Skilled Independent (subclass 189) invitation round of 15 October 2026: 20,000 invitations, minimum scores from 65 points

The Department’s SkillSelect invitation rounds page reports 20,000 invitations for the subclass 189 visa in the round of 15 October 2026. It is the first subclass 189 round of the 2026–27 program year: the program-year table shows no invitations in July, August or September. No invitations have been issued in the 2026–27 year for the subclass 491 Family Sponsored visa.

The Department’s table lists 161 occupations with a minimum points score and a tie-break date. The lowest minimum score listed is 65 points, which applied to 44 occupations; the highest is 100 points, for 2 occupations.

Every Registered Nurse specialisation listed in the round had a minimum score of 70 points. The full table of all 161 occupations is on the Department’s page linked below. The Department notes that a result could indicate that no EOIs were available to be invited, or EOIs were available but did not meet parameters to receive an invitation.

The figures do not include state and territory nominations, which the Department reports separately. At 14 November 2026 the Department had not published a date for the next subclass 189 round.

This round was announced on 9 October 2026, as reported in our update on the round date. How points and tie-break dates decide an invitation is explained in our skilled visa guide.