State Migration Program Updates for January 2021
After a much-delayed release of invitation allocations, almost all of Australia's State and Territory Migration programs have restarted or will recommence shortly. Here we look at the latest news from January 2021.
Queensland State Nomination
Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (BSMQ) has announced they will reopen their 491 and 190 program
from 1 February 2021. Only new EOI applications lodged from this date will be considered.
There is no occupation list information available at time of publishing.
The '491 Small Business Owner' program and Business Migration program are already open. BSMQ will prioritise businesses which:
- create jobs, or
- support COVID recovery industries, or
- are located in a regional area
Northern Territory State Nomination
The Northern Territory Migration program is currently only open to onshore applicants currently living in the NT.
Student visa holders who have not completed their studies will
not be considered for nomination.
New South Wales State Nomination
From February 2021 the NSW Government will begin accepting applications for:
- all Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) visa (subclass 188) streams, and
- the Business Talent (Permanent) visa (subclass 132) Significant Business History stream
The Skilled Migration program is open, with invitation rounds focusing on applicants who are already in NSW who have nominated selected health, ICT, and engineering occupations.
Invitation rounds occur throughout the financial year, however, there are no set dates. NSW will not provide details on the points score, English level, or amount of work experience required in order to obtain an invitation.
Victoria State Nomination
The Victorian State Government has a set timetable for submission windows and when invitations will be issued. According to their website, the next window will be open
from 9am on 2 February to 5pm 8 February (Eastern Daylight Savings Time). Dates for following rounds in March, April, and May have also been published.
Australian Capital Territory State Nomination
The ACT program remains closed to offshore applicants, and is focused on those already living and working in the territory, in occupations on their 'Critical Skills List'.
The next matrix selection round will be on or around
9 February 2021.
Tasmania State Nomination
The Tasmanian program opened
at 1pm on 29 January 2021. They advise that applications lodged before 5pm (AEDT) on 28 January will only be considered if the applicant was engaged in a critical role, as defined on their website. New nomination requirements are also available on the TAS Government website.
They further advise that approximately 40% of skilled visa nomination places have been used.
Western Australia State Nomination
The WA Government issued their first round of invitations on 15 January 2021, with a total of 349 places as follows:
- 178 invitations for a 190 visa
- 171 invitations for a 491 visa
The vast majority of applications went to EOIs in the 'Graduate Stream - Higher Education Graduates' (PhD, Masters, Bachelor degree graduates).
South Australia State Nomination
*UPDATED 4 FEBRUARY 2021*
Skilled and Business Migration South Australia will open their nomination program
from 8am Monday 8 February 2021 (Adelaide time), with a new occupation list and requirements published on Friday 5 February.
The program will focus on applicants already living and working in South Australia, as well as international graduates and those who can contribute to South Australia's priority growth industry sectors.
Migrants will be able to apply directly to South Australia for consideration.
