Interim State Nomination Allocations 2020 Table

State/Territory190 visa nomination allocation491 visa nomination allocationBusiness Innovation and Investment 132 and 188 visa Nomination AllocationTotalPercentage of total allocation
ACT2504542996%
NSW55015020090017%
VIC600200400120023%
QLD20020016056011%
NT808051653%
WA20040703106%
SA300600180108021%
TAS250400565513%
Total2430171510245169n/a

We expect this to be publicly available soon in the  ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​FOI disclosure logs 2020​.

We have been keeping on top of the 2020 state nomination changes in our updated blog here: State & Territory Nominations updates for 190 and 491 visas - VIC, NSW, TAS, ACT and SA

What does this mean?

The interim allocations are focused on relieving the impact of the pandemic (in both a health and economic sense) on Australia.

Some states have received a more generous allocation.

Given how deeply affected Victoria has been by the pandemic, it is understandable that their allocation is the highest at 23%. This will enable them to firstly bring more healthcare workers into the state to handle the health situation and secondly, to attract more business investment into the Victorian business and investment environment.

Overall, it is dissappointing how low the interim allocations are. This will be dissappointing for many migrants and prospective migrants.

However, we note that it is generally expected that further allocations will be given following the 6 October 2020 budget. These allocations are intended to only last approximately 1 month.

South Australia Second Highest Interim Allocation

With 21% of the total interim allocation, South Australia is the second highest, ahead of even New South Wales.

Particularly among the regional states, South Australia is quite attractive compared to others.

190 visa and 491 visa Interim Allocation

A total of 2,430 190 visa state nominations have been allocated and a total of 1,715 state nominations have been allocated.

It is interesting to note that permanent migration is emphasised by the balance of these interim allocations.

Business visa Interim Allocation

In total, there are 1024 nominations allocated for the business program.

Most of these have been given to Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia (in that order).

We note the particularly low business program allocations for Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory and Tasmania.

This business visa interim allocation news comes soon after the news that 188 visa holders are now permitted to enter Australia.