Invitations Issued By The Department Of Home Affairs
The Department of Home Affairs (the Department) has released the results for the latest Skill Select invitation round, which took place on 5 September 2024. These results are for the following points-based skilled visas:
- Subclass 189 Skilled – Independent visa; and
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Family Sponsored visa.
Invitation rounds are run periodically during the program year.
A summary of these results is provided in this article.
State and Territory Government Nominations
The number of nominations approved by State and Territory Governments for the following skilled visas has also been released:
- Subclass 190 Skilled – Nominated visa; and
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) State Nominated visa.
State and territory government nominations are not impacted by departmental invitation rounds and occur independently of this process.
A summary of these results are also provided in this article.
Invitation Round Results
Total invitations Issued
The total number of invitations issued so far in the 2024-25 migration program year is set out below.
| Visa subclass | July 2024 | August 2024 | September 2024 | October 2024 | November 2024 | December 2024 | January 2025 | February 2025 | March 2025 | April 2025 | May 2025 | June 2025 | Total |
| Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) | 7,973 | 7,973 | |||||||||||
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored* | |||||||||||||
| Total | 7,973 | 7,973 |
*The information in the above table for the subclass 491 visa is for the family-sponsored stream only. State Nominated invitations (including for the Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa) are issued separately by each State and Territory Government.
Invitations issued for the Subclass 189 visa in the September 2024 round have increased compared with the previous round in June 2024, with 7,973 invitations issued this round compared with 5,292 invitations issued in June 2024.
For the Subclass 491 visa – Family Sponsored stream, nil invitations were issued in September 2024, the same as in June 2024.
Date Of Effect
Expression of Interest (EOI) applicants for the Subclass 189 visa were required to reach the minimum points score for their relevant occupation in September 2022 to receive an invitation in the September 2024 round.
The highest ranked applicants are the first who are invited to apply for the relevant visa. Applicants with equal scores are invited in order of when they reached their points score (this is referred to as the date of effect). EOI’s submitted with earlier dates of effect are invited first.
Minimum Points Score
The minimum points score needed to secure an invitation for the subclass 189 visa in the September 2024 round was dependent on the selected occupation.
Occupation Ceilings
An occupation ceiling applies to invitations issued for the Subclass 189 Skilled (Independent) visa. This means that there are a limited number of EOI’s which can be issued for each occupation.
Occupation ceilings do not apply to the following visa subclasses:
- Subclass 190 Skilled (Nominated) visa
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
This has been put in place to ensure the skilled migration program is balanced and facilitates the issuing of invitations to prospective applicants across a range of skilled occupations.
Occupation ceilings are compiled based on a percentage of employment figures for each occupation. The employment figures are provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and represents the number of people employed in Australia in each occupation.
Invitations Issued For Selected Occupations
Invitations issued in the September 2024 round were only for occupations as outlined on the Department’s website.
State and Territory Government Nominations
Total invitations issued by State and Territory Governments for the subclass 491 and 190 visa programs so far from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 are set out below:
| Visa subclass | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA |
| Subclass 190 visa | 56 | 21 | 41 | <5 | 112 | 186 | 64 | 49 |
| Subclass 491 visa (State Sponsored) | 31 | 22 | 48 | <5 | 27 | 57 | 70 | 21 |
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/invitation-rounds
More Information
Skilled Regional Visa Program
To learn more about the subclass 491 visa, as well as the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa, which enables subclass 491 visa holders to qualify for permanent residence in Australia, please see the following articles:
Skilled Regional Visa Australia
Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa
Further Regulations released for the new regional sponsored visas to commence from 16 November 2019
Applications for the new provisional regional sponsored visas are now open
For more information about the subclass 491 visa specifically, please see the following articles:
State Sponsored Visa Program
For more information on the Subclass 190 visa, please see the following:
Subclass 190 State Sponsorship Visa
Australian Skilled Migration Visa List
Skilled Independent Visa Program
You can read more about the Subclass 189 visa (and other skilled visas) in our Australian Skilled Migration Visa List article.
