State Nomination Points: How 190 and 491 Actually Work

A state or territory nomination is the single largest points jump available to most applicants outside the age table — 5 points for a subclass 190, 15 for a subclass 491. It is also the factor that varies most: eight governments each run their own criteria, their own occupation lists and their own application model, and every one of them rewrites the rules at least once a year. This page is a starting point for that research, not a substitute for it — every section below points at the state's own current page, because that page is the only version of the truth that matters on the day you apply.

The short version

Nomination sits at the very top of the Schedule 6D points table, added on after everything else — age, English, employment, qualifications, study, partner. A subclass 189 gets no nomination points at all because it needs none; it is the visa you apply for without a state or a sponsor involved. A 190 or 491 only exists because a state or territory agreed to nominate you first, and that agreement is where the real work is.

Every figure above is Schedule 6D’s, verified on 15 September 2026. Below is not: state nomination policy sits outside the regulations, set independently by each government, and it is worth treating that distinction seriously — the state nomination finder is built to be re-checked, not memorised.

190 vs 491 — what the points actually buy

A subclass 190 is a permanent visa from the day it is granted, tied to a commitment to live in the nominating state for a period that state sets. A subclass 491 is provisional for five years, requires you to live and work in a designated regional area for that period, and only then opens a pathway to the permanent subclass 191. The 15-point figure looks like the better deal on paper — it is ten points more than a 190 — but it is not buying the same thing.

Why you usually can’t just apply

Older guides describe state nomination as something you apply for the way you’d apply for a job: meet the criteria, submit the paperwork, wait for an answer. Most states have moved away from that. The typical model now is a Registration or Expression of Interestthat goes into a pool, ranked by the state’s own points or priority criteria — occupation, salary, location, English, sometimes age and partner factors — and only the highest-ranked applicants in each round are invited to submit a full nomination application. Meeting the minimum criteria gets you into the pool. It does not get you an invitation.

This matters because several states pause their programs mid-year the moment an occupation’s allocation is used up, then reopen only once the Commonwealth confirms next year’s places. A state that was “easy” in March can be closed in August. Nothing below should be read as a permanent state of affairs.

New South Wales

NSW runs an invitation-only model for both streams via its own Skills List layered on top of the federal occupation list. Eligibility includes a residency test — broadly, working in NSW for at least six months, or having lived in NSW for at least six months, or having lived offshore for at least six months before applying. Several 491 pathways have closed to new applications mid-program-year once an allocation was reached, which is the pattern to expect rather than the exception. The current criteria and open/closed status for each stream sit on the state’s own page, linked below.

Victoria

Victoria runs its skilled and business migration program through Live in Melbourne, requiring an Expression of Interest before any invitation to apply for nomination, with a baseline expectation of at least the 65-point federal minimum. Victoria’s annual allocation is split between the 190 and 491 streams and its intake windows have opened and closed within a single program year in recent history once demand outstripped places. Confirm current settings directly on Live in Melbourne before assuming the program is open — this is one of the states where relying on a cached answer is most likely to waste your time.

Queensland

Migration Queensland publishes explicit minimum EOI scores for eligibility to its own nomination process — figures reported around 75 for a general 190 nomination (lower for trades occupations) and 65 for the 491, on top of meeting Migration Queensland’s own criteria. Those are the state’s own stated thresholds for eligibility to register, not a Home Affairs invitation cut-off — worth keeping the two apart. Queensland also weighs salary, employment location and occupation demand when ranking who actually gets invited from the pool.

South Australia

South Australia splits its process by location: onshore applicants submit a Registration of Interest and are ranked against the state’s priority sectors, while offshore applicants can be invited directly from their federal EOI without a separate ROI step. Priority sectors change yearly — recent settings have favoured building and construction, health, engineering, education and manufacturing. Places are finite and typically split across the 190 and 491 streams for the program year.

Western Australia

A structural quirk worth knowing: WA treats the whole state, including Perth, as regional for the purposes of the 491, which is not true everywhere. If an applicant’s EOI is flagged as eligible for both streams, WA has generally prioritised inviting for the 491 first, since it typically carries the higher combined score. WA’s program has also gone dark mid-year before, pausing new nominations while waiting on the Commonwealth to confirm the next allocation — a clear example of why this page cannot promise the program is currently open.

Tasmania

Tasmania layers its own tiered invitation system — commonly described as “Gold” and “Green” rounds — on top of the standard 5/15points, and has published an income-based priority test as an alternative to the older salary benchmark. It has also nominated candidates for a 491 from the same Registration of Interest when they didn’t clear the bar for a 190, which is a useful safety net worth asking about directly rather than assuming.

ACT — the Canberra Matrix

The ACT is the one jurisdiction that scores you twice. Clearing Schedule 6D gets you into the federal pool; separately, the Canberra Matrix ranks everyone wanting ACT nomination on its own criteria — length of ACT residence, occupation, business activity, ACT employment, English proficiency, study undertaken in the ACT, investment, and close family ties there. Only the highest-ranked Matrix scores are invited to apply for the actual nomination; a strong Schedule 6D score with no ACT connection ranks poorly on the Matrix and is unlikely to be invited.

Northern Territory

The Territory nominates through its own portal and has previously required a commitment to live and work in the nominated occupation in the NT for at least three years after grant, with an age limit under 45 at the time of nomination. The whole of the NT counts as regional for provisional-visa purposes. Like several other jurisdictions, the NT has closed its program mid-year once an allocation was exhausted, reopening only with exceptions for applicants facing an imminent visa deadline — check the official portal directly for current status rather than relying on last year’s settings.

The commitment behind the points

Every state nomination — 190 or 491 — comes with an undertaking to actually live where you said you would, not just a points value. A 190 typically commits you to the nominating state for a period that state sets, commonly framed in the one-to-three-year range. A 491 commits you to a designated regional area for the life of the five-year provisional visa, because the entire point of the visa is regional settlement, not a stepping stone through a capital city. States have withdrawn nominations and Home Affairs has cancelled visas over serious, sustained breaches of these commitments — it is a real obligation, not a formality.

Whether a given postcode actually counts as regional is its own question, and one worth answering before you commit to anything — the regional postcode checker settles it in one search. If study is part of your plan, the regional study points guide covers the distance-education exclusion that has caught out a surprising number of people since 2020.

Is the 491 worth it just for the points?

15 points is enough, on its own, to move a borderline applicant from ineligible to clearly over the 65-point floor. That is real and it is often the right call — particularly for occupations that are genuinely easier to place regionally, which varies a great deal by occupation. But it is a five-year decision about where you live, not a five-week one about a test or a form. Compare it honestly against the other ways to reach the same score — the full ranked comparison puts the 491 next to every other option in dollars and weeks per point, and it is not always the cheapest way to get there even though it is the biggest single number.

Quick check

Frequently asked questions