SC188, SC132, SC190 & SC491 State Nomination Updates

Queensland State Nomination SC190 & SC491 Opens

The standard Skilled Work Regional (provisional) subclass 491 visa and the Skilled Nominated subclass 190 program will re-open to onshore applicants on 1 February 2021.
However, the 491-SBO (Small Business Owner) pathway has been OPEN from 18 December 2020.

QLD Business Program

The Business and Skilled Migration Queensland (“BSMQ”) business program is OPEN.
Priority processing exists for:

• Investor Stream – Subclass 188B
• Significant Business History Stream – SC 132
• Significant Investor Stream – Subclass 188C
• Entrepreneur Stream – Subclass 188E

NOTE: BSMQ will also be prioritising businesses which:

• Support COVID recovery industries;
• Create jobs; or
• Are located in a regional area.

QLD Skilled Program

The standard SC491 pathway and SC190 will not re-open to onshore applicants until 1 February 2021.
New Expression of Interests will not be viewed before this date.

SC491 – SBO (Small Business Owner) Pathway

Applicants are required to submit a SC491-SBO Assessment Form prior to submitting an EOI.
NOTE: applicants who are s48 barred will be unsuccessful in applying.

Tasmania State Nomination SC190 and SC491 Program Opens

The Tasmanian Nominated Skilled Migration Program will reopen with updated requirements on 29 January 2021 at 1pm (AEDT).

TAS Skilled Migration Program

Tasmanian’s full nomination quota for the 2020-21 program year is made up as following:

• SC491 – 1400 places
• SC190 – 1000 places
• Business Migration – 45 places

Approximately 40% of skilled visa nomination places have been utilized.

Nomination Process and Priorities

The Department of Home Affairs has directed that all nominations must be justifiable in relation to their likely contribution to Australia’s economic recovery and follow three priorities:

• High Quality SC188 & SC132 nomination applications
• Applicants critical to supporting Tasmania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • e.g individuals or specialist medical services
• applicants currently in Australia that can demonstrate their capacity to meaningfully contribute to economic recovery through skilled employment.

All new and existing nomination applications will be considered according to these priorities, with those in critical roles being nominated first.
Lower skilled positions such as retail workers, harvest labour, delivery drivers, or warehouse staff are not considered to be critical roles.

TAS Business Migration Program

As Business Migration program reopens, all new business nominations must be of high quality that support Australia’s COVID-19 recovery effort.

ACT Occupation List Updated for SC190 and SC491

Many occupations have been added to the ACT critical skilled occupation list, however, some occupations are only available for the SC491 which include occupations such as:

• Policy and Planning Manager – 132411
• Call or Contact Centre Manager – 149211
• Policy Analyst – 224412
• Liaison Officer – 224912
• Patents Examiner – 224914
• Information and Organisation Prof. nec – 224999
• Environmental Health Officer – 251311
• Dentist – 252312
• Community Arts Worker – 272611
• Translator – 272413

The full ACT Occupation List can be viewed here