The 2022-23 Migration Program has been designed to boost Australia’s economic recovery and drive social cohesion outcomes in the post-pandemic environment. The 2022-23 Migration Program will have a planning level of 160,000 places with the following composition:
- Skill (109,900 places) – this stream is designed to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, including those in regional Australia.
- Family (50,000 places) – this stream is predominantly made up of Partner visas, enabling Australians to reunite with family members from overseas and provide them with pathways to citizenship.
- From 2022-23, Partner visas will be granted on a demand driven basis to facilitate family reunification. This will help reduce the Partner visa pipeline and processing times for many applicants.
- 40,500 Partner visas are estimated for 2022-23 for planning purposes, noting this estimate is not subject to a ceiling.
- 3000 Child visas are estimated for 2022-23 for planning purposes, noting this category is demand driven and not subject to a ceiling.
- Special Eligibility (100 places) – this stream covers visas for those in special circumstances, including permanent residents returning to Australia after a period overseas.
The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs can redistribute places between Skill stream visa categories on an ongoing basis to respond to changing economic conditions as they occur.
Migration Program planning levels as announced as part of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Federal Budgets
| Visa Stream | Visa Category | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
| Skill | Employer Sponsored | 22,000 | 30,000 |
| Skilled Independent | 6,500 | 16,652 | |
| Regional | 11,200 | 25,000 | |
| State/Territory Nominated | 11,200 | 20,000 | |
| Business Innovation & Investment | 13,500 | 9,500 | |
| Global Talent (Independent) | 15,000 | 8,448 | |
| Distinguished Talent | 200 | 300 | |
| Skill Total | 79,600 | 109,900 | |
| Family | Partner* (Demand driven: estimate, not subject to a ceiling) |
72,300 | 40,500 |
| Parent | 4,500 | 6,000 | |
| Child* (Demand driven: estimate, not subject to a ceiling) |
3,000 | 3,000 | |
| Other Family | 500 | 500 | |
| Family Total | 77,300** | 50,000 | |
| Special Eligibility | 100 | 100 | |
| Total Migration Program | 160,000 | 160,000 | |
*Planning levels for these categories are estimates only as they are demand driven and not subject to a ceiling.
**The total for the Family stream in 2021-22 does not include the Child category. For planning purposes both Child and Partner visa categories are counted towards the total Family stream in 2022-23.
Program size and composition
The size and composition of the Migration Program is set each year alongside the Australian Government’s Budget process.
To inform the planning levels and policy settings of the 2022-23 Migration Program, the Department of Home Affairs (the Department) consulted widely with state and territory governments, representatives of academia, industry, unions and community organisations between November and December 2021.
The Department also invited public submissions as part of the 2022-23 Migration Program planning process.
Public submissions, economic and labour force forecasts, international research, net overseas migration and economic and fiscal modelling are all taken into account when planning the program.
State and Territory nominated visa categories – 2022-23 nomination allocations
Under the 2022-23 Migration Program settings, nomination allocations are made available to States and Territories in the following visa categories:
- Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190)
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491)
- Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)
States and Territories each assess eligible applicants against criteria unique to their jurisdiction.
Further information on State and Territory nomination requirements can be found at:
- ACT – Skilled Visa – ACT nomination and Business Migration Guidelines
- NSW – Visas and Immigration
- VIC – Live in Melbourne
- QLD – Business & Skilled Migration Queensland
- NT – Northern Territory Visa nomination eligibility
- WA – Business Migration Western Australia (BIIP) or Skilled Migration Western Australia (190 and 491 visas)
- SA – Move to South Australia
- TAS – Migration Tasmania
Following consultation with States and Territories, the following nomination levels have been allocated for 2022-23:
State and Territory nominated visa allocations
| State | Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa | Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa | Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) |
| ACT | 800 | 1,920 | 10 |
| NSW | 7,160 | 4,870 | 260 |
| NT | 600 | 840 | 15 |
| QLD | 3,000 | 1,200 | 235 |
| SA | 2,700 | 3,180 | 70 |
| TAS | 2,000 | 1,350 | 10 |
| VIC | 9,000 | 2,400 | 170 |
| WA | 5,350 | 2,790 | 40 |
| Total | 30,610 | 18,550 | 810 |
Previous Years
The 2019-2020 financial year saw many changes to the migration program. Not only did the government announce the new Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), the effect of coronavirus brought about several changes to 2019-2020 migration program.
Skilled Migration Program Planning Level
The government planned that in the 2019-2020 financial year, total places available for skilled visa were 108,682. This is 69.5 per cent of the total migration program of the 2020 fiscal year. The purpose of the skilled migration program is to improve the productivity of the economy and fill the skill shortages in our labour market.
Below we will compare the skilled migration program planning level to the actual figure.
Skilled Independent
The government allocated 16,652 places for skilled independent visas. However, due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the number of applicants who received a skilled independent visa is lower than the predicted amount. In the 2020 financial year, the number of invitations issued was 9,500. The intake number declined drastically starting from the April period, which coincided with the travel restriction put in place by the government.
State and Territory Nominations
States and territories were allocated 24,968 places for the 2019-2020 year migration program. Data from the Department of Home Affairs revealed the number of allocations for each state and territories.
However, the invitation given out during the year is less than the predicted figure. This may also be because of the outbreak of coronavirus. Only 21,184 applicants received an invitation.
ACT
ACT reached their migration planned level for both subclass 190 visa and subclass 489/491 visa.
NSW
NSW reached their migration planned level for subclass 190 visa, but only invited 1671 applicants for the subclass 489/491 visa.
NT
NT reached their migration planned level for subclass 190 visa, but only invited 536 applicants for the subclass 489/491 visa.
QLD
QLD reached their migration planned level for subclass 190 visa, but only invited 1090 applicants for the subclass 489/491 visa.
SA
SA reached their migration planned level for subclass 190 visa, but only invited 3078 applicants for the subclass 489/491 visa.
TAS
TAS invited 1,117 applicants for Subclass 190 visa but reached their migration planned level for subclass 489/491 visa.
VIC
VIC reached their migration planned level for both subclass 190 visa and subclass 489/491 visa.
WA
WA invited 1,290 applicants for subclass 190 visa and 267 applicants for subclass 489/491 visa. Compare to other states, WA only issued 57.3% of its allocated quota for subclass 190 visa. Only 26.7% of the subclass 489/491 visas were issued.
Related: 1 July 2020 Migration update for Skilled and Business visas
Related: Top occupations for Permanent residency in 2019-20 Migration Program
Minimum Points Score
As seen below, the changes to the point system saw an increase in the minimum points score. In the October – November period, the minimum points were 80 and 85 respectively, but when the government introduced the new point test on 16 November 2019, the minimum score went up to 90-95.
Top in demand jobs in Australia for immigrants
Work Visas
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Extended Work Rights for Select Occupations and Qualifications
Permanent residence pathway for sc482 visa holders with an occupation on the Regional Occupation List (ROL)