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Australia has confirmed its final skilled migration allocations for the 2025–26 programme year, approving 20,350 nomination places across its two major state-nominated visa routes. The Department of Home Affairs published the figures on Saturday, signalling a more competitive migration cycle as most states experienced cuts to their quotas.
According to the breakdown, 12,850 positions have been assigned to the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa, which provides a permanent residency pathway for qualified workers who secure state or territory nominations. A further 7,500 places were allocated to the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional visa, a temporary five-year route that can lead to permanent residency for applicants sponsored by regional authorities or eligible family members.
The Home Affairs Department said the skilled programme remains essential for helping states and territories meet critical labour needs by nominating suitably qualified applicants with in-demand occupations.
New South Wales received the largest share with 4,000 places overall, followed by Victoria and Western Australia, each with 3,400 slots. Queensland secured 2,600 places after a substantial boost to its Subclass 190 quota, while South Australia obtained 2,250. The ACT received the smallest allocation at 1,200.
Victoria saw the most significant reduction compared with the previous cycle, losing 1,300 Subclass 491 places. By contrast, Queensland and the Northern Territory were the only jurisdictions to record notable increases, with Queensland gaining 1,250 additional Subclass 190 visas and the NT receiving 50 more nomination places overall. Several regions, including the ACT and the NT, saw no changes at all in their Subclass 491 allocations.
The tightened quotas come despite growing pressure on Australia’s labour market. A new report from the Future Skills Organisation warns that the country could face a shortfall of nearly 250,000 skilled workers across finance, technology and business roles by 2030. It noted that demand for skilled professionals in these sectors is expanding at 2.2% annually, while the talent pipeline is growing at less than half that rate.
The report highlighted longstanding structural issues, including high dropout rates in IT and accounting programmes, overreliance on international students, and inconsistent outcomes in the vocational education system. The finance sector is projected to be the hardest hit, with no workforce growth expected over the next five years and a potential deficit of 64,000 workers.
Even where workers are available, employers continue to report widening skills mismatches, with many applicants lacking specialised capabilities required to fill emerging roles
