New South Wales · Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional · 2026-27
New South Wales 491 state nomination guide
NSW 491 has three distinct pathways: regional employment, invitation by Investment NSW, and eligible regional graduates. The official page currently carries a closure notice; meeting a pathway's published criteria does not mean applications can be lodged.
The official 491 page says applications are closed for its current program year and updated settings will be published. It labels Pathways 1 and 3 and salary-concession applications closed. The notice does not identify that year clearly enough to infer a 2026–27 reopening.
A current 2026–27 allocation was not independently verified from the official sources reviewed. No prior-year number has been carried forward, and an unknown allocation is not zero.
Official pages can change without notice. Confirm before acting.
Streams and pathways
Pathway 1 — regional employer
Published criteria require six continuous months of qualifying work in regional NSW, in the nominated or closely related occupation, with the same regional NSW employer and the applicable TSMIT/CSIT salary. New applications are currently labelled closed.
Pathway 2 — NSW invitation
An eligible occupation must fall in an ANZSCO unit group on the NSW Regional Skills List. Published residency alternatives include working in NSW in the nominated occupation, three continuous months residing in NSW, or three continuous months offshore. Selection is by invitation.
Pathway 3 — regional NSW graduate
The published pathway covers a relevant bachelor degree, master's or PhD completed at a designated regional NSW institution in the previous two years. The study must support the regional-study points claimed in the EOI. New applications are labelled closed.
Key requirements
- Meet Home Affairs' requirements and have an occupation eligible for subclass 491; Pathways 2 and 3 also require the NSW Regional Skills List.
- For Pathway 1, prove six months with the same regional employer and the applicable salary rate. Ordinary eligibility is not a guarantee of acceptance.
- A lower salary is not an automatic concession: eligible employers must obtain NSW approval under the published concession process.
- For Pathway 3, support the relevant qualification, course completion date, regional study points and applicable residency requirement.
- Read the current opening notice before preparing a lodgement. The current closure overrides the availability implied by a requirements page.
How the process runs
Check which pathway is actually accepting applications.
Check the 491 occupation and regional-location rules and prepare evidence.
Maintain an accurate SkillSelect EOI with the required employment or regional-study claims.
Follow the relevant direct-application or invitation process only when NSW permits it.
If nominated and invited by Home Affairs, lodge the visa application by its deadline.
Before you rely on this
- This is the NSW state-nominated stream, not family sponsorship.
- A salary-concession occupation is not automatically eligible for a concession.
- Do not rely on an old opening date or assume a future intake will remain open long enough to prepare documents.
Fees
Confirm the nomination application fee, GST treatment and refund conditions on the official application portal before paying. Commonwealth visa charges, assessments and professional fees are separate.
Invitation data
No complete current-year official invitation dataset was verified for this guide. No unofficial score is presented as a government cutoff, and no invitation is promised.
No official invitation figures are recorded in this guide.
Points scores from past rounds are not cut-offs. States select on occupation, ranking factors and capacity, and a score that was invited before may not be invited again.
Official sources
Checked 23 October 2026. Links open in a new tab.
- NSW — subclass 491, pathway criteria and current closure notice (opens in a new tab)
- NSW skills lists (opens in a new tab)
- Home Affairs — state and territory allocations (check the table's program year) (opens in a new tab)
Related reading
General information only, not migration advice or an eligibility assessment. Nomination is at the discretion of each state or territory.