This article compiles processing data for Australian skilled migration visas up to January 2026, including the latest grant volumes, backlog trends and processing direction for the Subclass 189/190/491 programs, offering applicants an up-to-date analysis and reference.
1. Processing Status of the Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa
Grant Volumes for the Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa
Overall view
- 190/491 grants are steadily increasing
- Final acceptance rate for the November 2025 Subclass 189 round was 56%
- All three skilled streams still have room to accelerate grants
- Backlogs across all three streams have been further reduced
Detailed view (Figure 2)
Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa Backlog Trend Analysis: Cautiously optimistic — a further 3k-5k invitations expected (Figure 3)
After the January primary-applicant lodgement data was released, the final primary-applicant lodgement count for the November round came in at 5,593, giving an acceptance rate of 55.93% against the 10,000 invitations issued. Largely in line with earlier expectations, January saw far more grants than lodgements. By the end of January the backlog stood at around 12,000, with 7,297 places remaining in the annual cap — a gap of 4,648. If, as in the past two financial years, the Department tends to leave roughly 7k Subclass 189 applications in the backlog at year-end, there are still 2,352 places available. Factoring in an invitation acceptance rate of 50-55%, Subclass 189 should be able to run another round, with an estimated 3k-5k invitations.
After the end-of-year holidays, Subclass 189 processing picked up again, with monthly grants climbing to 1.8k+. Processing has now moved into the August and November 2025 rounds, and the data shows that a substantial number of December lodgements have been granted — in fact the highest single-month figure on record.
By the end of January, 243 August lodgements remained unprocessed, 2.3k+ from September, 1.2k+ from October, and 3k+ each from November and December.
2. Latest Processing Progress on the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa
Monthly Grant Volume for the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa: Both Lodgements and Grants Hit New Financial-Year Highs (Figure 4)
New lodgements rose to a new high of 2,100, while grants broke through 3k+ for the first time this year — an increase of 725 over December — bringing the backlog down to 23,000+.
The largest share of January grants went to November 2024 lodgements, and every subsequent month had some applications granted.
Backlog Movements for the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa
As at June 2023 only 204 applications remained in the backlog. From October 2024 and earlier, only a few dozen to a few hundred were outstanding each month; from November 2024 to June 2025 the monthly backlog ran into the thousands, then from July 2025 onwards — due to lower invitation numbers — it dropped back below 1,000.
3. Processing Status of the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa
Grant Volume Trend for the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa: Grants Have Returned to Normal (Figure 5)
New lodgements actually dropped to fewer than 900. After a sharp fall in December, grants rebounded to 2,100. The overall backlog has been further reduced to around 20,000, and may fall below 20,000 once the end-of-February data comes through in a few weeks.
Subclass 491 processing also cherry-picks between months, with the single largest month being June 2025 at 215 grants.
Backlog Analysis for the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa
From November 2024 and earlier, only a few hundred Subclass 491 applications remained in the backlog each month; from December through July the monthly backlog sat around 1k, peaking at 2,023 in June 2025.
Compared with previous years, case officers have returned to grant processing more quickly after the end-of-year break, with all three skilled streams producing more grants than new lodgements. Backlogs are shrinking for both Subclass 190 and 491, and with the “skip-month” processing pattern, this year’s objective of cutting processing times appears to have been achieved.
4. Overall Grant Trend for Australian Skilled Migration Visas
Against the annual cap, monthly grants for Subclass 189 and 190 still have some room to grow, while Subclass 491 has significant headroom — averaging 2,333 grants per month is the target, yet the first seven months averaged only 1,670.
February invitations have been less active than January. There is still no word on Subclass 189, and the major states have yet to move. Today Victoria ran a small round, and we have only picked up a limited number of Subclass 491 invitations (Figure 6).
Data source / Data Reference: Department of Home Affairs — FOI Disclosure Log 2026
With thanks to the @190Grant database
