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📙 Daily Activity Report: 09 Dec 2025

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New Subclass 189 Selection Model — Simple Explanation

Australia has a limit (ceiling) on how many people can be invited for each occupation under the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa.

How the occupation limit works:

1. First, department fills occupation places through other visas such as: • Employer Sponsored visas • State Nominated visas (190) • Regional visas (491/494)
2. Only the leftover places (if any) are then used for the 189 visa.
3. ⁠These limits are managed at a broader occupation group level (not very specific job titles).

How department decides how many places each occupation gets;

Department looks at: • How many people are already working in that occupation (using government employment data), and • Multiplies that number by a percentage, depending on how important or scarce the occupation is.

The result is the maximum number of 189 visas that can be given for that occupation.

Occupation Tiers Explained Simply

🔵 Tier 1 – Most critical occupations • Multiplier: 4% • These are very important, hard-to-fill jobs. • They usually take many years of training. • Examples: Doctors, medical specialists, researchers * Highest chance of selection.

🟢 Tier 2 – High priority occupations • Multiplier: 2% • Important jobs needed urgently. • Training time is usually shorter than Tier 1. • Examples: Teachers * Good chance of selection.

🟡 Tier 3 – General occupations • Multiplier: 1% • Most occupations fall here. • Ensures Australia has workers across many fields. * Moderate to limited number of invitations.

🔴 Tier 4 – Oversupplied occupations • Multiplier: 0.5% • Jobs where Australia already has many workers or many visa holders. • Invites only a small number to avoid oversupply. * Lowest chance under 189.

Full Policy Document here

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 →

@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

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

Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program update 8 December 2025

Christmas / New Year office closure

Migration Tasmania will close from 12:00 noon, Wednesday 24 December 2026 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.

Program adjustments December 2025

Based upon program evaluation and stakeholder feedback, some minor adjustments have been made to program settings.

The impacts of these changes are expected to be minor, and existing ROIs will not be affected.

Subclass 491 Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway

Orange-plus attribute: You have been employed in Tasmania for more than the past 12 months, but less than 18 months, in a role directly related to your skills assessment, currently earning at least $57,000 per year (or a base rate of $28.85 per hour (30pts)

The score for this attribute has been updated from 30 to 35 points to ensure longer-term employment relevant to skills assessment is acknowledged appropriately.

Orange attribute: You have two years of relevant prior Australian industry experience, and you currently receive a base salary of at least $57,000 per year (or $28.85 per hour). (6pts)

This has been updated to: “You have two years of relevant prior Australian industry experience, and you currently receive a base salary that pays more than the National Minimum Wage, but less than $57,000 per year (or a base rate of $28.85 per hour). "

This change is to avoid confusion with the similar Orange-plus attribute attracting 30 points.

Only new ROIs will be affected by these changes. ROIs that have already been submitted and which have claimed both attributes will be recognised.

Subclass 190 and 491 Tasmanian Skilled Graduate pathway

Orange-plus attribute - Graduate program offer This attribute has been updated to remove the restriction on not having commenced the program. The attribute can now be claimed if the graduate program offer was made in the previous 12 months, whether or not the graduate has commenced the role:

You have received an offer for a graduate employment program within the last 12 months. The program is full-time, was offered prior to or within twelve months of graduation, is directly related to your skills assessment, and is from a Tasmanian business with at least 20 employees that has been operating in Tasmania for more than five years.

Subclass 190 Tasmanian Established Resident pathway

Minimum requirements A change has been made to the requirement wording to clarify the intention that eligible business operations must have achieved a net profit after receiving income of $76,515: have operated a business in Tasmania for at least the past two years, generating a minimum personal income equal to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently $76,515), with the business also achieving a net profit after receiving that income

Reminders

Dependants must not be living elsewhere in Australia For all nomination pathways dependant family members must not be living in another Australian state or territory other than Tasmania.

They may be currently living overseas.

If they have relocated from another state or territory, they must have moved to Tasmania at least three months before applying for nomination.

Applicants must provide supporting evidence to verify the location of their dependent family members. Acceptable evidence may include travel itineraries to Tasmania and bank statements demonstrating living expenses incurred in Tasmania.

189 granted just now, 08 Dec 2025. Registered Nurse (nec). Lodged on 1st Sept 2025.

@gregormendel / @biotechy, My English test completed 2 years on 6th December, 2025. The validity mentioned on the test result was also 2 years. But, I read somewhere that English tests are valid for 3 years for immigration purpose. Is that true? Or do I need to take the test again ?

hello everyone how much time does it takes for visa grant for medical laboratory technician, DOL 20 may 2025, priority occupation.

Next ACT invitation round will be conducted on Wednesday 10 December 2025.

Updated ACT 491 / 190 Nomination Guidelines Canberra Resident – February 2026

Hello, did anyone receive their nomination from NSW yet? I was preinvited last week and submitted all documents the next day. Waiting for the nomination.

@gregormendel Did anyone get an invite for Mechanical Engineer from QLD this FY?

📙 Daily Activity Report: 08 December 2025

This report summarises visa grants, S56 requests, and invitation activity for 08 December 2025, based on crowdsourced data from the community.

Visa Grants

S56 Trends

Trends and Patterns in S56 Requests

S56 requests observed today primarily involved medicals and remedicals for 491 visa applicants. One offshore applicant from Pakistan lodged in May 2024 received a medical request. A South Australian 491 case from June 2023 received remedicals in August 2025 before grant. A Queensland 491 applicant received requests for both AFP and medicals in November 2025.

Priority occupations (Health and Teaching) continue to demonstrate significantly faster processing times. Early Childhood Teachers and Registered Nurses received grants within 3-7 months of lodgement, with most being direct grants. Non-priority occupations showed more varied processing times, ranging from approximately 7 months to over 29 months for the SA Mechanical Engineer case.

Several applicants proactively uploaded AFP checks and PCCs, which may have contributed to direct grants without S56 requests. Tasmania appears particularly active in processing 190 visas for both priority and non-priority occupations.

News and Updates

No specific news or announcements were included in today's comments.

⚠️ 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 represents crowdsourced data and is therefore a subset of total 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

Got Invited with Higher Points

I updated my EOI few days before WA invitation round i had claimed extra points by mistake which i removed but still i got invited with my previous points.

My EOI points at the time of invitation were 80 but i got invited at 85 which i had already updated on skillselect… My occupation is Painting trades worker and cutoff points were 65.

Can we do anything now…??

@gregormendel Hi Gregormendel In the library 5th december excel file, under prediction tab. can u pls explain for 491 visa

Expected Closing Backlog - 17191

Pre 30 Jun 2025 Lodgements Granted - 24750

Any invitations for Hydrogeologist in any states in recent time? Submitted my EOI round July; just wondering if they are in need of hydrogeologist!

@gregormendel: S56 for Tax

Has anyone been granted 189 PR with a late lodgement history + ATO payment plan? Does late lodgement (2023 & 2024 filed late) put my application at risk? Or is being compliant now (lodged everything + payment plan) enough? Immigration has asked for monthly payment evidence from September till November payments to ATO.

Received s56 on November 20 for November 2024 invitation for Civil Engineering Draftsperson occupation.

📙 Daily Activity Report: 06 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

👇 You can click on the bookmark button below to save this post 👇

💾 Latest Dec 2025 WA Round PDF ↓

Hello, I have a question if choose an agent from India for PR file is this going to be any issue or affects in any way. I checked with agent they are not MARA registered.

Hi @gregor, Hope you're doing well, I noticed that yesterday below profile got invited from QLD 190, but I didn't. Age - 30 PTE- 20 Education- 15 offshore experience- 15 Partner - 10 State - 5. I also have the same points but slight diff profile. Will I get in the coming rounds from QLD ?