Last updated: 26 October 2026. This is a live page. We update it every time a state or territory publishes a 2026-27 allocation, reopens its programme, or changes its criteria, so bookmark it and check back rather than relying on a copy saved elsewhere. Three jurisdictions have opened in some form since mid-August, one of them has already narrowed its intake, and another has edited its eligibility pages twice in recent weeks. The table below will keep moving.
One programme is fully open for 2026-27. Tasmania reopened to Registrations of Interest on 17 August 2026 and has run weekly invitation rounds every Thursday since 20 August. The Northern Territory reopened to nomination applications on 21 August 2026, but its page of 5 October 2026 says it has now received sufficient applications for the program year and will accept new ones only by exception. Of the other six, South Australia opened Registrations of Interest on 22 October 2026 for a narrow onshore group, the ACT has held a first invitation round without announcing an allocation, Victoria has published its fees and ranking method but not opened, and the rest remain closed. A member notice from the Migration Institute of Australia dated 16 October 2026 also reports that New South Wales has opened its subclass 190 programme, with a first invitation round in the week starting 19 October 2026. New South Wales’s own pages have not confirmed that yet, so we show it as reported.
Here is where each of the eight sits today, what the federal numbers mean for your subclass choice, and what is worth doing about it.
The short answer
Tasmania is still the only jurisdiction to have published its actual 2026-27 numbers: 2,050 places, being 1,250 for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and 800 for the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491).
The Northern Territory said when it reopened that it had received its full 2026-27 allocation, but it has not published any figures. On 5 October 2026 it said it has received sufficient applications for the year and now accepts new ones only by exception.
Victoria has not opened its 2026-27 programme and has not published an allocation, but on 13 October 2026 it published its fees and its ranking method. A Registration of Interest will cost $66 including GST ($60 excluding), and each nomination application for the 190 or the 491 will cost $198 including GST ($180 excluding), payable only if you are invited. Every Registration of Interest will be ranked on the Victorian Points Test, with no fixed pass mark. Victoria says the programme will open soon and has not given a date.
The ACT’s Canberra Matrix page now reports a first 2026-27 invitation round held on 12 October 2026, for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) only. The same page still says the ACT’s 2026-27 allocation has not been announced, so we have no ACT figure to publish.
The Department of Home Affairs page that carries the national state-by-state split still shows only the 2025-26 table. Its date stamp changed to 21 September 2026, but the content did not. So two jurisdictions are telling you they have their allocations while the Commonwealth page that would confirm the numbers has not moved. We have set both positions out rather than picking the more convenient one.
Why most states are still waiting
State and territory governments do not set their own nomination numbers. The Commonwealth allocates places out of the national programme, and until that allocation arrives a state has nothing to hand out.
The timing catches people out every year. For 2025-26, the Commonwealth did not set the state and territory allocations until 4 November 2025. Western Australia did not open until December 2025, and South Australia and Queensland ran on interim allocations before that. South Australia published its 2025-26 allocation on 24 November 2025. A quiet September is normal, and it is not evidence that anything has gone wrong with your file.
What the federal numbers tell you about the 190 and the 491
The 2026-27 Migration Program planning levels were announced on 12 May 2026. The programme sits at 185,000 places for the second year running, split roughly 70:30 between the Skilled and Family streams.
Two lines matter here:
- State/Territory Nominated is up: 35,500 places, against 33,000 in 2025-26.
- Regional is down hard: 14,110 places, against 33,000 in 2025-26.
When it first published the 2026-27 levels in May, the Department of Home Affairs attributed that movement specifically to increases in the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and decreases in the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491). The department revised that wording to something more neutral on 12 August 2026 without publishing an explanation, so treat the attribution as the department’s own May statement rather than its current position.
Two cautions before anyone reads that as an 18,890 place cut to the 491. The Regional category has never been the 491 alone. Home Affairs groups several regional subclasses together, including the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) and the Regional Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 187), so the fall is spread across a category rather than landing on one visa. And 491 lodgements had already collapsed on their own, from 19,598 across 2024-25 to 5,843 in the first half of 2025-26, which is a more likely driver of a smaller planning level than a policy decision to shut the door.
The direction of travel is still clear enough: towards the permanent metropolitan nomination, away from the provisional regional one. If your plan rests on the 491 and its 15 nomination points, it is worth a second look.
For the full federal breakdown, see our note on the 2026-27 Migration Program planning levels.
Where each state and territory stands
All figures below were checked against government sources on 26 October 2026. The Tasmanian round figures are from the round of 23 October, which ran on Friday because Thursday 22 October was Hobart Show Day.
| Jurisdiction | 2026-27 allocation | Status | 2025-26 allocation, for comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasmania | 1,250 (190) and 800 (491) | OPEN. Registrations of Interest since 17 August, weekly invitation rounds every Thursday since 20 August | 1,200 and 650 |
| Northern Territory | Received, figures not published | CLOSED except by exception from 5 October 2026. Reopened to nomination applications on 21 August, then said it has received sufficient applications for the year. As at its 13 October 2026 edit, new applications are accepted only for the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491), from onshore NT Graduate or NT Resident applicants with a visa deadline before 30 September 2027. Nothing is accepted for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) or under the offshore streams | 850 and 800 |
| New South Wales | Not published | Reported open for the 190, not yet confirmed on its own pages. A Migration Institute of Australia member notice dated 16 October 2026 says the 190 programme is open with a first invitation round in the week commencing 19 October 2026, and that the 491 stays closed for all pathways. New South Wales’s pages, read 19 October, show no opening, round date or allocation: the 190 closure notice came off on 15 October and the 491 page still says closed. Awaiting confirmation. See below | 2,100 and 1,500 |
| Victoria | Not published | Not yet open. Closed to new Registrations of Interest since 28 April 2026. On 13 October 2026 it published 2026-27 fees (Registration of Interest $66, each nomination application $198, GST included) and its Victorian Points Test ranking. Says the programme will open soon, no date given | 2,700 and 700 |
| Queensland | Not published | Closed. Nomination fees withdrawn on 19 August and still shown as to be advised | 1,850 and 750 |
| South Australia | Not published | Opening, narrowly. On 22 October 2026 South Australia said it is now open for Registrations of Interest from people living and working in South Australia whose current visas expire by 31 January 2027. Offshore candidates lodge a SkillSelect Expression of Interest only and are invited directly. No allocation published, and its page does not say how many places are available. Single-origin, awaiting independent confirmation. See below | 1,350 and 900 |
| Western Australia | Not published | No 2026-27 criteria, lists or opening date. Site still shows 2025-26 settings | 2,000 and 1,400 |
| Australian Capital Territory | Not published | Allocation not announced. The ACT page reports a first 2026-27 Canberra Matrix invitation round on 12 October 2026 (subclass 190 only, no 491 invitations). Further rounds tentatively in the weeks starting 25 January, 22 March and 24 May 2027, subject to allocation. Last round before that was 11 June 2026 | 800 and 800 |
The 2025-26 column is there for scale, not prediction. Nothing in the “not published” column is a forecast, and if a website is quoting you a 2026-27 number for any jurisdiction other than Tasmania, it is not coming from a government source.
Tasmania: open, and it has changed how it ranks you
Migration Tasmania reopened on 17 August 2026 with 2,050 places, up from 1,850 delivered last year. Invitation rounds run weekly on Thursdays. The application gateway has moved to a new address, so old bookmarks will not work.
Several things changed with the new programme year:
The nomination fee rose to $387, or $425.70 including GST. Registrations of Interest remain free.
The priority attributes were rescored to reward longer contribution to Tasmania, with more differentiation by how long you have been employed there. The Tasmanian Skilled Employment Gold category now requires at least 30 hours a week in at least one job. Income attributes were re-based against Australian median and average earnings, although the Priority Income Level itself is unchanged at $57,000 a year or $28.85 an hour.
The invitation-only Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) Overseas Skilled Occupation Profiles pathway will issue no invitations at all in 2026-27. Migration Tasmania announced that position in August 2026. The overseas health and education 190 job-offer pathway continues.
The point most likely to affect you: Migration Tasmania has told candidates who lodged a Registration of Interest in the past six months to consider withdrawing and resubmitting, because the new ranking may materially improve their position. If you have a live Tasmanian ROI, that is worth modelling before the next round rather than after it.
Now the part worth watching week to week. In the round of 23 October 2026, Migration Tasmania invited 38 Registrations of Interest for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and 32 for the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491). The lowest score invited was 317 points for the 190 and 76 for the 491.
That 190 floor is the number to notice. It was 502 points on 10 September, 375 on 17 September, 352 on 24 September, 331 on 1 October, 323 on 8 October 319 on 15 October and is now 317 on 23 October, six falls in a row. For two rounds the Gold and Green mix explained the fall: on 10 September the 190 invitations were 6 Gold pass and 34 Green, and on 17 September 7 Gold and 30 Green, after 21 Gold and 13 Green on 3 September. On 24 September Gold rose to 20 against 18 Green and the floor still went down. On 1 October the mix was 7 Gold against 31 Green and the floor fell again. On 8 October Gold rose to 13 against 24 Green and the floor still eased by eight points. On 15 October the mix was 12 Gold against 33 Green and the floor eased by four points. On 23 October the mix was 7 Gold against 31 Green and the floor eased by two points. Migration Tasmania has not explained the trend, and we would not read much into a single round. Six falls in a row is the useful part. If you hold a Green pass and ruled Tasmania out on August scores, it is worth running the numbers again.
On the 491 side, the 23 October round included 2 Gold pass invitations, up from 1 on 15 October, and the floor fell from 88 to 76 points, a fall of 12. One round is not a trend, but the 491 floor has moved sharply when the Gold mix changes, so watch it alongside the 190.
After the round, 902 of the 1,250 subclass 190 places and 670 of the 800 subclass 491 places were still available, with 850 and 616 Registrations of Interest waiting. A further 72 subclass 190 and 72 subclass 491 invitations had been issued but not yet turned into lodged applications, and 100 subclass 190 and 76 subclass 491 nomination applications were lodged and awaiting a decision.
Tasmania also publishes the score you need to actually hold your nomination at assessment, a rolling three-month average which sits higher than the invitation floor: 416 for the 190 and 81 for the 491 as at 23 October, against 427 and 81 a week earlier. If an attribute you claimed fails verification and your score falls below that figure, the nomination is refused rather than reduced. Scoring optimistically to clear the invitation threshold is a good way to lose the nomination later.
Note the calendar: the 22 October round moved to Friday 23 October for Hobart Show Day. Check the Migration Tasmania processing page for the date of the next round before you rely on a Thursday.
ACT: a first 2026-27 Canberra Matrix round has run, allocation still not announced
The ACT’s Canberra Matrix page now reports an invitation round dated 12 October 2026. It was a subclass 190 round only, with no subclass 491 invitations. By the page’s own breakdown, the Doctorate Streamlined Pathway received 54 invitations, Small Business Owners received 18 (minimum Matrix score 120), and Critical Skill Occupations received 126 invitations for Canberra residents and 63 for overseas applicants.
The same page still says the ACT’s 2026-27 allocation has not yet been announced, and its allocation and approval counts are still the 2025-26 figures as at 30 June 2026. So the ACT is inviting against places it has not told the public about. We have no ACT allocation to publish, and these invitation counts come from the ACT’s own page only; we have not seen them confirmed elsewhere. Further rounds are tentatively scheduled for the weeks starting 25 January, 22 March and 24 May 2027, subject to allocation. ACT Migration told agents in a newsletter on 30 September that its 2026-27 occupation list is still being finalised because the allocation is unclear.
Northern Territory: open for six weeks, now by exception only
MigrationNT reopened to nomination applications on 21 August 2026, saying it had received its full 2026-27 allocation from the Commonwealth. It has not published the figures. On 5 October 2026 its page changed: the NT Government says it has now received sufficient applications for the 2026-27 program year.
New nomination applications are now accepted only by exception, and only for onshore applicants who meet the NT Graduate or NT Resident criteria and have a visa deadline before 30 September 2027. That means one of three things: a substantive visa expiring on or before 30 September 2027 with no eligibility for a Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485); turning 45 on or before 30 September 2027; or a birthday on or before that date that drops the subclass 491 points score below 65. MigrationNT says it cannot guarantee a nomination before a visa deadline, and tells onshore applicants with expiring visas to get advice from a Registered Migration Agent or legal practitioner and stay lawful.
The page no longer lists the individual streams it showed when it reopened, and as at 8 October 2026 it says in terms that no new nomination applications will be accepted under the offshore streams at this time. Offshore applicants should treat the Territory as closed. The page was restamped on 7 October 2026.
It was edited again on 13 October 2026 and is now more specific. New nomination applications are accepted by exception only for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), for onshore applicants who meet the NT Graduate or NT Resident criteria and have one of the visa deadlines above. The page says no new applications will be accepted at this time for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) or under any offshore streams. Our earlier readings did not record the 491-only limit or the 190 closure in these words, so we cannot say whether this is a tightening or a clarification. Either way, if your plan rests on a Northern Territory 190 nomination, it is closed to new applications. The allocation figures are still not on the page.
The Northern Territory works differently from every other jurisdiction and it catches people out. There is no Registration of Interest gateway and no points-ranked matrix. You lodge an Expression of Interest in SkillSelect, then lodge a nomination application directly with MigrationNT, and applications are assessed in order of receipt rather than by score. While the programme was open, one application covered both subclasses: an applicant who applied for a 190 and was not eligible was considered for a 491. That is the opposite of Tasmania’s position, and it made the Territory worth a look for applicants whose score would never win a ranked round while it was open. For most people it no longer is.
New South Wales: 190 reported open, not yet confirmed on its own pages
A Migration Institute of Australia member notice dated 16 October 2026 reports that the New South Wales programme for the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) is open, with a first invitation round in the week commencing 19 October 2026. It also says the NSW Skills List for the 190 has been updated and that the programme for the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) remains closed for all pathways. We read the New South Wales pages on 19 October 2026 and they do not say any of this: they carry no opening announcement, no round date and no allocation. They are consistent with it, because the closure notice came off the 190 page on 15 October and the page now describes invitation rounds running through the financial year, but consistent is not confirmed. The page also says there are no predetermined or publicly announced round dates, so New South Wales may never publish the date. Treat the opening and the round week as reported by one secondary source. If you have a New South Wales 190 candidate, check that the SkillSelect EOI is current and that every points claim can be evidenced now, rather than waiting for a public announcement.
On 15 October 2026 New South Wales edited three of its skilled visa pages without announcement: the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) page, the NSW Skills Lists page and the common questions page. The 491 page was not touched and still carries its closure notice.
The 190 page no longer opens with the “Important Notice: Closure” that said all nomination places for the program year had been allocated. An Internet Archive capture of 8 October 2026 shows that notice still in place, so its removal is new. The page announces no opening date, no invitation round and no 2026-27 allocation. Removing a closure notice is not the same as opening, and on our own reading of its pages we cannot say New South Wales is open; the opening comes from the member notice described above. The 491 page still says applications are closed, and its three pathways are shown as closed to new applications.
The 190 residency wording was also restructured. It is now split by how you are invited. For an onshore invitation you must be working in New South Wales in your nominated occupation for remuneration for at least 20 hours a week, or have continuously resided in New South Wales for at least six months. For an offshore invitation you must have continuously resided offshore for at least six months. The thresholds are the same as before; the change is that each limb is now tied to the type of invitation. The page also says New South Wales selects Expressions of Interest using the residency status recorded in your EOI.
The NSW Skills List for the 190 has been republished. The page now lists 78 ANZSCO unit groups and says the list “has been updated for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) only”, with a further update to the regional list for the 491 to follow when more information is available. The version archived on 25 September 2026 was a longer list, and the page it replaced was last modified on 2 March 2026. The common questions page still refers to the 2025-26 program year, so it has not yet caught up. We have not compared the two lists code by code, so do not assume your occupation stayed on or came off without checking the page.
The practical points: New South Wales edits these pages while closed, with no transition note. If your occupation was on the old list, confirm it against the new one before you rely on it. If you are building a New South Wales plan around a residency or employment limb, check the page on the day you rely on it and keep a dated copy of what it said. The page edits come from New South Wales’s own pages and the Internet Archive. The reported opening and round week come from the member notice alone and no independent source has confirmed them.
Victoria: fees and a ranking method published, programme not yet open
Victoria has not opened its 2026-27 programme and has not published an allocation. Its pages still say the programme will open soon, with eligibility criteria to follow when it does. What changed on 13 October 2026 is that it published how much nomination will cost and how it will choose who to invite.
The fees page lists a Registration of Interest at $60 excluding GST ($66 including) and a nomination application at $180 excluding GST ($198 including) for each of the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491). The nomination fee is payable only if you are invited and then submit an application. GST applies if you are in Australia when you pay. The Registration of Interest fee is charged once per programme year, so withdrawing and resubmitting within the same year does not cost you again. Fees are generally non-refundable, including when you are never invited.
Every Registration of Interest will be ranked on the Victorian Points Test, which scores seven weighted factors: age, English language, years of experience in the nominated occupation, education, occupation skill level, your partner’s skill if applicable, and annual earnings from skilled employment in Victoria if applicable. There is no fixed pass mark. Each invitation round invites the highest totals, through two routes: the most competitive across all eligible occupations, and the highest totals within a priority industry. The 2026-27 priority industries are healthcare, social assistance, education and construction. Victoria says it cannot prioritise invitations for personal circumstances such as age or an expiring visa.
Victoria edited the Victorian Points Test page again on 14 October 2026. Its experience-in-occupation table now reads 0 years 0 points, 1 year 20, 2 to 3 years 40, 4 to 5 years 60, 6 to 7 years 80 and more than 8 years 100. When we read the page on 13 October the bands overlapped (“1 to 3 years” after a separate “1 year” row, and “3 to 5” and “6 to 8” years). The corrected table does not say where exactly eight years falls, so check the page itself for a client sitting on that boundary.
Victoria has also told applicants that a Registration of Interest from a previous programme year does not carry over. If you want to be considered in 2026-27, you submit a new one when the programme opens.
This is Victoria’s own information, from its fees page, its Victorian Points Test page and its notice to agents. We have not yet seen it confirmed by an independent second source. We have a Victorian Points Test calculator and an explainer if you want to estimate where you would sit.
Queensland has pulled its fee schedule
Queensland remains closed, and on 19 August 2026 it replaced its nomination fees with “to be advised”. Until it republishes, any fee estimate you have been given for a Queensland 190 or 491 nomination is out of date.
Queensland has also confirmed that a 2026-27 Queensland Skilled Occupation List is in development, following a consultation that closed on 7 July 2026. The consultation also canvassed a possible Queensland state-led Designated Area Migration Agreement, including concessions to age and English requirements. Neither the list nor any DAMA decision has been published.
One thing Queensland has committed to: applicants who started an eligible business under Pathway 2 of its Small Business Owner stream before 19 September 2025 may submit a Registration of Interest when the 2026-27 programme opens. That is easy to miss and it is the only forward-looking commitment in the Queensland material.
South Australia: Registrations of Interest open for a narrow onshore group
South Australia has not published a 2026-27 allocation, but on 22 October 2026 it posted a General Skilled Migration Program Update on its news page. It says South Australia is now open for Registrations of Interest from individuals living and working in South Australia whose current visas are due to expire by 31 January 2027. That is a narrow window, not a general reopening, and the page does not say how many places sit behind it.
Offshore candidates may keep lodging a SkillSelect Expression of Interest. They are not asked for a Registration of Interest, because South Australia says suitable candidates will be invited directly from the Expression of Interest. Invitations will go to both onshore and offshore cohorts, with a focus on priority sectors: building and construction, defence, education, engineering, health and manufacturing. High-ranking candidates in non-priority sectors may also be considered. Everyone needs a current Expression of Interest in SkillSelect.
Two other changes sit around the update. The Skilled Occupation List is back on the South Australian site and the update points to it for 2026-27, which ends the stretch in which South Australia had withdrawn its list. And its skilled migration page lists four streams: South Australian Graduates, Skilled Employment in South Australia, Outer Regional Skilled Employment, and Offshore. It currently shows a nomination fee of $394 for each of the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491), and no fee for a Registration of Interest. We have not compared those with last year’s schedule, so treat them as what the page says today.
This is South Australia’s own information, from its news page and its notice to agents sent the same day. Both come from one origin, and we have not yet seen it confirmed by an independent second source, so it is awaiting confirmation. If your client’s visa expires on or before 31 January 2027 and they live and work in South Australia, check the update and the stream requirements on the day you rely on them, and get advice before lodging anything.
What to do while the rest catch up
If you are eligible for Tasmania, that decision is live now. It is the only programme taking Registrations of Interest in the ordinary way, and it will not stay uncontested once the larger states reopen. The Northern Territory has shown how short these windows can be: it opened on 21 August and was taking applications by exception only by 5 October, and as at 13 October it takes none for the 190. If you fall within its narrow onshore 491 exceptions, get advice now.
If Victoria is your target, work out your Victorian Points Test score now. The ranking method is published, the programme has not opened, and the only thing you control before it does is how complete your evidence is. Earnings, English level and years in the occupation carry the most weight you can still change.
If your client is onshore in South Australia with a visa expiring by 31 January 2027, look at South Australia now. Its Registration of Interest window is narrow and aimed at that group, and it has not said how many places it has. The Skilled Occupation List and the stream requirements are the first things to check.
Keep your skills assessment and English results alive. These are the two documents that most often expire mid-queue. Several jurisdictions warn plainly that they cannot guarantee a nomination before a visa expires.
Check your cliff dates. If you turn 45, or drop a points bracket for age or work experience, during the wait, you need that date in front of you now. Our skilled migration points calculator will give you a current score in a couple of minutes.
Do not assume last year’s criteria are this year’s. Tasmania rescored its attributes, New South Wales has edited its residency criteria twice in a fortnight, Queensland withdrew its fees, and South Australia withdrew its occupation list before putting it back with a narrow Registration of Interest opening on 22 October. Every jurisdiction that has spoken has said its settings are under review.
Reconsider the 190 against the 491. With State/Territory Nominated rising and Regional falling, a plan built purely on 15 regional nomination points deserves a second look.
Frequently asked questions
Is state nomination open in Australia right now?
Only partly. Tasmania has been open to Registrations of Interest since 17 August 2026. The Northern Territory reopened on 21 August 2026 but, as at 13 October 2026, accepts new applications only by exception, for the 491 and for certain onshore applicants, and none for the 190 or offshore. Victoria has published its 2026-27 fees and ranking method but has not opened. New South Wales has removed the closure notice from its subclass 190 page and republished its 190 occupation list. A Migration Institute of Australia member notice dated 16 October 2026 reports its 190 programme open, with a first invitation round in the week commencing 19 October 2026, but its own pages have not confirmed that. South Australia opened Registrations of Interest on 22 October 2026 for onshore applicants whose visas expire by 31 January 2027, with offshore candidates invited from SkillSelect, but that is single-origin and awaiting confirmation. Queensland and Western Australia are closed. The ACT held a first Canberra Matrix invitation round on 12 October 2026, for the subclass 190 only, but has not announced its allocation.
When will the other states open for 2026-27?
No state or territory has published an opening date. Victoria says its programme will open soon but has given no date. The ACT held a first Canberra Matrix round on 12 October 2026 (subclass 190 only) and says its later round dates are tentative until its allocation is final. They are waiting on Commonwealth allocations, which for 2025-26 were not set until 4 November 2025. On last year’s pattern, Western Australia is the next most likely to announce, and South Australia has already started with a narrow onshore window.
Has my state published its 2026-27 allocation?
Only Tasmania has published figures: 1,250 for the 190 and 800 for the 491. The Northern Territory says it has received an allocation but has not said how many places, and it now says it has sufficient applications for the year. Victoria has not published an allocation either, and neither has South Australia, which has opened a narrow Registration of Interest window.
Do I need to resubmit my Expression of Interest or Registration of Interest?
This one is worth checking rather than assuming, because the answer differs by jurisdiction and Tasmania has just changed its position. Migration Tasmania is actively suggesting that candidates who lodged in the past six months consider withdrawing and resubmitting under the new ranking. Queensland requires a new Registration of Interest each programme year but keeps Expressions of Interest for up to 715 days. Get advice before you touch a live submission.
What happens to an application I have already lodged?
Most jurisdictions assess lodged applications against the criteria that applied when they were lodged, then finalise them once new places arrive. New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory have each said applicants need take no further action.
What will Victorian state nomination cost in 2026-27?
Victoria lists a Registration of Interest at $66 including GST ($60 excluding) and each nomination application, for the 190 or the 491, at $198 including GST ($180 excluding). The nomination fee is payable only if you are invited and submit an application. These are Victoria’s published figures and the programme has not yet opened.
How many state nomination places are there nationally for 2026-27?
The national State/Territory Nominated planning level is 35,500 places, up from 33,000. How that divides between the eight jurisdictions has not been published.
Where this leaves you
Two months ago every programme in the country was shut. One is now open in the ordinary way, another opened and has already narrowed its intake, one has edited its eligibility criteria twice without saying so, another has withdrawn its fees, and Victoria has published its fees and ranking without yet opening. That is the pace this moves at, and it is why a page saved to your desktop in August is already wrong.
If you are sitting on a Tasmanian Registration of Interest, weighing Tasmania against a ranked state, or holding a New South Wales plan built on a residency limb you read a fortnight ago, those are decisions with consequences and the window on some of them is open right now.
We will keep this page current as each jurisdiction announces. Bookmark it, because the table above will change several times before all eight have published.
Book a migration consultation and we will map where you actually stand.
Andrew Heathcote is a Registered Migration Agent, MARN 0850840, and the principal of MigrationBuro. This article is general information current at 26 October 2026 and is not migration advice for your circumstances. State nomination settings change without notice. Verify current requirements with the relevant state or territory before acting.