Catch up on the latest Australian immigration news, including the new 491 & 494 skilled regional visas and much more!

On 4 December 2019, Immigration SA opened nomination applications for the new subclass 491 visa and re-opened nomination applications for the subclass 190 visa. At the same time some new selection requirements have been introduced.

The Australian Government has announced that the Gold Coast and Perth will be added to the list of eligible locations able to access regional visa incentives from 16 November 2019.

Just three months into the new program year and there are signs that skilled migration invitations are going to be in short supply without a state or territory sponsorship.

September SkillSelect invitation round

The latest report on invitations issued by the Department of Home Affairs shows that only 100 were issued for the Skilled Independent subclass 189 visa. This remained at the same level seen in August 2019 but is a significant drop from the 1000 invitations issued in July 2019. The minimum points cut-off score has also increased to 85 points after being at 80 points for the past two months.

The report also includes invitations issued for the Skilled Regional subclass 489 visa (family sponsored stream). These have remained at 100 invitations, but the minimum cut-off score has also increased to 85 points.

Occupation specific cut-off scores are also utilised by the Department and several have been increased since the previous round in August. The cut-off score for Accountant has been increased from 85 points to 95 points. Cut-off scores have also been increased for Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers (85 points to 95 points), Other Engineering Professionals (90 points to 95 points) and Computer Network Professionals (80 points to 85 points).

Our view

The report does not include invitations issued by state and territory governments for the state/territory sponsored version of the Skilled Regional subclass 489 visa (soon to be 491 visa) or the Skilled Nominated (permanent residency) subclass 190 visa.

While many applicants may have a preference for and might meet the minimum requirements for the Skilled Independent subclass 189 visa, the state or territory sponsorship pathway might be the only way to secure a visa without a long wait (or risk missing out entirely).

Do you need help with an Australian visa application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications. Our areas of expertise include Partner Visas, Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer Sponsored Work Visas and other Family Migration visas as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Review, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956 or +61 8 8351 9956 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

With the new Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa starting on 16 November 2019, here is how existing subclass 489 visa holders and applicants are impacted.