State Nomination 2026-27: Which States and Territories Are Open, Closed or Waiting

How the allocation works

State nomination places are not set by each state. The Department of Home Affairs gives each state and territory an allocation for the 190 and the 491 for the program year, and a state can nominate only as many people as it has places. When the places run out, the state closes. That is why several states closed during 2025-26 even though they had not planned to.

A nomination is not a visa. After a state nominates someone, that person still has to lodge a visa application with Home Affairs and meet the visa criteria. Under the Schedule 6D points test, a 190 nomination adds 5 points and a 491 nomination adds 15 points. A 189 applicant gets no such points, which is why many people look at state programs.

The Commonwealth has not changed the overall permanent program size: it is 185,000 places for 2026-27. As reported by several migration firms after the May 2026 Budget, the planning levels for the skill stream include 35,500 for state and territory nominated visas and about 14,100 for the regional 491 (one source gives 14,110 and another 14,010). Home Affairs' own planning-levels page did not load its figures when we fetched it, so treat those two numbers as reported, not confirmed. The state allocations are carved out of those national numbers, and not every state has been told its figure yet.

At a glance

Status as at 12 October 2026:

• Tasmania: open. Registrations of interest from 17 August 2026, weekly invitation rounds from 20 August.
• Northern Territory: open from 21 August 2026.
• ACT: guidelines updated, 2026-27 allocation not yet announced.
• New South Wales: closed, program settings under review.
• Queensland: closed, waiting for the Commonwealth to set allocations.
• Victoria: closed to new registrations of interest, no 2026-27 program announced (reported).
• South Australia: registrations of interest closed on 2 June 2026, no 2026-27 opening announced.
• Western Australia: no 2026-27 program announced on the Migration WA news page.

The sections below give the detail for each. Status can change in a day, because states often open and close with little notice.

Tasmania: open

Tasmania's own website refused automated access when we checked, so the figures here come from migration firms and agencies that read the state's published summary of its 2026-27 changes (the state publishes a document titled "2026-27 Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program Summary of Changes, August 2026"). Check the state's page for the current text.

As reported:

• Registrations of interest opened on 17 August 2026 and weekly invitation rounds began on Thursday 20 August 2026.
• The 2026-27 allocation is 2,050 places: 1,250 for the 190 and 800 for the 491. That is 200 more than the previous year, most of it in the 491.
• The nomination application fee is $387 ($425.70 including GST). Lodging a registration of interest is free.
• The 491 "Overseas Skilled Occupation Profile" pathway is not being offered this year. The reported exception is overseas health and education professionals who hold a Tasmanian job offer, who can be considered for the 190.
• Scoring changed. One firm reports that the score for 9 to 12 months of matching employment in Tasmania went from 6 to 25 points.

An invitation is a step in a points-ranked process, not a promise. In its reporting of a 3 September round, one firm gave 59 invitations (34 for the 190 and 25 for the 491), which shows how few places move in any one week. That figure is as reported and is not from the state's own page.

Northern Territory: open

The Northern Territory government's migration pages also refused automated access. What follows is as reported by migration firms, which point to the Territory's announcement that the 2026-27 program opened on 21 August 2026.

• Reported allocation: 1,850 places, made up of 850 for the 190 and 1,000 for the 491 (up from 800). One tracker says the Territory has not published the split, so treat 850 and 1,000 as reported figures.
• The offshore NT Priority Occupation stream is reported as closed because of a backlog.
• Full-time work is reported as 35 or more hours a week with an NT employer, with part-time jobs able to be combined.
• Remote work for an employer outside the NT generally no longer counts, as reported.
• Graduates relying on a job search reportedly now need 12 months of NT residence after finishing the course (previously 6).
• Offshore applicants in the family stream must show the relationship with a written statement or a family tree, as reported.

The Territory's criteria are detailed and change between years, which is why the original NT page is the only safe reference for a specific case.

ACT: guidelines out, allocation pending

The ACT government site was not reachable by automated access, so this section is attributed to migration firms that reported the ACT's August 2026 guideline update.

As reported, the total nomination cost is now $350 excluding GST, made up of a $25 Canberra Matrix registration and a $325 nomination fee. A Canberra Matrix registration is valid for six months and can be extended to twelve. The update also adds expedited processing after an invitation for urgent cases and clarifies what counts as a trade certificate and that ACT study points require tertiary-level study.

The 2026-27 allocation was reported as still under negotiation, with an updated occupation list expected "in the coming weeks". The 2025-26 allocation, reported as 800 places for each of the 190 and the 491, was used up, and no Matrix invitation round had been held since 11 June 2026. If the ACT announces its program, the announcement will be on the ACT government migration pages.

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia: closed

New South Wales. The NSW Government's 190 and 491 pages (read on 12 October 2026) say applications are "now closed for the current program year, as all available nomination places have been fully allocated". Applications already submitted continue to be assessed and finalised once new places are allocated by Home Affairs, and applicants are not required to do anything. The page adds that NSW is "currently reviewing the program settings and eligibility criteria for the next program year". No 2026-27 allocation has been published there.

Queensland. Migration Queensland's website says its 2025-26 registrations of interest are closed because all places were filled, and that it is "currently awaiting advice from the Australian Government regarding future program settings, including nomination allocations". People who were invited and have lodged continue to be assessed and finalised once new places are allocated. Migration firms report that Queensland withdrew its published nomination fees on 19 August 2026 and is developing a 2026-27 occupation list; that part is not on the page we read.

Victoria. Victoria's Live in Melbourne site refused automated access. Migration firms (Top10 Migration, 15 September, and Migration Buro, 24 September) report that new registrations of interest have been closed since 28 April 2026 and that no 2026-27 program or allocation has been announced. The 2025-26 allocation is reported as 3,400.

South Australia. Move to South Australia's news page lists "Registrations of Interest closing 2 June 2026 for the 2025-26 program year" and invitation notices up to May 2026. It shows no 2026-27 opening as at 12 October. Separately, its two Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) were extended on 25 June 2026 until 30 September 2026 while a new five-year statewide DAMA is negotiated. A further notice on 21 September 2026 extended both until 31 January 2027, with terms unchanged since the June 2026 variation.

Western Australia

Migration WA's news page, read on 12 October 2026, has no item about a 2026-27 State Nominated Migration Program. The latest item is dated 3 July 2026 and says Goldfields employers can keep using the Goldfields DAMA until 31 December 2026.

For comparison, the 2025-26 pattern on the same page was: an interim allocation notice on 8 September 2025, a 2025-26 program announcement on 29 October 2025, an additional interim allocation on 5 November 2025 and invitation rounds from late November and December 2025. That history is not a forecast for 2026-27, but it shows that WA can open well after the year begins and that interim allocations can arrive in stages.

What people do while a state is closed

A closed state does not change what the visa criteria are. Here are the things people in this position commonly look at, none of them a recommendation:

• Their state's own page. Opening dates, allocations and occupation lists are announced there first. Some states publish a notice a few days before opening.
• Whether their occupation is on that state's list. A state's list can differ from the national one and can change between program years.
• Whether a skills assessment, English test and registration of interest stay valid. Assessment and test validity dates can run out while a program is shut. Check the issuing body's rules.
• Other pathways. The 189, employer-sponsored visas and, for some people, a Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) endorsement do not depend on a state allocation. Whether any of them fit is a question for the visa criteria and, if wanted, a registered migration agent.
• The processing order after nomination. Once a nominated person lodges a 190 or 491 application, Ministerial Direction 122 sets the order in which Home Affairs considers it. See our guide to Directions 121 and 122.

A first-time applicant should also know that being invited by a state does not mean being granted a visa: the person still has to lodge and meet every visa requirement.

What has not been confirmed

As at 12 October 2026 these points are not confirmed by an official source we could read:

• The exact 2026-27 allocations for Tasmania, the NT and every other state. The Tasmanian and NT figures above are reported by firms, not read on the government pages.
• When, or whether, NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT will announce their 2026-27 programs.
• Whether the Commonwealth will change how it splits places between states.
• Any 2026-27 change to the 190 and 491 points or eligibility rules at the federal level. The Minister's 17 September 2026 announcement said the points test is being redone, but no new points table has been published.

We will update this page when states publish. This page is general information only and does not assess anyone's case.

Which states are accepting 190 and 491 applications for 2026-27?

As at 12 October 2026, Tasmania (open from 17 August) and the Northern Territory (open from 21 August) are reported as open. NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia are closed, and Western Australia and the ACT have not announced their 2026-27 programs or allocations.

How many nomination places does Tasmania have in 2026-27?

Migration firms report 2,050 places, split 1,250 for the 190 and 800 for the 491, with a nomination fee of $387. The state's own page refused automated access, so check migration.tas.gov.au for the current figures.

Why are NSW and Queensland closed in October?

Both say all 2025-26 places were allocated. NSW says it is reviewing settings for the next year, and Queensland says it is waiting for the Commonwealth to set allocations. Both continue to process applicants who were already invited and lodged.

Does a state nomination guarantee a visa?

No. A nomination adds points (5 for the 190, 15 for the 491 under Schedule 6D) and is a requirement for the visa, but the applicant must still lodge a visa application and meet the health, character and other criteria.

Are the places for the 190 and 491 set by the states?

No. Home Affairs gives each state and territory an allocation for the program year, and each state decides how to use it within its own program. When the places are used up the state closes.

Where do I find the official word on each state?

On the state's own migration site: Migration Tasmania, the NT government, ACT Government, NSW Government, Migration Queensland, Live in Melbourne, Move to South Australia and Migration WA. Home Affairs publishes the national planning levels.