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📙 Daily Activity Report: 17 Dec 2025

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Hello, planning to come to Aus for my masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Have atleast 3 years experience in my own country. I am confused which state to go with the intention of PR. My long term career goal is Environmental Engineer. My partner will pursue IT and a designated career. Need to choose a territory good for both of us with long term goal.

Migration Queensland Closure Dates

Migration Queensland will be closed for the holiday period, from 25 December 2025 - 1 January 2026. Please continue to use the Migration Queensland contact us page, noting that requests and enquiries leading up to and during this closure will experience longer processing times.

Applicants who have already received an invitation to apply and require a decision before 5 January 2026 (for a visa expiry or document expiry) should contact Migration Queensland as soon as possible for assistance.

Skilled applicants who were invited to apply on 15 December 2025 will have until Friday 9 January 2026 to submit their application documents and pay their application processing fee.

Registrations of Interest can still be submitted during this time.

📙 Daily Activity Report: 16 Dec 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for Australian skilled visas (subclasses 189, 190, and 491) based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Trends and Patterns in S56 Requests

Priority Occupations (Health and Teaching): Registered Nurses and Early Childhood Teachers continue to receive expedited processing, with grants issued within 1-4 months of lodgement. Most priority occupation cases received direct grants without S56 requests.

Non-Priority Occupations: Processing times for non-priority occupations ranged from 10-24 months. Common S56 requests included: - Remedicals and PCC renewals (most frequent for applications lodged in early 2024) - Employment evidence for offshore applicants - AFP checks for immigration purposes (not reused from previous visas) - Polio vaccination requests - Health undertakings for specific cases

Family Applications: Multiple family applications (sizes 3-4) were granted, with processing times consistent with individual applications in the same occupation category.

🔴 Disclaimer: This blog post is an AI summary of the comments below and may be refreshed as more comments arrive. Due to the nature of crowdsourced and AI-generated content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. This information should be consumed with caution.

📊 This data represents a subset of total visa activity. Only DHA and individual states have complete grant and invitation data.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

Canberra Matrix Invitation Round: 10 December 2025

The ACT has a fixed number of nomination places available each month (pro-rata against the annual allocation). The highest ranked Matrix in each occupation were invited to apply for ACT nomination. The cut‑off for selection depended on the remaining monthly allocation, the date and time of Matrix submission, occupation cap and demand. The greater the demand for an occupation, the higher the rank of the Matrix score invited.

The minimum ranking score is an indication only and not a guarantee that an invitation was issued. Invitations will not be issued if you have an active application in the system; or if you have previously received ACT nomination.

Canberra Matrix submissions in occupations in critical sectors may be prioritised.

Requests for ranking information Invitations are not guaranteed. We will not respond to requests for information on ranking or the likelihood of receiving an invitation. Matrix will not be prioritised or issued invitations based on personal circumstances. This includes, but is not limited to, visa expiry dates or a change in circumstances including critical birthdays.

Matrix nominating Doctorate Streamlined Pathway - 190 nominations: 53 invitations - 491 nominations: 6 invitations

Canberra residents

Matrix nominating Small Business Owners - 190 nominations: 19 invitations - 190 minimum matrix score: 105 - 491 nominations: 28 invitations - 491 minimum matrix score: 95

Matrix nominating 457 / 482 visa holders - 190 nominations: 52 invitations - 491 nominations: 19 invitations

Matrix nominating Critical Skill Occupations - 190 nominations: 172 invitations - 491 nominations: 177 invitations

Overseas applicants

Matrix nominating Critical Skill Occupations: - 190 nominations: 79 invitations - 491 nominations: 109 invitations

2025-2026 Allocation of ACT Nomination Places:

• Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa: 800 places
• Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa: 800 places

Application Count @24 November 2025

Total approvals: 427 approvals

• 190 Nominations: 207 approvals
• 491 Nominations: 220 approvals

Total refusals: 67 applications

• 190 Nominations: 29 refusals (14%)
• 491 Nominations: 38 refusals (17%)

Approvals by residency status since the last invitation round

• ACT Resident: 387 approvals (91%)
• Overseas Resident: 40 approvals (9%)

Remaining Allocation 2025-2026

Total allocation remaining: 1,173 nomination places - 190 Nominations: 593 - 491 Nominations: 580

📙 Daily Activity Report: 15 December 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for Australian skilled migration visas (subclass 189, 190, and 491) based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Invitation Activity

Trends and Patterns in S56 Requests

The majority of S56 requests on 15 December 2025 were for remedicals, particularly for applications lodged in early-to-mid 2024. Several offshore applicants received S56 requests for remedicals between September and October 2025, with grants following within 2-3 months. One notable case involved a 491 applicant who received their third S56 request for PCC and Form 815, highlighting the complexity some applications face.

A significant observation involves medical HAP ID linking issues. One 491 applicant experienced delays due to system failures in linking previously completed medicals. The issue was resolved after lodging an official complaint via the Home Affairs website, demonstrating that internal action may occur without explicit communication to applicants.

Priority occupation grants (Registered Nurses, Early Childhood Teachers, Secondary Teachers) showed significantly faster processing times, with some 189 grants issued within 32 days of lodgement. Non-priority occupations, particularly for 491 visas lodged in 2023, experienced processing times exceeding 2 years.

Multiple S56 requests were common for older applications, with some 491 cases receiving 2-3 separate S56 requests over the course of their processing period.

📊 This report represents crowdsourced data and is a subset of total visa activity. Only the Department of Home Affairs holds complete grant data. For invitation rounds, only the respective states possess comprehensive round information.

🔴 Disclaimer: This blog post is an AI summary of community comments and may be refreshed as additional data becomes available. Due to the crowdsourced and AI-generated nature of this content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. Please consume this information with appropriate caution.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

When should we expect the planning levels for the next program year? March? May? And if I remember correctly, I think by August, States and Territories should be starting to release their allocation numbers, right?

📙 Daily Activity Report: 13 Dec 2025

💾 FOI Data 🧮 Calculator 👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 👨🏻‍💻 Data entered into our database at end of day. Older posts here. 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Permanent Residency

🏢 Our Services 📞 General Consultation 🗂️ Skill Assessment Application Review 📋 EOI and ROI Review 📝 Visa Application Review 📦 Our Migration Package

ℹ️ Useful Resources: 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups

☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

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Major update from DHA on partner points

Information updated on 12 Dec 2025: - If applicant claimed single points at the time of invitation (189/190/491) they must be single until their visa grant. - ⁠Even if applicant married skilled partner (skills assessment and competent English) after the invitation and before the grant will not give 10 points to the applicant and visa will be refused. - This is because the partner must already have been included and have nominated an occupation at the time of invitation for those partner points to count.

Refusals under Regulation 190.212 – Partner Points

Members are advised that the MIA has observed refusals under regulation 190.212 where applicants have attempted to claim points under Part 6D.11 Partner Qualifications following a change in marital status between receiving an invitation and lodging a Subclass 190 visa application. In these cases, applicants who were single at the time of invitation were awarded ten points under Item 6D112. After invitation, they married a skilled partner and sought to claim ten points under Item 6D111. Although the partner held a valid skills assessment predating the invitation, the Department has determined that applicants are not eligible to claim skilled partner points after the invitation is issued, as they are no longer single and under Item 6D111(d), the partner must have nominated a skilled occupation at the time of invitation in order for the applicant to claim the points.

The MIA assisted the member in challenging these refusals as jurisdictional error, but after approximately eight months the Department ruled that the decision was lawful.

Members should exercise caution when advising clients in these circumstances. Any change in marital status between invitation and application may result in refusal if points are claimed under the skilled partner category. It is essential that applicants understand that their skilled partners will need to be included in the application at the time of invitation for them to meet Item 6D111(d) and claim the 10 points at the time of points assessment for the visa application.

The matter was also escalated to the Director of Independent Skills and Innovation Policy. In these discussions, the MIA emphasised that the current interpretation was harsh given the extensive processing delays which are beyond the applicants’ control and are inconsistent as applicants are able to claim points if they marry an Australian citizen or permanent resident but not if they marry a skilled partner.

The Director advised that the regulations are intended to prevent applicants from unduly claiming points or adding non-genuine partners after invitation. To address concerns about processing times, the Department is working towards a more regularised approach to invitation rounds, aiming to reduce the time between invitation and visa application assessment and thereby minimise the likelihood of significant changes in applicants’ circumstances. The Department also confirmed that when exploring options for points test reform, the issues raised by the MIA will be taken into account, with the aim of achieving equitable outcomes for skilled migrants while maintaining the integrity of these programs.

Example of calculating and filling occupation ceilings - 2411 Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers

📙 Daily Activity Report: 12 Dec 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for Australian Skilled Visas (subclass 189, 190, and 491) based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

No new S56 requests were reported on 12 December 2025.

Trends and Patterns in S56 Requests

The majority of S56 requests observed in today's grants involved remedicals (repeat medical examinations), particularly for applications lodged in late 2023 and early 2024. This aligns with the 12-month validity period for health examinations. Several cases also required Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) checks, especially for secondary applicants or when name changes occurred.

Multiple S56 requests were common, with some applicants receiving 2-4 separate requests throughout their processing journey. Common additional requests included Form 80 (personal particulars), Form 1390 (employment evidence), relationship evidence for partners, and vaccination records (including polio and TB screening).

Priority occupation grants (Occupational Therapist) showed significantly faster processing times (approximately 3 months) compared to non-priority occupations, which ranged from 12-24 months. The longest processing times were observed for 491 visas lodged in late 2023, with grants taking approximately 24 months.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This blog post is an AI summary of the comments below and may be refreshed as more comments arrive. Due to the nature of crowdsourced and AI-generated content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. This information should be consumed with caution.

📊 This data represents a subset of total visa activity. Only the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and individual states possess complete grant and invitation data.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

Just a quick question: Based on the recent 190 onshore visa grants, the lodged dates where around 25–27 October 2024. Does this mean they have cleared the backlog up to October 2024?

TAS Processing Times and Invitations Issued Latest Update 11/12/25

Migration Tasmania will close from 12:00 noon, Wednesday 24 December 2025 for the Christmas / New Year holiday period and reopen Friday 2 January 2026.

Registrations of interest (ROIs) and applications for state nomination can continue to be submitted during this period, however we will not be processing applications or answering any enquiries during this time.

No invitations to apply for nomination will be issued during this period

We wish everyone a very happy festive season.

ROIs invited to apply for nomination on 11/12/2025: - Subclass 190 - 15 ROIs invited - Subclass 491 - 30 ROIs invited

The lowest scores invited: - Subclass 190 - 287 points (Green pass) - Subclass 491 - 35 points (Orange pass)

Number of ROIs on hand (ROIs with a status of Submitted after the invitation round has taken place): - Subclass 190 - 352 ROIs - Subclass 491 - 219 ROIs

Nomination places available: - Subclass 190 - 902 places - Subclass 491 - 561 places

Nomination applications lodged but not yet decided: - Subclass 190 - 196 applications - Subclass 491 - 84 applications

Invitations issued but application not yet lodged: - Subclass 190 - 96 invitations - Subclass 491 - 81 invitations

Oldest nomination application lodged and not yet allocated to a case officer - 14/11/2025

📙 Daily Activity Report: 11 Dec 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for Australian skilled visas (subclasses 189, 190, and 491) based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Trends and Patterns in S56 Requests

Remedicals Dominate: The majority of S56 requests issued were for remedicals, particularly for applications lodged between July 2023 and January 2024. This suggests a systematic review of medical clearances for applications approaching the 12-month validity period.

Form 815 Follow-ups: Multiple applicants received a second S56 requesting Form 815 (Health Undertaking) approximately one month after remedical requests. This pattern was particularly evident in SA491 applications.

Employment Evidence: Several offshore applicants received S56 requests for employment evidence, including superannuation records, tax records, and work emails. This was more common for 190 VIC and 491 NSW applications.

PCC Requests: Police Clearance Certificate requests appeared as both initial and follow-up S56s, with some applicants asked to provide PCCs for countries visited or translations of existing PCCs.

Multiple S56s Common: A significant number of applicants received two S56 requests during their processing journey, typically separated by 1-2 months.

Useful Resources

• Profile for @sillyfox2533: https://smartvisaguide.com/lalala
• Profile for @asifsajjad: https://smartvisaguide.com/asifsajjad

⚠️ Disclaimer: This blog post is an AI summary of the comments below and may be refreshed as more comments arrive. Due to the nature of crowdsourced and AI-generated content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. This information should be consumed with caution.

📊 Data Limitation: This report represents crowdsourced data and is therefore a subset of total visa activity. Only the Department of Home Affairs has complete grant data.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

I have seen the FOI requests not giving numbers of backlogs lodged before January 2023. Is it because earlier backlogs are not requested, or because they have all already been cleared?

📇 Latest FOI for October 2025 PDF

Other than nurses, teachers (early childhood, primary, secondary), allied health professionals (medical technologies, physiotherapists, anesthesists, etc), and social workers, what occupations are being treated as de facto priority occupations now for 189, 190, 191, and 491 visas? I have been seeing carpenters, welders, and many construction-related applicants getting granted lightning fast recently.

NSW 491 Pathway 1: I meet all the requirements for 491 pathway 1, but I am confused regarding 6 months experience. I have more than 1 year of experience in Nominated Occupation but after Skilled Assessment from VETASSESS, my 1 year of experience is deducted and I got deemed skilled date. I am not claiming any work experience point. But Am I eligible for 491 pathway 1? the 6 months experience should be actual work or work after deemed skilled date?

📙 Daily Activity Report: 10 Dec 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for 10 December 2025, based on crowdsourced data from the skilled migration community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Invitation Activity

Trends and Patterns

Priority Occupations: Priority occupations (Health and Teaching) continue to demonstrate significantly faster processing times. Secondary Teachers received grants in 13-18 days (VIC 190), while a General Practitioner received a 189 grant in 3 months. A NSW 491 Secondary Teacher received a direct grant in 4 months.

Non-Priority Occupations: Non-priority occupations show considerably longer processing times, ranging from 1 year 1 month to 2 years 5 months. Software Engineers, Corporate Services Managers, and Civil Engineers experienced processing times exceeding 12 months.

S56 Requests: Medical and PCC requests remain the most common S56 types. Multiple PCC requests were observed for applicants with complex residential histories. One case received two separate S56 requests over a 3-month period. Employment evidence requests were also noted for Organisation and Methods Analysts.

ACT Invitation Round: ACT conducted an invitation round on 10 December 2025, inviting across both 190 and 491 subclasses. Points ranged from 70 to 140 ACT matrix points, with Accountants requiring the highest points (140) and Medical Technicians the lowest (70). The complete round data will be published by ACT in the coming days.

Useful Resources

• ACT Electronics Engineer 190 Invitation: https://smartvisaguide.com/ashokh4793
• ACT Invitation Round Library: https://smartvisaguide.com/library
• October 2025 FOI Document: https://smartvisaguide.com/static/dist/library/FOI_OCT_2025.pdf
• Software Engineer 190 Grant Details: https://smartvisaguide.com/nephew

News and Updates

October 2025 FOI (Freedom of Information) documents are now available for review.

⚠️ Disclaimer: This blog post is an AI summary of community comments and may be refreshed as additional data becomes available. Due to the crowdsourced and AI-generated nature of this content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. This information should be consumed with caution.

📊 This report represents crowdsourced data and is a subset of total activity. Only the Department of Home Affairs and individual states possess complete data. For invitation rounds, only the nominating state has comprehensive round information.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

Hi, I am Enrolled Nurse applied for 190 TAS on 4 June, other people that applied from July also got their grant, but mine is still on received. When can I expect grant? @gregormendel?? Cheers

I am looking for people who are in the same situation as me.

491 Priority Occupation

• Lodged on April 4, 2025
• S56 request on October 4, 2025. It was for employment evidence and I submitted it via Immi Account on the same day. It's says the documents has been Received on Oct 5, 2025.
• Offshore, Industrial Pharmacist, and already 8 months since lodgment.

Any body waiting longer than me? Should I sent follow up to DOHA? Thank you for your responses.

🗂️ Subclass 189 Policy Document →

📙 Daily Activity Report: 09 Dec 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for 09 December 2025 based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Trends and Patterns

Priority Occupations: Subclass 189 grants for priority occupations (Registered Nurse and Occupational Therapist) demonstrated expedited processing, with visa processing times of approximately 3 months from lodgement in September 2025 to grant in December 2025. All 189 grants reported today were direct grants with no S56 requests.

Non-Priority Occupations: Visa processing times for non-priority occupations varied significantly. The 190 IT grant took approximately 13 months, while 491 grants ranged from 18 months (Chef, TAS) to over 29 months (ICT Support Engineer, NT). Older lodgements from 2023 continue to receive grants, indicating ongoing processing of the backlog.

S56 Requests: S56 requests primarily involved medicals, Police Clearance Certificates (PCC), Form 80, and evidence of English proficiency for secondary applicants. One case received two separate S56 requests before grant. The turnaround from S56 submission to grant was notably quick in some cases, with one applicant receiving a grant on the same day as S56 submission (WA case).

Family Applications: Multiple grants involved families of 3-4 members, demonstrating successful processing of applications with secondary applicants.

Useful Resources

• Notes on New Subclass 189 Selection Model: https://smartvisaguide.com/posts/11443
• Complete subclass 189 policy document: https://smartvisaguide.com/posts/11484

⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This blog post is an AI summary of the comments below and may be refreshed as more comments arrive. Due to the nature of crowdsourced and AI-generated content, mistakes and discrepancies are possible. This information should be consumed with caution.

📊 This data represents a subset of total visa activity. Only the Department of Home Affairs has complete grant data.

Useful Links

👨🏻‍🏫 Book IELTS 💾 FOI 🧮 Calculator 🗳️ FY2025-26 Guide to Australian PR

📗 FY2025-26 Migration Planning Levels 🔖 Frequently Asked Questions 📞 Useful phone numbers and emails 📋 Visa Application Document List 🏘️ Guide to Housing, Jobs and Community 📲 Whatsapp Groups ☎️ Book Consultation to explore your 189/190/491 Skilled Visa Options

@gregormendel Considering ongoing 190 visa processing speed, what would be the chance of grant for 190 visa lodged in Mar 2025 for health sector non-priority occupation of nec category (134299)? any insights would be helpful. Thank you