Key Points
- Department of Home Affairs makes adjustments to state allocations for three states.
- Victoria receives 1,400 more places for the Skilled Nominated category (subclass 190).
- South Australia and Tasmania have also received extra allocations for their state nomination programs.
Victoria has received 1,400 more places for the Skilled Nominated category (Subclass 190), while its quota for the Skilled Work Regional visa (Subclass 491) has been reduced by the same amount.
At 12,900, Victoria has the highest number of allocations for the Subclass 190 visa category of all states and territories.
'Government is determined to meet its permanent migration intake target for 2022-2023'
Explaining the rationale behind the switch, the former deputy secretary of the Department of Immigration, Abul Rizvi, says the readjustments are often made towards the end of the financial year when governments are keen to meet their intake targets for the program year.
"In this case, the Albanese government is determined to hit their permanent migration intake of 195,000 places," he said.
"I suspect that Victoria did not have enough nominations for 491 and more than enough nominations for 190, so they have reallocated those places to 190. Governments make these adjustments all the time towards the end of the financial year to ensure they hit the target."
In March this year, the state opened its Skilled Work Regional visa (Subclass 491) to applicants living and/or working in metropolitan Melbourne.
Victoria's Skilled Migration Program for 2022-23 remains open to onshore applicants in metropolitan Melbourne. Credit: Unsplash/Weyne Yew
"There is a likely chance that the state has a lot of places remaining in their current quota of allocations, and they are trying to pick up the pace of nominations to enable the Department of Home Affairs to process visa grants before the end of June 2023," he said in March.
Victoria has issued 9,657 invitations for Subclass 190 and 1,852 for Subclass 491 from 1 July 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Tasmania
The Department of Home Affairs has allocated more places to Tasmania's Skilled Nominated category (Subclass 190). Credit: Архив
"Our Subclass 190 nomination quota has been increased by 150 places, while our Subclass 491 quota has between reduced by the same amount," the website states.
Tasmania's final 2022-23 program year allocation is as follows:
• Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa – 2,150 places
• Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa – 2,100 places
Tasmania has issued 1,433 invitations to potential migrants for Subclass 190 and 1,369 for the Subclass 491 category until 31 March 2023.
South Australia
South Australia has received 800 more places for its state-nominated programs made up of 300 for Subclass 190 and 500 for Subclass 491.
The state continues to prioritise nominations for skilled migrants:
- with backgrounds in in-demand industries, such as health, ICT, education, engineering, agribusiness and trades,
- or who can bring their skills to growing sectors such as hi-tech/digital, health and life sciences, green energy, defence, space and cybersecurity.
The state has issued 2,508 invitations to intending migrants for Subclass 190 and 4,725 for Subclass 491.
Disclaimer: This content is for general information purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
