ease gradually next year — good news for both ACT residents and applicants considering switching states. Feel free to contact our team below and we will match you with the right consultant.

As at 22 December,Canberra has formally issued 411 Subclass 190 nominations, with 1,614 remaining in the quota, averaging 269 per month;Subclass 491 issued 855, with 1,170 remaining in the quota, averaging 195 per month.After quota top-ups, the remaining Subclass 190 allocation is now more plentiful than Subclass 491, adding confidence that points thresholds will ease further.The refusal rate for Subclass 190 is 14%; for Subclass 491 it is 20%.

2. Subclass 189 Backlog Surges, Subclass 491 Finally Drops, Subclass 190 Stays Steady

Against the backdrop of a significant improvement in skilled migration invitation volumes in the 2022–23 financial year and the Labor government’s focused drive to clear the visa application backlog, let’s look at the latest backlog data available

① More Subclass 190 invitations, more lodgements, more grants

At end-October, the Subclass 190 backlog had only grown by 1,610 compared to end-June, standing at under 22,000. Given that multiple states were issuing invitations at pace in the first half of the financial year, keeping growth small is a positive sign. Monthly Subclass 190 grants from July to October all exceeded 1,000 and have been slowly increasing,November and December grant volumes are expected to be even more impressive.
② Subclass 189 backlog growing rapidly
Compared to end-June,By end-October, the Subclass 189 backlog had grown sharply to 27,816 — more than doubling.Admittedly, there will have been some new lodgements from the New Zealand stream, but the primary driver is the 24,000 invitations issued across the August and October rounds,the acceptance rate (visa lodged after invitation) appears to be below 50% at this stage. In mid-December the federal government temporarily suspended new lodgements for the Subclass 189 New Zealand stream and prioritised clearing existing cases,So if we continue to see rapid growth in the Subclass 189 backlog going forward, it will largely be driven by the points-tested stream’s high invitation volumes.
③ Subclass 491 backlog finally declining
As a two-step PR pathway, Subclass 491 processing has consistently been slower than Subclass 189 and 190. As a new visa introduced only at end-2019, it topped the backlog charts and at one point looked set to break 30,000. Fortunately, thanks to improved processing speed, a slowdown in new lodgements, and an increase in withdrawals, the backlog at end-October fell by more than 2,000 compared to end-June, to 27,300.

In addition,Subclass 143 parent migration backlog also grew by around 5,000 over four months, demonstrating that as more migrants are granted PR, more people are lodging Subclass 143 applications for their parents to queue up early. Parent migration applications should always be submitted as early as possible.

For more data analysis, see:Subclass 189 backlog up 14,000 — still faster than 190? 491 finally declining, 143 up significantly! True grant rate for offshore Chinese Subclass 500/600 applicants?

3. Department Updates Processing Times — Is Subclass 189 Still the Fastest?
The Department’s figures are indicative only — they cover extreme values and may not fully reflect actual experience. Let’s look at some of the most-watched data points:
Subclass 189 (points-tested):25th pctile: 74 days | 50th: 80 days | 75th: 88 days | 90th: 3 months
190：25th pctile: 6 months | 50th: 7 months | 75th: 11 months | 90th: 15 months
491：25th pctile: 11 months | 50th: 19 months | 75th: 29 months | 90th: 30 months
186DE: 25th pctile: 68 days 50th: 5 months 75th: 11 months 90th: 14 months
887: 25th pctile: 24 months 50th: 26 months 75th: 26 months 90th: 27 months
For other visa categories, see:Department Updates Visa Processing Timetable | 189/190/491 — Faster or Slower? Employer Sponsorship Still Prioritised!
While processing speeds vary across categories, all have accelerated to some degree. The Labor government’s investment of funding, staff, and prioritisation in visa processing is clearly having an effect. We hope everyone will receive their visa decision in 2023.

4. Migration Reform Proposals Continue — Better PR Pathways for International Students
In the lead-up to the year-end holiday break, Universities Australia — representing multiple Australian universities — also submitted recommendations on the migration overhaul:
– Educators should be able to obtain visas to work in Australia more quickly, including the removal of certain skills assessment requirements
– Establish a new student visa category for those who have remained in Australia long-term without becoming permanent residents or citizens
– Increase opportunities suitable for international students across various migration pathways

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) proposed:
– Raise the TSMIT threshold to AUD 66,000
– Prioritise lower-skilled but essential roles in the care sector

KPMG also argued:
– Better utilise the existing domestic talent pool, such as international student graduates
– In the long run, migration does not suppress local employment or wages; updating a skills-centred migration programme will provide economic stimulus and raise real per-capita income

For more details, see:Migration Overhaul Proposals Continue! Better PR Pathways for Graduate Students, and a New Visa That Allows Further Study!?




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5. Weekly Summary: Visa Grants, Invitations, Skills Assessments & Citizenship Processing
A summary of recent Newstars visa grants and invitations across all categories: long-press the image below to view — the page is updated continuously. We highly recommend saving it for future reference!
State Nomination & GTI Invitation Data Summary
ACT State Nomination
None this week

VIC State Nomination

Formal Nomination

None this week


TAS State Nomination

Cafe or Restaurant Manager，(ANZSCO 141111), 65+5:

Invitation to submit nomination received 7 November 2022, nomination lodged 18 November 2022, nomination approved 23 December 2022

ICT Business Analyst, (ANZSCO 261111),
85+5

Invitation to submit nomination received 11 November 2022, nomination lodged 22 November 2022, nomination approved 19 December 2022


NSW State Nomination

None this week


SA State Nomination

Applied 2 December 2022, nominated 20 December 2022 — occupation: Landscape Architect


QLD State Nomination

None this week


WA State Nomination

None this week


NT State Nomination
None this week

Investor Migration Invitations
None this week

This Week’s Grant Progress & Analysis
Subclass 189 Skilled Independent

None this week


Subclass 190 State-Nominated Skilled Migration

Lodged onshore 5 November 2021, granted 22 December 2022

Lodged onshore 3 December 2022, granted 18 December 2022

Applied 28 October 2022, granted 17 December 2022 — occupation: Registered Nurse (Medical)

Received ACT Subclass 190 invitation 4 November 2019, lodged visa December 2019, granted 22 December 2022 — offshore

MINT invited and visa lodged 13 January 2021, granted 23 December 2022 — offshore MINT


Subclass 491 (new regional) / Subclass 489 (old regional) State-Sponsored

Invited August 2019, lodged Subclass 489 7 October 2019, granted 19 December 2022 — offshore

Invited August 2019, lodged Subclass 489 September 2019, granted 20 December 2022 — offshore


Subclass 887 Skilled Regional (Permanent)

None this week


Employer Sponsorship 


Investor Migration / GTI

None this week


Subclass 600 Visitor

Lodged 16 December 2022, granted 18 December 2022

Lodged 19 December 2022, granted 20 December 2022

Lodged 19 December 2022, granted 21 December 2022

Lodged 2 December 2022, granted 18 December 2022 (offshore)

Lodged 8 December 2022, granted 21 December 2022


Subclass 500 Student

Lodged onshore 21 September 2022, granted 19 December 2022

Lodged onshore 16 December 2022, granted 21 December 2022
Lodged onshore 12 August 2022, granted 17 December 2022

Lodged offshore 13 December 2022, granted 20 December 2022
Lodged offshore 1 June 2022, granted 20 December 2022

Applied 1 December 2021, granted 21 December 2022 — onshore

Applied 14 March 2022, granted 22 December 2022 — offshore

Applied 22 December 2022, granted 22 December 2022 — onshore

Applied Subclass 590 1 December 2021, granted 21 December 2022 — onshore (student guardian)

Applied Subclass 590 22 December 2022, granted 22 December 2022 — onshore (student guardian)


Subclass 485 Graduate Work

Lodged 26 May 2022, granted 22 December 2022

Lodged 23 December 2022. Granted 23 December 2022

Lodged 10 November 2021, granted 16 December 2022

Lodged 8 December 2022, granted 18 December 2022

Lodged 29 December 2021, granted 19 December 2022

Applied 28 January 2021, granted 19 December 2022 — onshore, with spouse

Applied 4 November 2021, granted 19 December 2022 — onshore

Applied 19 November 2021, granted 20 December 2022 — onshore, with spouse

Applied 10 December 2021, granted 20 December 2022 — onshore

Applied 23 December 2022, granted 23 December 2022 — onshore


Partner Migration

Lodged Subclass 820 15 November 2022, granted 20 December 2022

Applied Subclass 801 30 September 2021, granted 22 December 2022 — with spouse


Parent Migration / Visa

Lodged Subclass 870 27 October 2022, granted 21 December 2022 (visa stage)

Lodged Subclass 870 15 November 2022, approved 19 December 2022 (sponsorship approval)


155 Resident Return

Lodged 15 November 2022, granted 20 December 2022


Subclass 408

None this week


Citizenship Applications
None this week

This Week’s Skills Assessment Processing Updates
CA ANZ (Accounting-related)
None this week

CPA Australia (Accounting-related)
None this week

IPA (Accounting-related)
None this week
 
Engineers Australia (Engineering-related)

Professional Engineer (233999) — submitted 9 December 2022, completed 16 December 2022


AITSL (Teaching-related)

None this week


ACECQA (Early Childhood Education-related)
None this week

ACWA (Community Work-related)
None this week

ACS (IT-related)

None this week


VET

university lecturer — three assessments

222312 Financial Investment Manager  Submitted: 1 December 2022   Completed: 19 December 2022

225213  ICT Sales Representative   Submitted: 1 December 2022   Completed: 16 December 2022

222311  Financial Investment Adviser  Submitted: 1 December 2011   Completed: 22 December 2022

225113 Marketing Specialist Submitted: 1 December 2011   Completed: 20 December 2022

224912 Liaison Officer  Submitted: 1 December 2011  Completed: 16 December 2022

224712 Organisation and Methods Analyst  Submitted: 1 December 2011  Completed: 23 December 2022

Occupation 224111 Actuary — submitted 1 December 2022, completed 22 December 2022

511112  Project Administrator — submitted 30 November, approved 19 December

222311 Financial Investment Adviser — submitted 8 December, completed 21 December

511111 Contract Administrator — submitted 8 December, completed 21 December


AACA (IT-related)
None this week

TRA
None this week

ANMAC Skills Assessment (Nursing-related)
None this week


NAATI Recertification (Translation/Interpreting-related)
None this week

IML (Senior Management-related)


AACA (Architecture-related)

None this week


AIQS (Quantity Surveying-related)
None this week

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 Previous issues 


 

 

Subclass 189 backlog up 14,000 — still faster than 190? Subclass 491 finally declining

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For a smooth study and migration journey in Australia — these are the top-rated programmes to consider

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Great Subclass 190 opportunity at 70 points for Accounting, IT, Engineering and other popular occupations


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Backlog down 400,000 by year’s end! Is temporary-to-permanent transition the reform priority?clickclick “Original Article Link” for the Migration Weekly — Video Edition

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