Australian Migration Program Planning Levels FY2023-24

On 9 May 2023, the Australian Government announced that the planning level for the 2023-24 Permanent Migration Program will be set at 190,000 places.

The 2023-24 Migration Program has been designed to address persistent and emerging skills shortages and support the transition to a net-zero emissions economy by attracting specialist skillsets that are difficult to find or develop in Australia. The Program has the following composition:

• Skill stream (137,100 places) – this stream is designed to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, including those in regional Australia.
• Family stream (52,500 places) – this stream is predominantly made up of Partner visas, enabling Australians to reunite with family members from overseas and provide them with pathways to citizenship. Of this stream:
• 40,500 Partner visas are estimated for 2023-24 for planning purposes, noting this category is demand driven and not subject to a ceiling.
• 3,000 Child visas are estimated for 2023-24 for planning purposes, noting this category is demand driven and not subject to a ceiling.
• Special Eligibility stream (400 places) – this stream covers visas for those in special circumstances, including permanent residents returning to Australia after a period overseas.

Migration Program planning levels as announced as part of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Federal Budgets

Visa Stream	Visa Category	2022-23 Planning levels	2023-24 Planning levels
Skill	Employer Sponsored	35,000	36,825
	Skilled Independent	32,100	30,375
	Regional	34,000	32,300
	State/Territory Nominated	31,000	30,400
	Business Innovation & Investment	5,000	1,900
	Global Talent (Independent)	5,000	5,000
	Distinguished Talent	300	300
	Skill Total	142,400	137,100
Family	Partner (note 1)​	40,500	40,500
	Parent	8,500	8,500
	Child1​	3,000	3,000
	Other Family	500	500
	Family Total	52,500	52,500
	Special Eligibility	100	400
	Total Migration Program	195,000	190,000

(1) For 2023-24, delivery of the Partner and Child visa categories are demand driven, with indicative planning levels only.

Program size and composition

The size and composition of the Migration Program is set each year alongside the Australian Government’s Budget process.

To inform the planning levels and policy settings of the 2023-24 Migration Program, consultation occurred widely with state and territory governments, representatives of academia, industry, unions and community organisations.

When planning the Migration Program, the Australian Government considers​ the following:

• Public submissions
• Economic and labour force forecasts
• International research
• Net overseas migration, and
• Economic and fiscal modelling.

The Department also invites public submissions as part of the planning process for future Migration Programs. For more information, see Australia's 2023-24 Migration Program.

State and territory nomi​nated visa categories – nomination allocations

Under the Migration Program settings, nomination allocations are made available to States and Territories in the following visa categories:

• Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491)
• Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)

States and Territories each assess eligible applicants against criteria unique to their jurisdiction.

Further information on State and Territory nomination requirements can be found at:

• ACT – Skilled Visa - ACT nomination and Business Migration Guidelines
• NSW – Visas and Immigration
• VIC – Live in Melbourne
• QLD – Business & Skilled Migration Queensland
• NT – Northern Territory Visa nomination eligibility
• WA – Business Migration Western Australia (BIIP) or Skilled Migration Western Australia (190 and 491 visas)
• SA – Move to South Australia
• TAS – Migration Tasmania

2023–24 state and territory nomination allocations

State	Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa	Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa	Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)*
ACT	600	600	0
NSW	2,650	1,500	0
NT	250	400	0
QLD	900	650	0
SA	1,100	1,200	0
TAS	600	600	0
VIC	2,700	600	0
WA	1,500	850	0
Total	10,300	6,400	0

​

🚨 Important Note

The 2023-24 permanent Migration Program has allocated 30,375 places for Skilled Independent visas. This is broadly comparable to the 2022-23 program allocation of 32,100 places. The smaller planning level for this category in 2023-24 reflects the closure of the New Zealand stream of the subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent) visa from 1 July 2023, due to a new direct pathway to citizenship for Special Category Visa holders who meet citizenship eligibility requirements.

The actual allocation for the points-tested component of the Skilled Independent visa category has increased from 25,600 places in 2022-23 to 30,175 places in 2023-24.

---

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 2023-24 Migration Program