SkillSelect Invitation Rounds in 2026-27: The Next Round and Where Processing Has Reached

Invitation rounds: what is confirmed

SkillSelect is the online system where people lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the Skilled Independent (189), Skilled Nominated (190) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (491) visas. Home Affairs periodically runs an invitation round. People are invited in order of points score and, within a score, by the date they reached that score. An EOI is not an application: it is an expression of interest, and an invitation allows the person to lodge the visa application.

On 9 October 2026 Home Affairs' SkillSelect banner said: "The next invitation round for the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa will be held on 15 October 2026. Please ensure your Expression of Interest is up to date and that all the information you have provided is accurate."

That is the only round date the department had announced when we read the banner on 12 October. It does not say how many invitations will be issued, what the points cut-off will be or whether any 491 round will be held at the same time. Those are published after the round, if at all.

Rounds so far in 2026-27

We found no confirmed 189 or 491 invitation round for July, August or September 2026. Home Affairs' invitation round outcomes page is rendered by script, so we could not read its table directly. Law firms and news outlets carry round summaries, but their figures for 2025-26 rounds conflict with each other, and we do not repeat them here. If you need the points cut-off and numbers from a past round, read the Home Affairs outcomes page in a browser.

One firm expected a round by 30 September 2026, and it did not occur. A news site reported on 8 October that Home Affairs said a round would occur by 31 October. The official banner, which gives 15 October, is more specific and is the one to prefer.

The 190 and 491 work differently. For those visas a state or territory nominates the person, and the state decides who it invites to apply for nomination. For 2026-27, most states are still closed or waiting for their allocation; see our guide to which states are open.

Allocation dates: how long a lodged application waits

Once an application is lodged, Home Affairs decides it according to the priority order in a Ministerial Direction. For the skilled visas that is Direction 121 (the 482) or Direction 122 (the 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888), both in force since 19 September 2026. Each visa page now carries a banner saying which lodgement month the department is currently processing in each priority group.

The banners read on 12 October, dated 1 and 2 October 2026, said:

• 189: June 2026 for the priority sectors and for primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied; November 2025 for primary applicants outside Australia, whether or not their application is combined with another person's.
• 190: March 2026 for the priority sectors; January 2026 for primary applicants in Australia; February 2025 for those outside Australia.
• 491: March 2025 for the priority sectors and for primary applicants in Australia; February 2025 for those outside Australia.
• 191: February 2026 for primary applicants in Australia; March 2026 for those outside Australia whose application is not combined with another person's; January 2026 for all other offshore applicants.
• 482 (Skills in Demand): February 2026 for the priority sectors; July 2026 for the Specialist Skills stream; January 2026 for applicants in Australia; October 2025 for the two offshore groups.
• 494: September 2025 for the priority sectors, applicants in Australia and the single offshore group; October 2025 for all other offshore applicants.
• 186: July 2025 for the priority sectors; March 2025 for applicants in Australia; July 2024 for the two offshore groups.

Each banner says the dates apply to applications "lodged in or before" the month shown, and that while the department moves to the new priorities "published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate. Some timeframes may temporarily increase as applications are reprioritised." The pages are updated roughly monthly, so read the current banner, not these dates.

How Directions 121 and 122 change who is processed first

Direction 122, which covers the permanent and provisional skilled visas, sets four tiers: primary applicants in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources occupations, or in occupations related to law enforcement and defence interests; then all other primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied; then primary applicants outside Australia whose application is not combined with another person's; then everyone else. Direction 121, for the 482, has the same pattern with an extra tier for the Specialist Skills stream. The full order, and how the Directions define each sector by occupation code, is in our guide to Directions 121 and 122.

Two points matter when you read the allocation dates:

• The tiers are about visa applications, not EOIs. Being in a priority sector does not change how SkillSelect ranks an EOI. It affects the order in which a lodged application is decided.
• The Directions do not change eligibility. Direction 122 says it "does not change the composition of the skilled migration occupation lists", and applicants must still meet the Act and Regulations.

The Directions apply to applications already on hand as well as new ones, which is why the allocation dates moved when they took effect on 19 September.

What the dates do and do not tell you

An allocation date is a measure of where the department's work has reached, and it moves for reasons the department does not give. A few cautions on reading it:

• The month is the lodgement month. It is not a processing time in months. An application lodged in a month after the date may still be waiting.
• The groups matter. A date for onshore applicants does not apply to an offshore applicant.
• A date can move forward or temporarily back as applications are reprioritised, as the banners themselves say.
• A date does not predict a grant. Health, character and other checks, requests for more information and the individual file determine the outcome.

The jumps between groups are large. On 1 and 2 October the 189 showed June 2026 for onshore and priority-sector applications but November 2025 for offshore ones, and the 186 showed July 2025 for the priority sectors but July 2024 for the offshore groups. That is the visible result of the onshore-first ordering in the Directions.

What has not been confirmed

As at 12 October 2026 we have not been able to confirm:

• The number of invitations or the points cut-off for the 15 October round. These are published after the round.
• Whether any 491 or 190 invitation round will follow, or when.
• Whether the points test will change. The Minister said on 17 September 2026 that it has been "redone", but no new points table or start date has been published, and Schedule 6D is unchanged as at 12 October.
• Round-by-round figures for 2025-26 and earlier, which are reported inconsistently by secondary sources.
• Any change to the allocation dates after 2 October, which Home Affairs updates on its visa pages.

The SkillSelect banner and each visa page are the places to check for current information. This page is general information only. A registered migration agent can say how the order applies to a specific EOI or application.

When is the next SkillSelect invitation round?

Home Affairs' SkillSelect banner, updated 9 October 2026, says the next Skilled Independent (subclass 189) round will be held on 15 October 2026. It does not give the number of invitations or the points cut-off.

Has there been a 189 or 491 round since July 2026?

We found no confirmed 189 or 491 round for July to September 2026. The department's outcomes table is script-rendered and could not be read directly, so check the Home Affairs invitation rounds page in a browser for the record.

What does an allocation date like 'November 2025' mean?

It means Home Affairs is currently deciding applications that were lodged in or before that month for that group, such as primary applicants outside Australia whose application is not combined with another person's. It is a lodgement month, not a processing time.

Does being in a priority sector help me get an invitation?

The priority sectors in Directions 121 and 122 affect the order of processing for lodged visa applications, not how SkillSelect ranks an EOI. The Directions do not change eligibility or the skilled occupation lists.

Why is the 189 date for offshore applicants earlier than for onshore ones?

Direction 122 puts primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied ahead of those who were outside Australia, apart from the priority-sector tier, which comes first. Home Affairs shows separate dates for each group.

Do the 190 and 491 have invitation rounds?

They use SkillSelect EOIs, but a state or territory nominates the person, and each state runs its own process and invitations within its allocation. See our state nomination status page.