Earlier today, according to a Guardian report, unions and employers have reached an agreement to support the Government in increasing the immigration quota by 40,000 in the October Budget update — that is, lifting it from the current 160,000 to 200,000, with the 200,000 quota to be maintained for at least the next 2 years! Combined with yesterday’s news of major increases to state sponsorship quotas, it’s fair to say that those who have been waiting for skilled migration have finally welcomed spring! For more analysis of the new financial year’s state sponsorship and immigration quotas, tune in to the Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) livestream at 4pm! (see banner at the top)
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Last night, the Department of Home Affairs’ website published the new financial year’s transitional state sponsorship quotas for each state. The long-awaited state quotas for this financial year have finally arrived, albeit a little late.
What’s exciting is that this financial year’s 190 quotas across the states total as many as 30,610 — nearly 20,000 more than last year! And don’t forget, these are only transitional quotas; there may be further increases after the October Budget!
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The Department of Home Affairs updated last financial year’s state sponsorship quotas in March this year. We’ve also compared this financial year’s quota numbers with last year’s — the specific data can be seen in the table below ▼▼▼
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Looking at this year’s quota numbers, especially for the 190 — going from 15,000+ last financial year to 30,000+ this financial year — it has almost doubled.
The 491 has changed relatively little, with each state’s quota going up or down. It can be seen that this financial year the 190 greatly outweighs the 491, at almost a 2:1 ratio — clearly showing that the newly elected Labor Government hopes to help more people obtain PR more quickly and directly, rather than keeping them on temporary visas.
Below we’ll go through each state’s quotas in turn.
Victoria:
Victoria can be called the biggest winner of this financial year — as you can see from the table above, both the 190 and the 491 have grown almost 3-fold!
This financial year Victoria’s application thresholds are also relatively lower, allowing more occupations to apply — all occupations on the occupation list will meet the application requirements, STEMM Skills are no longer required, and working in a target sector is enough to apply. Both onshore and offshore applicants can lodge applications. (For details click here: Victoria opens new financial year state sponsorship, relaxes eligible occupations! Tasmania updates transitional quotas, 190 almost doubles!)
New South Wales:
NSW’s 190 and 491 combined this financial year total around 12,000 — over 4,000 more quotas than last financial year. Such a high quota count this year is a very good sign, potentially meaning the application thresholds won’t be as high as before — otherwise it would be difficult to fill so many places.
Of course, we’re still waiting for NSW’s formal list and occupation requirements to be announced. The state government has said it’s expected soon, so keep an eye out.
Western Australia:
WA is the second biggest winner this financial year after Victoria. At the start of last financial year, WA only received about 1,000 190 quotas and around 1,000 491 quotas, with some additional quotas obtained later in the year. The WA government previously mentioned wanting 5,000 quotas this financial year, and that has indeed been achieved — this financial year’s 190 totals 5,350, and the 491 reaches 2,790!
For many interstate students, WA is very attractive this year, with plenty of job opportunities. Add to that the fact that fewer students went to WA to study during the two years of the pandemic — both WA’s pre-pandemic policies and the fact that WA’s borders remained closed after the pandemic began significantly affected international students studying locally — WA is now desperately short of people. On top of that, WA doesn’t have many local students to absorb these quotas, so we believe more interstate students can go down the WA state sponsorship path this financial year.
Tasmania:
Tasmania’s 190 quota has also increased a lot this financial year, almost doubling. Considering Tasmania itself has a small population — only about 500,000 or so — the 190 quota number is not small compared to other larger states. Fewer students have gone to Tasmania to study in the past two years, and the new financial year’s policies have been adjusted somewhat. (See: Victoria opens new financial year state sponsorship, relaxes eligible occupations! Tasmania updates transitional quotas, 190 almost doubles!) With ample quotas available, students meeting the minimum threshold still have a very good chance.
However, the 491 quota has dropped significantly this year, from 2,200 straight down to 1,350. If this trend continues, students going down the Tasmania 491 path will face a tougher situation with relatively greater pressure. Of course, we also hope Tasmania can obtain more quotas later on.
Canberra:
ACT’s 190 has also seen a small increase this financial year, with the 491 up by more than 500. For ACT’s own size, this is a reasonable number. But compared to other states, the quota is still on the lower side, and competition will still be very fierce. Especially with the backlog accumulated at ACT over the past two years of the pandemic, and given that since the second half of last year the Canberra state government has been very actively inviting overseas applicants, the short-term outlook may improve somewhat, but compared to other states it’s not quite as “favourable”.
Queensland:
Queensland continues to be not particularly friendly to local graduates this financial year. Looking at quota numbers, Queensland has still increased quite a lot compared to last year, with the 190 growing from around 1,200 to 3,000 — more than doubling. From the data, there are still opportunities, but in terms of the stated requirements, Queensland’s thresholds remain very high. The work stream will also open to overseas applicants this year, so although Queensland’s quota has increased, the difficulty remains significant.
South Australia:
South Australia has barely changed this financial year compared to previous years — the 190 count has increased a little, the 491 has decreased a little, and overall it is relatively stable. South Australia has always had quite a lot of quotas itself, with the 190 and 491 combined reaching nearly 6,000 — not a small amount compared to other states. SA’s policies this year will most likely be maintained, without major changes.
Northern Territory:
The Northern Territory’s policy has always been relatively stable. There aren’t many local schools, and there’s no specific effort to attract international students to study locally. You could say NT’s quota has always maintained a “reasonable” size, so although the NT quota has increased, the thresholds essentially haven’t changed much.
Overall:
From the data, the new financial year still offers many options, though there will also be significant competition between states. Most states haven’t issued formal invitations for this financial year yet — you can see the state sponsorship status for each state in our summary below ▼▼▼
Many people will ask why Victoria and WA are the “big winners” this financial year. A big part of this is that these two states contributed a great deal to Labor winning the federal election — WA in particular played a huge role in helping Labor secure a majority in the House of Representatives. Additionally, Victoria is also going to the polls this year, and Victoria has long been governed by Labor — this may be an indirect factor in making Victoria a “winner”.
Of course, we know the question you care about most is: Will these transitional quotas change significantly later on?
Each state will indeed make some adjustments afterwards, but based on the data we’re seeing now, the numbers are already very high. Take Victoria for example — the 190 quota is already at 9,000, which is extremely high. Some people say even more will be given later — could it reach five figures? The likelihood of that is actually not great. Adjustments will indeed be made after the October Budget, but we believe these will only be fine-tuning, not major adjustments.
Of course, there are still questions many people care about, such as whether ACT 190 will invite more applicants, or whether Tasmania 491 will invite more. These remain possible.
Next, the main things to watch are the Jobs Summit in September and the new Budget in October. Based on the current state sponsorship quotas and the report at the start of this article, it’s essentially locked in that the immigration visa grants quota will grow to 180,000–200,000 this financial year.
Current state sponsorship status for each state
(Updated afternoon of 17 August 2022)
NSW: The occupation list and specific application requirements will be announced shortly (we don’t recommend lodging an application before the financial year’s policy is announced); no pre-invitations have been issued this financial year.
Victoria: Victoria announced last week that it was opening new financial year sponsorship applications, allowing more occupations to apply, with both onshore and offshore applicants able to lodge applications. More information: Victoria opens new financial year state sponsorship, relaxes eligible occupations! Tasmania updates transitional quotas, 190 almost doubles!
Canberra: ACT’s 2022–23 transitional quotas are 800 for the 190 and 1,920 for the 491, totalling 2,720.
Queensland: Queensland previously announced at an information session the main thrust of this financial year’s policy: relaxing requirements for some local graduates, opening the work stream to overseas applicants (onshore applicants see essentially no change), and reopening 188E for business migration. The application channel remains closed for now; applications can only open after nomination quotas are received. More information: Queensland state sponsorship launches this financial year! Three pieces of good news — relaxing rules for local graduates, reopening to overseas, restarting 188E! The state government expects to receive quotas in August!
South Australia: The occupation list and application requirements will be announced shortly; the application channel remains closed for now, and no pre-invitations have been issued this financial year.
Tasmania: On 11 August, Tasmania announced its 2022–23 transitional quotas: 2,000 for the 190 (last financial year: 1,100) and 1,350 for the 491 (last financial year: 2,200). It has also updated the various lists and Critical Role.
Western Australia: The occupation list and application requirements have been finalised and announced, favouring local graduates! The first round of pre-invitations has already been issued, with accounting clearing at a minimum of 80 points, and invitations going out for engineering, IT and various other professions. More information: This state sponsorship financial year’s first-round invitation rain — accounting grabbed at 80 points?
Northern Territory: NT has already received its transitional quotas. Details: NT confirms receipt of transitional quotas! This financial year opens all occupations on the Department of Home Affairs’ lists, emphasising the importance of work!
In addition, the MINT program has been confirmed to be open to all migration occupations, and the newly established MINT graduate stream has begun accepting applications. More information: MINT program significantly expanded in the new financial year! All migration occupations eligible to apply, including many finance/IT/engineering/marketing roles! International graduates may also have opportunities!
