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 25 May 2023. 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 cyclically during the 2022-23 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 have 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.
You will also find links to information on the number of invitations issued for the Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa.
Invitation Round Results
Total invitations Issued
The total number of invitations issued in the 2022-23 migration program year to date is set out below.
| Visa subclass | July 2022 | August 2022 | September 2022 | October 2022 | November 2022 | December 2022 | January 2023 | February 2023 | March 2023 | April 2023 | May 2023 | June 2023 | Total issued in 2022/23 |
| Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) | 12,200 | 11,982 | 35,000 | 7,353 | 66,535 | ||||||||
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored* | 466 | 847 | 120 | 74 | 1,507 | ||||||||
| Total
|
12,666 | 12,829 | 35,120 | 7,427 | 68,042 |
*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 May 2023 round have significantly decreased compared with the previous round in December 2022, with 7,353 invitations issued this round compared with 35,000 invitations issued in December.
For the Subclass 491 visa – Family Sponsored stream, the number of invitations issued in December 2022 have decreased compared with the previous round, with 74 invitations issued in the current round, compared with 120 invitations issued in December.
Points Score Cut-Off
Expression of Interest (EOI) applicants required the following minimum points scores to secure an invitation in the May 2023 round.
| Visa subclass | Minimum points score | Date of effect month (last invited applicant) |
| Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) | 65 | May 2023 |
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored | 65 | April 2023 |
Please refer to our article on the Skilled Regional Visa Australia to read about how EOI applicants are ranked under this process.
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.
Based on the latest data released, the minimum points score required to receive an invitation for the subclass 189 visa in the May 2023 round has remained the same compared with the previous invitation round, with 65 points required to secure an invitation. The last invited applicant submitted an EOI in May 2023, which means EOI applicants who achieved a score of at least 65 points and who submitted their EOI by May 2023 were issued an invitation in this round, reflecting a wait time of nil months. Note however that for certain occupations, the minimum points score required to secure an invitation was higher.
The minimum points score needed to secure an invitation for the subclass 491 visa in the family sponsored stream has also remained the same as the previous round, with 65 points needed to receive an invitation. The results show that Subclass 491 visa EOI applicants who achieved a minimum points score of 65 and who submitted their EOI by April 2023 received an invitation in this round. This represents a wait time of one month. As with the subclass 189 visa discussed above, the minimum points score required to secure an invitation was higher for certain occupations.
Occupation Ceilings
An occupation ceiling applies to invitations issued under the Subclass 189 visa and Subclass 491 visa – Family Sponsored stream. This means that there are a limited number of EOI’s which can be issued for each occupation.
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.
Occupation ceilings do not apply to State and Territory Nominated or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses.
Invitations Issued For Selected Occupations
Invitations issued in the May 2023 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 from 1 July 2022 to 31 May 2023 are set out below:
| Visa subclass | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA |
| Subclass 190 visa | 1,701 | 9,084 | 574 | 2,228 | 2,929 | 2,000 | 12,780 | 4,705 |
| Subclass 491 visa (State Sponsored) | 1,748 | 5,854 | 1,131 | 1,366 | 5,487 | 1,890 | 1,998 | 2,302 |
You can access the latest monthly and aggregate data for nominations issued for the Subclass 188 Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa at the following link:
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.
