Key Migration News This Week
1. First confirmed round of the new financial year — Subclass 189 to be issued before the end of September
2. Subclass 189’s final round of the year floods out 10,000 invitations — the big three occupations invited at 75 points
3. The Northern Territory’s offshore 491 stream is still issuing invitations
4. ART appeal fees rise from 1 July
5. A roundup of this week’s grants, invitations and skills-assessment data
1. The New Financial Year’s First Confirmed Round — Subclass 189 Invitations in Late September
Unexpectedly, the first confirmed invitation round of the 2026-27 financial year is Subclass 189. The Department of Home Affairs has updated its website: the next Subclass 189 round is expected before 30 September.
Bear in mind, though, that “before 30 September” certainly doesn’t mean it will necessarily be exactly 30 September — and the Department’s wording is “is expected to”, a projected plan. In practice, it has left itself room to bring the round forward or push it back.
Beyond building up your points during this period, applicants in some occupations can use these few months to obtain an additional skills assessment. For example, civil engineers might consider Civil Engineering Draftsperson / Civil Engineering Technician; and an ICT Business Analyst with data-analysis and similar work experience could contact us to assess whether a Statistician skills assessment is achievable.
2. Subclass 189’s Final Round of the Year Floods Out 10,000 Invitations — Big Three Invited at 75 Points
This week the Department released the official report for the Subclass 189 round of 4 June. This round issued 10,000 invitations, with most occupations invited at 75-85 points. Social work, nursing and secondary teaching were all invited at 75 points (though the pools were not fully cleared), while blue-collar trades were generally around 65 points. We’ve picked out some of the occupations you care most about:
Architecture and Engineering
Architect 85
Landscape Architect 85
Electrical Engineering Draftsperson/Technician 80
Electronics Engineer 95
Telecommunications Engineer 95
Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum) 80
Petroleum Engineer 80
Land Economist 80
Other Professional Occupations
Multimedia Specialist 95
Food Technologist 85
Management Consultant 80
Solicitor 80
Statistician 90
Health and Medical
Medical Laboratory Scientist 80
Midwife 75
Occupational Therapist 75
Psychologists nec 75
The Big Three
Registered Nurses nec 75
Secondary School Teacher 75
Social Worker 75
Trades
Carpenter 65
Carpenter and Joiner 65
Plumber (General) 65
Popular Occupations Confirmed to Have Received No Invitations
Early childhood teacher
University lecturer
IT 2613/2611/2631
Civil engineer, including draftsperson and technician
Electrical engineer (but the draftsperson and technician did receive invitations)
QS, accounting, auditing and so on
For the invitation scores of every occupation in this round, see:189 EOI Official Report Released — Next Round Before 30 September, June Round Issued 10,000, Big Three as Low as 75 Points, Blue-Collar Trades Mostly 65 Points!
3. The Northern Territory’s Offshore 491 Stream Is Still Issuing Formal Invitations
Here is how state-nomination usage stood as at the end of May:
Subclass 190: most states have used more than 85% of their allocation. Those with relatively more remaining are Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia — Queensland has 248 places left, South Australia 186, and Western Australia 258. Subclass 491: Western Australia has used its entire allocation; New South Wales, Canberra (ACT), Queensland and Victoria have used almost all of theirs; South Australia and Tasmania have 104 and 149 places left respectively, both reserved for the outstanding pre-invitations.
So in the final days of June, the state-nomination programmes have all wound down — except for the Northern Territory’s offshore 491 stream, through which we still had plenty of invitations this week, including:
Massage Therapist 50+15
Biomedical Engineer 75+15
External Auditor 90+15
Some of our NT 491 offshore stream success stories from this financial year:
4. ART Appeal Fees Officially Rise from 1 July
From 1 July 2026, fees associated with ART applications rise across the board. The standard appeal fee for migration-related matters rises to $3,727, an increase of $147; the appeal fee for protection visas is $2,293, up $90.
The new fees apply to payments completed on or after 1 July 2026. Even where an application was lodged before this date but payment had not been completed, the new fees will apply.
This Week’s Grants, Invitations and Skills Assessments
State Nomination Invitations
Northern Territory
See above for the offshore 491 formal invitations
ACT State Nomination
Lodged 23 June 2026, invited 24 June 2026 for ACT 190, Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher
Visa Grants
Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Migration
None this week
Subclass 190 State Nomination
None this week
Subclass 491 Regional State Nomination
None this week
Subclass 191/887 Regional Permanent Residence
None this week
Employer Sponsored
Lodged 22 October 2024, Subclass 186 DE nomination approved 25 June 2026 22 October 2024Fibrous Plasterer – 333211
Lodged 16 August 2025, Subclass 482 granted 26 June 2026 — retail manager
Investor Visa / GTI Visa
None this week
Partner Migration
None this week
Parent Visas
None this week
Child Visas
None this week
Subclass 485 Graduate Work
None this week
Subclass 500 Student
Lodged 15 June 2026, Subclass 500 granted 25 May 2026
Subclass 600 Visitor
Lodged 12 June 2026, granted 23 June 2026
Lodged 16 June 2026, granted 26 June 2026
Lodged 16 June 2026, Subclass 600 granted 25 June 2026
Lodged 11 June 2026, Subclass 600 granted 25 June 2026
Lodged 23 June 2026, Subclass 600 granted 26 June 2026
Subclass 155 Visa
Lodged 16 June 2026, granted 22 June 2026
Skills Assessments
ACS Skills Assessment
Lodged 25 March 2026, ACS skills assessment approved 22 June 2026
