Today’s session covers South Australia and the Northern Territory

Day one coveredQueensland and Victoria:State Nomination Briefing | Queensland to ramp up invitations from January; Victoria’s top three offshore 491 priorities; NSW issues more invitations!

Day two coveredTasmania and Canberra：State Nomination Briefing Day 2 | Canberra expected to invite in December, one round per month! Tasmania invites today, 190 minimum score 36 — orange!

Some background

South AustraliaLast year’s invitation round was highly opaque, and this year’s quota has been cut further. The policy and occupation list were only announced this Monday, with ROI now open.

Northern TerritoryLast year the NT rescued large numbers of low-scoring and non-priority offshore applicants. This Monday the 24th, after the offshore 491 channel opened, a wave of applications poured in — and the NT promptly removed several popular occupations.

South Australia

–The 2024-25 financial year received more than 16,000 onshore ROIs and more than 49,000 offshore EOIs,the Chef occupation alone received more than 1,000,while last year’s total quota was 3,800 — a 5.8% chance of invitation

– SA’s quota has been cut by 41% this year, with the 190 stream heavily affected; the state government will lobby the Department of Home Affairs for additional quota, but also concedes it is unlikely to secure more

–The six priority sectors will be prioritised for 190, while non-priority sectors will mainly receive 491 — this applies to both onshore and offshore applicants. Offshore applicants working in a priority sector still have a reasonable chance of being invited for 190.

– State officers consider thatsocial workers fall within the health sector, so the occupation is also among the priorities

–This year both onshore and offshore will have one invitation round per month,issued separately; no firm date has been given for the next round, nor whether one will be held before Christmas.

– The ratio between onshore and offshore invitations will not be published, nor will SA declare whether it leans onshore or offshore this year.Invitation data will be released this year after each round.We recommend analysing and reviewing the data after each round.

– One applicant, one ROI — choosing to apply for 190 may also result in a 491 invitation.

– If your visa is about to expire, we recommend lodging your ROI at least one month before expiry. With invitations issued monthly this year, you will know whether you have been invited in the next round,but an imminent visa expiry will not improve your chances of being invited

– Occupations removed this year will not be reinstated due to limited quota

– Popular occupations such as chef and motor mechanic still have a chance at invitation, but based on last year’s pattern, competition will be extremely fierce — work experience and current employment are critical

– SA’s NIV state-nomination quota will likewise not be published

Northern Territory

Interlude: the offshore 491 list was adjusted again on the 26th

Among the popular occupations, External Auditor, 263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer, and Mechanical Engineer have all been removed, and the state officers also noted that as application volumes shift, the list may continue to be adjusted

–This year the NT still will notrank applicants by points,this is the single clearest differentiator from other states. For both onshore and offshore applicants, the NT places far more weight on commitment and employability — that is, a commitment to remain in the NT and the ability to secure local employment

– The NT will not disclose how many applications its offshore 491 priority-occupation channel has received this year, and reconfirms that applications successfully lodged before an occupation was removed will be processed as normal.Applicants who can demonstrate strong commitment to the NT — including but not limited to connections with NT employers — will have better chances of invitation.One of the eligibility requirements for the offshore 491 priority-occupation channel is that, within the past 5 years, the applicant has 2 years of relevant work experience, which must be full-time — the NT accepts 35 hours per week

–The offshore 491 priority-occupation channel may, at the earliest, be processed in Q1 2026 — possibly Q2.This year the NT will update processing progress in the portal on a monthly basis.NT onshore applicationshave already begun to receive some invitations and requests for further information (including the residence-stream 491 and the graduate-stream 190), enjoying higher processing priority

Tomorrow is the final day — covering the two big states, NSW and WA. Stay tuned!

For a comprehensive review and assessment of this year’s state nominations, contact our consultants

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