Information current as at October 2026.
TAS – Skilled Visas for Medical Professionals
Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) for Medical Professionals
This stream is for Points-tested skilled workers who are not sponsored by an employer or family member or nominated by a state or territory government. To find out if you are eligible and the process for the visa, please refer to our Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) (Points-Tested) Stream page.
Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) Visas for Medical Professionals
Unlike the 189 visa, both 190 and 491 visas require skilled workers to be nominated by a state or territory government. The main difference between these two visas is that the 491 visa is a temporary visa (5 year validity). 491 visa holders have a pathway to permanent residency through the subclass 191 visa after living and working in a designated regional area for at least 3 years and meeting the minimum taxable income requirement. For more information, please visit our Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) page.
Tasmania
Tasmanian nomination for health and medical professionals in 2026-27
Migration Tasmania nominates skilled workers for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491). All of Tasmania, including Hobart, is a designated regional area for the 491 and 494 visas. The position for 2026-27 is:
- Program open: Migration Tasmania opened to new Registrations of Interest (ROIs) on 17 August 2026, with the first invitation round on 20 August 2026 and weekly rounds after that.
- Places: 2,050 nomination places in total for 2026-27: 1,250 for the 190 and 800 for the 491.
- Health is the top priority: health and allied health professionals who have worked in Tasmania for at least six months can receive the Gold priority attribute, worth 1,000 points in the ROI ranking.
- Fees: there is no charge to submit an ROI. The nomination application fee for 2026-27 is $387 ($425.70 including GST).
- Weekly results: each week Migration Tasmania publishes the number of candidates invited, the lowest scores invited, the places remaining and the number of ROIs on hand.
Tasmania no longer uses the Tasmanian Skilled Occupations List (TSOL) and the graduate, working in Tasmania and overseas applicant categories that appeared on this page previously (2021-22). It now nominates through pathways (Tasmanian Skilled Employment, Tasmanian Established Resident, Tasmanian Business Operator and the Overseas Skilled Occupation Profiles) and ranks ROIs using priority attributes. For the full Tasmanian criteria for all occupations, see our Tasmania 190 Visa Requirements page.
Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway: subclass 190
This is the main pathway for health professionals already living and working in Tasmania.
- Living in Tasmania: you must be currently living in Tasmania and intend to keep living there.
- Matching work: your job must be in the same ANZSCO three digit group as your skills assessment (for example, a registered nurse working as a nurse).
- Length of employment: under the priority occupation option you need at least nine months of qualifying employment in Tasmania, reduced to six months for teaching, health and allied health occupations. Under the long term option you need at least 15 months.
- Hours and pay: you must average at least 20 hours per week and earn at least the priority income level of $57,000 a year or $28.85 an hour, excluding overtime, penalty rates, bonuses and casual loading.
- Evidence: payslips or contracts should name the award or agreement and classification level, and superannuation must be shown with an ATO payment statement.
Health and allied health occupations are on Tasmania’s Skilled Employment priority list, which covers ANZSCO groups 251 (health diagnostic and promotion professionals), 252 (health therapy professionals), 253 (medical practitioners), 254 (midwifery and nursing professionals) and 411 (health and welfare support workers).
How a Tasmanian nomination application works now
- Lodge your EOI in SkillSelect selecting Tasmania and the subclass, with at least 65 points (including the nomination points).
- Submit an ROI through the Migration Tasmania application gateway. There is no ROI fee. Claim only the priority attributes you can evidence.
- Wait for an invitation: Migration Tasmania runs invitation rounds weekly and invites the highest ranked ROIs.
- Apply for nomination: lodge your nomination application with documents supporting your claims (employment contract, payslips, ATO superannuation statement, evidence of Tasmanian residence, skills assessment and, for health professionals, AHPRA registration), and pay the $387 fee ($425.70 including GST).
- Lodge your visa: if nominated, you receive an invitation in SkillSelect and have 60 days to lodge your visa application with Home Affairs.
Migration Tasmania suggested that candidates who lodged an ROI in the six months before the 2026-27 changes consider withdrawing and relodging, because the revised ranking may improve their position. Model both settings before you decide.
Health and medical occupations: Tasmanian priorities and federal lists
Tasmania no longer publishes an occupation by occupation list with “High Demand” status, English and experience requirements as the TSOL did. Instead, health priority is set by ANZSCO group (251, 252, 253, 254 and 411) under the Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway and the Gold priority attribute. The table keeps the occupations from the former TSOL, with their ANZSCO codes, whether they fall within Tasmania’s health priority groups, and whether each is on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL, used for the 189 and also eligible for the 190 and 491) and the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL, used for the 482 Skills in Demand visa Core Skills stream and the 186 Direct Entry stream).
Other health professions in these ANZSCO groups (for example specialist physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, midwives, dentists and podiatrists) also fall within Tasmania’s health priority groups. Occupations not on the MLTSSL may still be eligible for state nomination through the Short-term Skilled Occupation List or the Regional Occupation List. See also our Core Skills Occupation List page.
Sources: Migration Tasmania 2026-27 settings as reported by migration agencies, checked October 2026; MLTSSL from the Migration (Specification of Occupations) instrument, compilation dated 14 December 2024; CSOL from the subclass 482 occupation instrument, compilation dated 7 November 2025.
Priority processing for health occupations
Health is Tasmania’s highest nomination priority, and it is also a federal processing priority. Under Ministerial Direction 121 (for the 482 visa) and Ministerial Direction 122 (for the 186, 189, 190, 191, 491, 494 and other skilled visas), which took effect on 19 September 2026 and replaced Direction 119, applications for occupations in the priority sectors (construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources) and for law enforcement and defence interests are placed in the highest processing tier. Healthcare is defined by ANZSCO codes and includes all Health Professionals (sub-major group 25) and Health and Welfare Support Workers (minor group 411). A health applicant is in the top tier whether they apply in or outside Australia. Priority processing does not guarantee a particular processing time or a visa grant.
Employer sponsored options for health workers in Tasmania
If you have a job offer from the Tasmanian Health Service, a private hospital, a clinic or an aged care provider, employer sponsorship is often the fastest way to start working in Tasmania, and your Tasmanian employment can later support a Gold priority ROI. The main options are:
Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482)
The Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) replaced the TSS visa on 7 December 2024. A Tasmanian employer approved as a Standard Business Sponsor nominates you for a position, and the visa can be granted for up to 4 years.
- Core Skills stream: your occupation must be on the Core Skills Occupation List (most nursing, medical and allied health occupations are, see the table above) and the salary must be at least the Core Skills Income Threshold, which is $79,423 from 1 July 2026, and no less than the market salary rate.
- Specialist Skills stream: for highly paid roles, such as many specialist doctors, with earnings of at least the Specialist Skills Income Threshold of $146,576 from 1 July 2026.
- You generally need at least one year of relevant work experience, and you must hold the registration needed to work in your occupation (AHPRA registration for registered health professions).
- Healthcare occupations are in the top processing tier under Ministerial Direction 121.
- After two years of work with your sponsor (time with any approved sponsor on a 482 can count), you can generally apply for permanent residence through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream. Six months of work in Tasmania can also support a Gold priority ROI for Tasmanian 190 nomination.
Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
The 186 visa is a permanent employer sponsored visa.
- Temporary Residence Transition stream: for 482 (and former 457 or TSS) holders who have worked for their sponsor for the required period, usually two years.
- Direct Entry stream: for people who have not worked in Australia on a 482, or who are moving directly to permanent residence. Since 7 December 2024 the occupation must generally be on the Core Skills Occupation List, and you usually need a positive skills assessment and at least three years of relevant experience.
- You generally need to be under 45 when you apply. Some exemptions apply, including for certain medical practitioners and high income earners.
- Healthcare occupations are in the top processing tier under Ministerial Direction 122.
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)
Because the whole of Tasmania is a designated regional area, Tasmanian employers can sponsor health workers on the 494 visa. It is a five year provisional visa. You usually need a positive skills assessment and at least three years of relevant experience, and you must be under 45 unless an exemption applies. After three years living and working in regional Australia and meeting the income requirement, you can apply for permanent residence through the subclass 191.
Doctors: Medicare and provider numbers
Health Workforce Certificates are no longer required for employer sponsored nominations (the requirement was removed on 16 September 2023). Overseas trained doctors who want to bill Medicare generally need to work in a Distribution Priority Area or meet another exemption. See our guide for medical practice and hospital sponsors.
AHPRA registration: a key step for health professionals
Whichever visa you choose, you will need to be registered to practise in Australia if your profession is regulated. Registration is managed by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the National Board for your profession, such as the Nursing and Midwifery Board, the Medical Board, the Physiotherapy Board or the Psychology Board. Registration is separate from your migration skills assessment, and it usually takes the longest, so start early. In Tasmania, the Gold priority attribute depends on six months of work in a directly related role, which for a regulated health profession means working while registered.
- Check your registration pathway: doctors may be assessed through the standard pathway, the competent authority pathway or a specialist pathway (including the expedited specialist pathway for some specialists trained in comparable countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand). Nurses and midwives are assessed by the Nursing and Midwifery Board against its requirements for internationally qualified nurses and midwives.
- Meet the English standard: the National Boards set their own English requirements, which are usually higher than the Competent English needed for the visa.
- Obtain your skills assessment for migration: for example ANMAC for nurses and midwives, the Medical Board of Australia for medical practitioners, the Australian Physiotherapy Council, the Occupational Therapy Council, the Australian Pharmacy Council, the Australian Dental Council or the Australian Psychological Society.
- Keep your details consistent: the occupation in your EOI, ROI, skills assessment, registration and employment contract should line up, and your job should be in the same ANZSCO three digit group as your skills assessment for the 190.
Read more in our guide to International Medical Graduates and Registration in Australia.
What is the Tasmanian Gold priority for health professionals?
Gold is the highest priority attribute, worth 1,000 points in the ROI ranking. It is available if you have a skills assessment in a health, allied health or teaching occupation, have lived in Tasmania for at least six months, and work in one directly related job of at least 30 hours a week paid at least the priority income level.
Can overseas nurses get Tasmanian nomination?
Yes, if you have a job offer from a Tasmanian health provider: overseas health professionals with a Tasmanian job offer remain eligible for 190 nomination in 2026-27. Without a job offer, offshore options are very limited this year, as the 491 Overseas Skilled Occupation Profiles pathway is not expected to issue invitations.
Does Tasmania still use the TSOL?
No. The Tasmanian Skilled Occupations List and its “High Demand” labels from 2021-22 have been replaced. Health priority is now set by ANZSCO group under the Tasmanian Skilled Employment pathway and the Gold priority attribute.
How much does Tasmanian nomination cost?
Submitting an ROI is free. The 2026-27 nomination application fee is $387, or $425.70 including GST. Home Affairs visa charges are separate.
How many hours do I need to work for the Gold attribute?
At least 30 hours a week in a single job. You cannot combine jobs to reach 30 hours, but a consistent fortnightly roster totalling at least 60 hours qualifies. The basic 190 employment requirement is lower (an average of 20 hours a week), but the Gold attribute is what gives health professionals a strong ranking.
Are health occupations processed faster?
Healthcare is in the top processing tier under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122, which took effect on 19 September 2026. This applies to visa applications lodged with Home Affairs. It does not guarantee a set processing time.
Previous criteria (2021-22)
These images show the Tasmanian 2021-22 criteria (acceptable courses of study, employment requirements for ANZSCO skill level 4 and 5 occupations, and the TSOL). They no longer apply; see the current criteria above.
Jamie Lim
Jamie is an Australian Regulated Migration Advisor (RMA 1799460). Jamie has extensive immigration services experience across multiple visa subclasses and specialises in employer sponsored visas. He has a wide range of experience in corporate migration, including employer-sponsored visas and immigration compliance, and has managed small to large multinational corporate clients. Jamie also has specific experience with medical professionals, skills assessments, state sponsorships as well as partner visas. Book a time with Jamie here.
Jamie holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Monash University. Jamie speaks Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
His specialities include but not limited to:
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