Take three minutes with us. Understanding these changes protects your application.
State and territory governments have received their 2026–27 nomination allocations from the Department of Home Affairs. The headline numbers for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) subclass 491 visa are: NSW 2,400 places, Victoria 1,900, Queensland 1,600, South Australia 1,700, Western Australia 1,500, Tasmania 800, ACT 600, Northern Territory 500. Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) allocations are broadly comparable in shape but smaller in total.
Each state runs its own selection criteria on top of the federal points test. NSW places significant weight on occupation demand within specific regional areas and requires evidence of a genuine intention to live and work in the nominated region — usually documented through a job offer, evidence of family in the area, or a study history at a regional institution. Victoria's criteria emphasise target sectors, with health, education, agri-tech and advanced manufacturing prioritised in the current period.
Queensland runs a business-hours EOI system that opens in defined windows rather than continuously, so timing matters. South Australia has for several years operated one of the most accessible state programs, with a streamlined pathway for international graduates of South Australian institutions and a separate pathway for offshore applicants in shortage occupations.
Regional pathway applicants should target the state whose criteria best match their profile rather than defaulting to the state with the largest allocation. A candidate who narrowly meets NSW's regional-intention criteria but strongly meets Tasmania's may be invited far faster from Tasmania despite the smaller cap. Multi-state EOIs remain permitted; applicants can register interest in more than one jurisdiction and accept the first invitation that arrives.
The subclass 491 leads to permanent residence via the subclass 191, subject to holding the 491 for at least three years, living and working in a designated regional area during that time, and meeting the taxable-income threshold set for the 191. The threshold is CPI-indexed and worth reviewing annually — a job that meets the threshold today may not by year three if wage growth in the role does not track indexation.
The permanent-residence route via subclass 191 remains the strongest argument for the 491 over other regional pathways. Applicants should treat the 491 not as a standalone visa but as year one of a four-to-five-year plan, and plan employment, address history and tax records accordingly. AMSA regularly advises candidates on state-selection and long-run PR planning in a single consultation.