Victoria & NSW State Nomination 2026-27: Opening Dates, Allocations and How to Be Decision-Ready

Current as at 3 July 2026. State and territory allocations for FY2026-27 had not been published at the time of writing, and Victoria’s program was not yet open. Figures below reflect the last confirmed settings; confirm current allocations and criteria on the relevant state nomination website and at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before acting.

State nomination is the quiet engine of skilled migration. A nomination adds points — five for a subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa, fifteen for a subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa — and, more importantly, it opens invitation pathways that the purely points-tested subclass 189 stream does not. For 2026-27, the national pool grew, but the state-level detail that candidates actually need is still landing.

What we know for 2026-27

The 2026-27 permanent Migration Program lifted the national State and Territory Nominated allocation to 35,500 places, up from 33,000 the year before. That is the headline. The detail — how those places are divided between Victoria, New South Wales and the other states and territories, and how each state splits them between 190 and 491 — had not been published as at 3 July 2026. History suggests interim allocations and program openings typically arrive between July and September.

The 2025-26 state figures are shown as context only. They are not a promise of 2026-27 numbers, which the states set independently once the Commonwealth confirms allocations. Treat them as indicative.

How state nomination actually works

Both Victoria and New South Wales run a two-step model. First you submit a registration of interest or expression of interest to the state, usually through the state’s own portal in addition to your SkillSelect EOI. The state then selects candidates it wishes to invite — against its own occupation priorities and criteria, which are narrower than the Commonwealth skilled occupation list. Only if the state invites you do you submit the formal nomination application, and only after nomination do you receive the SkillSelect invitation to apply for the visa itself.

The consequence is that state nomination is selective, not first-come-first-served in the way a queue is. States prioritise occupations facing genuine shortages, candidates already living and working in the state, and — for regional 491 — candidates committed to regional areas. A high points score helps but does not by itself secure a nomination if your occupation is not a state priority.

190 versus 491: which pathway

The choice between the two is not only about points.

• Subclass 190 is a permanent visa from grant. It adds 5 points, and it ties you to living and working in the nominating state, but there is no fixed regional-residence obligation of the kind 491 imposes.
• Subclass 491 is a five-year provisional regional visa. It adds 15 points — often the difference that gets a candidate invited — but it requires living and working in designated regional Australia, with permanent residence available later through the subclass 191 pathway once the income and residence requirements are met.

For many Melbourne and Sydney based candidates, the honest strategic question is whether they are genuinely willing to relocate regionally for 491’s 15 points, or whether 190 (or a 189 invitation) is the realistic route. That decision should be made deliberately, because it shapes everything from where you take a job to where you rent.

How to be decision-ready before the rounds open

The candidates who do well when a program opens are the ones whose file is already built. The window between an announcement and a closing round can be short. Before Victoria and New South Wales open for 2026-27, we recommend having the following in hand:

• A current, valid skills assessment for your nominated occupation. Assessments take weeks to months and expire — check yours is valid through the likely invitation window.
• English test results at the level you are claiming points for. If you are claiming Proficient or Superior English, the test result must be current and at the required band.
• An accurate points position. Model your score carefully — age brackets, employment history caps, partner points — so your EOI claims are ones you can prove. Overstated claims are a leading cause of nomination and visa refusal.
• Evidence of your connection to the state. Employment in the state, a job offer, study history, or genuine commitment to a regional area for 491 — assembled as documents, not intentions.
• A realistic occupation check. Confirm your occupation is one the state is likely to prioritise, rather than assuming that appearing on the Commonwealth list is enough.

You can sanity-check your points position with our points calculator, and model the full application cost — including the state nomination fee, which varies by state — with the fee estimator. Note that on 1 July 2026 the visa application charge for both 190 and 491 rose to $6,140, on top of any state nomination fee.

A note on points and timing

The skilled points test did not change on 1 July 2026 — the current Schedule 6D table still applies, and our calculator reflects it. A ground-up rewrite of the points test is under consultation, with a new test targeted for 1 July 2027, but nothing about it changes how you should approach a 2026-27 nomination. If anything, it is a reason to progress a well-founded application now rather than wait for settings that are not yet law.

Get your nomination strategy set now

State nomination rewards preparation and punishes hesitation. Our skilled migration team advises Melbourne and Sydney based candidates on occupation selection, points optimisation, the 190-versus-491 decision, and building a decision-ready file before the program opens. If you are aiming for a 2026-27 nomination, book a consultation and we will map your pathway so you are ready the day the rounds begin.