Over the past week there have been a number of noteworthy changes in Australian migration policy and visa processing.
The Department of Home Affairs has again updated processing progress for skilled visas across the different priority levels, and the gap between onshore priority occupations and the other categories has widened further; the latest Subclass 189 EOI data also shows competition continuing to increase in popular occupations such as early childhood teaching and secondary teaching. At the same time, there is an important change for international students studying the Graduate Diploma of Management, while Tasmania has continued to issue state nomination invitations at a steady pace.
The following is a round-up of Australian migration news for the week to 6 September 2026.
1. Skilled migration processing update: the gap between priority levels widens further
This week the Department of Home Affairs again updated processing progress for skilled visas according to processing priority. This is the second clear update since the new priorities under Ministerial Direction 119 took effect, and the differences in processing speed between the priority levels are gradually becoming visible.
Apart from Subclass 189, which has not been updated yet, there were changes across several skilled and employer-sponsored categories. The overall trend is reasonably clear: onshore priority occupations moved forward substantially, onshore other occupations moved forward slightly, and offshore applications overall still show no clear movement.
Subclass 190 onshore priority occupations are now being processed to August 2026, whereas the July update showed only April 2025. For onshore other occupations the official data shows processing to April 2025, about two months further on. Based on our own recent cases, however, some non-priority occupations have already been processed to mid-to-late June 2025, and several clients who lodged in June 2025 have been granted recently.
Subclass 491 onshore priority occupations are currently being processed to May 2026, a clear move forward from April 2025 last time. For onshore other occupations the official data still sits at March 2025. In actual cases, Subclass 491 is somewhat slower overall than Subclass 190, but applications lodged in mid-2025 are also starting to see results.
Onshore Subclass 191 applications have moved forward to February 2026, about one month further on than before, and we have now also seen applications lodged in early March 2026 approved. This update further illustrates the priority differences between different application circumstances.
The change on the employer-sponsored side is more pronounced. Onshore Subclass 482 Healthcare and Teaching as well as Construction priority occupations are now being processed to August 2026; the relevant Subclass 186 priority occupations to August 2025; and Subclass 494 has moved forward to June 2026. The change is most striking for construction occupations, with some processing points moving forward by almost a year compared with the last update.
Healthcare and teaching occupations were already being processed relatively quickly, so there is limited room for further acceleration. By comparison, construction occupations benefit far more visibly under the new priorities.
2. Latest Subclass 189 EOI data: competition in popular occupations keeps shifting
With a new round of Subclass 189 invitations approaching, the EOI pool data at the end of August also deserves close attention.
Early childhood teaching remains an occupation with a clear backlog. As at the end of August, EOIs at 85 points and above were close to 2,500, with about 120 added over the month and a total EOI backlog approaching 12,000. As high-scoring applications keep entering the pool, the number of invitations issued from here will directly shape where the scores go.
For social workers, the backlog at 75 points and above currently stands at about 640. The last round is not expected to have fully cleared the 75-point band, and the monthly growth in high-scoring EOIs is also fairly marked.
For secondary school teachers the backlog at 75 points and above has now passed 1,000, with close to 200 added at 85 points and above over the month, so competition has risen somewhat. Several states still have demand for secondary school teachers, however, so in the short term this needs to be judged together with the number of Subclass 189 and state nomination invitations.
Nursing has consistently been both a “high backlog” and a “high invitation” occupation. Although both the EOI numbers and the monthly growth are large, a substantial proportion of the roughly 10,000 Subclass 189 invitations in the last round went to nursing-related occupations, so its backlog is also clearing noticeably faster than some other fields.
Looking at the last round, nursing, social work and secondary teaching all saw invitations in the 75-point band. If the size of the next round and the allocation across occupations do not change significantly, these occupations can still focus on the 75 to 80 point range.
By contrast, some blue-collar trade occupations still hold a lower-score advantage. Some occupations still have a chance of an invitation at 65 points, but the differences between occupations are large. Carpentry EOI growth, for example, has clearly accelerated, with about 248 added in the 65-point band in August alone; while the EOI pool for some tiling-related occupations is still very small.
For anyone planning to pursue skilled migration through a trade occupation, the current invitation score is not the only thing to look at: the skills assessment, real employability and future EOI growth trends all need to be weighed up as well.
3. Changes for international students studying the Graduate Diploma of Management
The other piece of news this week that international students should note is the policy change affecting the Graduate Diploma of Management.
After Assistant Education Minister Julian Hill announced the change, institutions have been receiving notification. Under the arrangements announced so far, from 5 October 2026 the institutions concerned will no longer be able to issue a COE to new international students for this type of course, or accept new students commencing after that date, while students already enrolled may continue and complete their course.
Over the past few years, some VET Diploma and Graduate Diploma courses, including the Graduate Diploma of Management, were used by some applicants to extend their study and stay in Australia, because tuition fees were relatively low and course arrangements flexible.
As policy in this area keeps tightening, the risk of choosing a course purely to extend a visa is increasing. Applicants who genuinely want to keep studying in Australia need to choose a course by weighing up the rationale for the course, their own educational background, career development and future visa planning, rather than looking only at cost and visa length.
This is especially true for offshore applicants. Risk on VET student visas is currently closely tied to the applicant’s age, previous qualifications, work background and the rationale for the course. Applicants who are older, already hold a higher-level qualification and are now choosing a lower-level course need to assess student visa risk more carefully.
4. Tasmania keeps issuing invitations, with more opportunities expected for non-Gold Subclass 190 applicants
On state nomination, Tasmania continued to issue invitations as planned this week.
This round issued a total of 34 Subclass 190 ROI invitations, comprising 21 Gold and 13 Green, along with 25 Subclass 491 invitations. The minimum invitation score was 519 for Subclass 190 and 82 for Subclass 491.
The number of Subclass 190 invitations increased this round. Tasmania has said that after the invitations of the past few weeks, Gold applicants in the ROI pool have fallen as expected, so from this round it is in a position to increase Subclass 190 invitations and gradually extend opportunities to more non-Gold applicants.
New ROIs are currently running at a steady 160 or so a week. The existing backlog holds about 908 Subclass 190 ROIs and 592 Subclass 491 ROIs, while only about 21 invited applications are waiting for formal processing, so processing at the nomination stage remains relatively quick.
So far this financial year, Tasmania remains one of the states with relatively steady state nomination invitations. Applicants who meet Tasmania’s policy, particularly those studying and working locally, can keep an eye on the pace of the coming rounds.
5. This week’s visa grants and skills assessments
State government invitations
None this week
Visa grants
Subclass 189 Skilled Independent
None this week
Subclass 190 state nomination
Lodged: 23/06/2025, granted: 03/09/2026
Lodged: 19/06/2025, granted: 03/09/2026
Lodged: 17/01/2025, granted: 03/09/2026
Lodged: 26/05/2025, granted: 02/09/2026
Lodged: 16/06/2025, granted: 01/09/2026
Lodged: 11/06/2025, granted: 01/09/2026
Lodged: 06/06/2025, granted: 31/08/2026
Subclass 491 regional state nomination
None this week
Subclass 191/887 regional permanent residence
Lodged: 09/02/2026, granted: 29/08/2026, Subclass 191
Lodged: 15/12/2025, granted: 31/08/2026, Subclass 887
Employer sponsorship
Lodged 3 September 2024, Subclass 186 DE granted 29 August 2026, Mechanical Engineer
Lodged 3 September 2024, Subclass 186 DE granted 29 August 2026, Motor Mechanic
Lodged 20 December 2025, Subclass 482 nomination approved 29 August 2026, Chef
Lodged 15 December 2025, Subclass 482 nomination decided 1 September 2026, Program or Project Administrator
Lodged 10 March 2026, Subclass 407 nomination and visa decided 1 September 2026, Early Childhood Teacher
Lodged 31 August 2026, Subclass 482 sponsorship approved 2 September 2026
Lodged: 06/09/2024, granted: 01/09/2026, ICT BA
Investor visas / GTI visas
Lodged 3 December 2025, Subclass 888 granted 3 September 2026
Partner migration
Lodged May 2026, Subclass 801 granted 3 September 2026
Lodged mid-2026, Subclass 801 granted 2 September 2026
Parent visas
Lodged: 24/03/2026, granted: 03/09/2026, Subclass 870
Lodged: 23/11/2018, request for further information: 22/04/2026, granted: 31/08/2026, Subclass 143
Child visas
Lodged: 17/01/2026, granted: 29/08/2026
Subclass 485 Graduate Work visa
Lodged: 13/08/2026, granted: 02/09/2026
Subclass 500 Student visa
Lodged: 29/08/2026, granted: 31/08/2026, offshore, Postgraduate Research
Lodged: 08/04/2026, granted: 29/08/2026, onshore, higher education
Subclass 600 Visitor visa
Lodged 29 July 2026, Subclass 600 granted 31 August 2026
Lodged: 10/08/2026, granted: 04/09/2026
Lodged: 26/10/2023, granted: 02/09/2026
Lodged: 06/08/2026, granted: 31/08/2026
Lodged: 05/08/2026, granted: 31/08/2026
Lodged: 03/08/2026, granted: 31/08/2026
Subclass 155 visa
Lodged: 26/08/2026, granted: 01/09/2026
Skills assessments
ANMAC
Lodged 27 July 2026, skills assessment approved 3 September 2026, Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency)
ACECQA
Lodged: 05/06/2026, granted: 02/09/2026
VETASSESS
Lodged: 27/08/2026, granted: 03/09/2026
ACS
Lodged 28 July 2026, ACS skills assessment approved 31 August 2026
