State nomination visas 190 and 491 are reduced by around 70%

Numbers of allocations in 2022-23:

State	Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa	Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa	A total of 491 and 190 allocations
ACT	2025	2025	4,050
NSW	9,108	6,168	15,276
NT	600	1400	2,000
QLD	3000	2000	5,000
SA	3,000	5,800	8,800
TAS	2150	2100	4,250
VIC	12,900	2000	14,900
WA	5,350	2790	8,140
Total	38,133	24,283	62,416

Numbers of allocations in 2023-24:

State	Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa	Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa	A total of 491 and 190 allocations
ACT	600	600	1,200
NSW	2,650	1,500	4,150
NT	250	400	650
QLD	900	650	1,550
SA	1,100	1,200	2,300
TAS	600	600	1,200
VIC	2,700	600	3,300
WA	1,500	850	2,350
Total	10,300	6,400	16,700

The state with the highest reduction was Victoria, with a combined cut of 74.53% for visas 190 and 491. Following closely was New South Wales with 73.29%, Tasmania with 71.76%, South Australia with 71.32%, Western Australia with 70.75%, Australian Capital Territory with 70.37%, Queensland with 68.75%, and with the lowest but still substantial reduction, Northern Territory with 64.88%. When all states are considered, the overall average reduction in state nomination visas 190 and 491 for 2023-24 is 73.32%, compared to 2022-23, as you can see in the table below:

Percentage cuts:

State	190 Cut by	491 Cut by	Total cut %
VIC	79.07%	70.00%	74.53%
NSW	70.90%	75.68%	73.29%
TAS	72.09%	71.43%	71.76%
SA	63.33%	79.31%	71.32%
WA	71.96%	69.53%	70.75%
ACT	70.37%	70.37%	70.37%
QLD	70.00%	67.50%	68.75%
NT	58.33%	71.43%	64.88%
Total	72.99%	73.64%	73.32%

Some states have already announced their reductions, while we are still waiting for news from other states. We will update as soon as we have more information.

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory announced today that it has a 70% reduction in allocations. It will be holding its first invitation round on 29 September.

South Australia

South Australia has announced that the state government’s allocation of 2,300 nomination places contrasts significantly with the 8,800 places assigned in the previous year. Despite this change, South Australia remains committed to supporting priority industries with the limited places available, including our focus on attracting overseas skilled migrants in critical sectors such as Health and Defence.

Updates on the 2023–2024 General Skills Migration (GSM) program are expected soon, with the finalization of GSM applications from the 2022–2023 financial year in the coming weeks.

Western Australia

Premier Roger Cook is calling on the Federal Government to reverse a decision to slash WA’s nominated skilled migrant intake by 70%. In the Western Australian, he says that workers are “desperately” needed to build new homes and fill a range of jobs.

Based on the new allocations, Western Australia’s skilled nominated visa allocation will drop from 5350 to 1500, while skilled work regional visa will plummet from 2790 to 850.

Sources:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/migration-program-planning-levels?fbclid=IwAR0yKGvYqtJrAPKMoYngxdZoGG1mQre2rFawfz2XAWYSvuXnKgfDpZxG9TU

https://www.migration.tas.gov.au/news/2023-24_program_allocations

https://migration.sa.gov.au/news-events/skilled-and-business-migration-update-2023-24-nomination-allocations

https://www.act.gov.au/migration/skilled-migrants

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