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📙 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
| Subclass State | Location Occupation | Lodge → Grant | S56 Date Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 189 | ONSHORE Registered Nurse nec | 13 Nov 2025 → 15 Dec 2025 | 20 Nov 2025 Medicals |
| 189 | ONSHORE Carpenter | 16 Sep 2025 → 15 Dec 2025 | 10 Oct 2025 Medicals |
| 189 | OFFSHORE Nurse (Child and Family Health) | 24 Aug 2025 → 15 Dec 2025 | 22 Nov 2025 Medicals |
| 190 NSW | OFFSHORE Construction Project Manager | 13 Feb 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 29 Sep 2025 Remedicals |
| 190 NSW | OFFSHORE Engineering Manager | 17 Feb 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 Remedicals |
| 190 NSW | OFFSHORE Engineering Professionals nec | 26 Feb 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 Remedicals, Polio |
| 190 VIC | OFFSHORE Marketing Specialist | 15 Mar 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 08 Oct 2025 Health examination |
| 190 VIC | OFFSHORE University Lecturer | 04 Apr 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 02 Oct 2025 Medicals |
| 190 SA | OFFSHORE Organisation and Methods Analyst | 10 Oct 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN |
| 190 WA | ONSHORE Cook | 21 Feb 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 Remedicals |
| 491 ACT | OFFSHORE ICT Manager | 15 Sep 2023 → 15 Dec 2025 | 15 Sep 2025 UNKNOWN |
| 491 NSW | OFFSHORE Mechanical Engineer | 02 Aug 2023 → 15 Dec 2025 | 09 Sep 2025, 04 Dec 2025 UNKNOWN |
| 491 QLD | OFFSHORE System Administrator | 05 Apr 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | UNKNOWN |
| 491 QLD | OFFSHORE Civil Engineer | 04 Jul 2023 → 15 Dec 2025 | 11 Aug 2025, 11 Nov 2025 UNKNOWN |
| 491 QLD | OFFSHORE Market Research Analyst | 07 May 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 01 Dec 2025 Remedicals, PCC |
| 491 TAS | OFFSHORE Accountant | 30 Sep 2023 → 15 Dec 2025 | 16 Sep 2025 Employment, PCC, Remedicals |
| 491 | OFFSHORE Management Accountant | 26 Feb 2024 → 15 Dec 2025 | 03 Nov 2025 Health-related |
S56 Trends
| Subclass State | Location Occupation | Lodge Date | S56 Date Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 491 | OFFSHORE UNKNOWN | 12 Jul 2023 | 15 Dec 2025 PCC, Form 815 (3rd S56) |
Invitation Activity
| Subclass State | Location Occupation | Points | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 190 QLD | ONSHORE Early Childhood Teacher | 85 | Full-time 1Y 2M |
| 190 QLD | ONSHORE Mechanical Engineer | 100 | $88K salary |
| 190 QLD | ONSHORE Secondary Teacher | 80 | Skilled partner, Superior English |
| 491 QLD | ONSHORE Boat Builder | 95 | Superior English, Partner UK passport |
| 491 QLD | ONSHORE Chef | 95 | Proficient English, Skilled partner, $78K-95K |
| 491 QLD | ONSHORE Chef | 75 | $89K salary, Gold Coast |
| 491 QLD | ONSHORE Youth Worker | 75 | Competent English, Partner, Regional study, $100K |
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
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📙 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
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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.
