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  • Visas granted for 189 AND 491 Visa Between 03-2020 and 01-2021

Visas Granted For 189 and 491 Visa between 03/2020 and 01/2021


Update (October 2026)

This post shows grant data from the COVID-19 period, when only priority occupations were being invited and granted. Those pandemic settings ended when Australia reopened in 2022. For current rounds see our invitation rounds page and the latest 189 and 491 invitation round analysis, and see “What this means in 2026” below.

Recently we have written about the Bespoke invitation rounds running since May 2020, and you may already see that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has been only issuing invitations for occupations in healthcare, engineering, ICT, and science.

In this post, we have retrieved some data released by DHA for the number of visas granted for subclass 189 and 491 (Family Sponsored) between 03/2020 and 01/2021. From these data, we understand that DHA is also prioritizing granting visas for the above occupations so that they can come to Australia and support the country in the pandemic.

Looking at the table, we could see that the number of visas granted significantly decreased by 90% since the pandemic started in March 2020. Healthcare section appears to be the group that received the greatest number of grants during this period, especially General Practitioner, Medical Practitioner (nec), and Registered Nurse (nec).

For engineering group, Mechanical engineers received more visa grants than other occupations in the same group. Accountants, unfortunately, did not receive any visas granted since 06/2020.

Book a Consultation

The two tables below show monthly grant numbers by occupation as released at the time. Select a table to open it.

Number of 189 visa grants

 

Occupation 03/2020 04/2020 05/2020 06/2020 07/2020 08/2020 09/2020 10/2020 11/2020 12/2020 01/2021
133211 Engineering Manager < 5
134213 Primary Health Organisation Manager < 5 < 5
221111 Accountant (General) 76 < 5 8 < 5
221113 Taxation Accountant < 5 < 5
221213 External Auditor 29 < 5 < 5
224111 Actuary < 5
224711 Management Consultant < 5 < 5
232111 Architect 5
232214 Other Spatial Scientist < 5
233111 Chemical Engineer 8 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233112 Materials Engineer < 5
233211 Civil Engineer 23 < 5 < 5 14 < 5 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233212 Geotechnical Engineer < 5
233213 Quantity Surveyor 7 < 5 < 5 5
233214 Structural Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5
233311 Electrical Engineer 16 < 5 < 5 < 5
233411 Electronics Engineer 19 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233511 Industrial Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233512 Mechanical Engineer 40 < 5 10 7 9 < 5 < 5 < 5
233513 Production or Plant Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233611 Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum) < 5 < 5
233612 Petroleum Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5
233911 Aeronautical Engineer < 5 < 5
233912 Agricultural Engineer < 5
233913 Biomedical Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233914 Engineering Technologist 17 < 5 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233915 Environmental Engineer < 5
233916 Naval Architect (Aus) / Marine Designer (NZ) < 5
233999 Engineering Professionals nec < 5
234111 Agricultural Consultant < 5 < 5 < 5
234112 Agricultural Scientist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
234113 Forester (Aus) / Forest Scientist (NZ) < 5
234212 Food Technologist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 5 < 5
234399 Environmental Scientists nec < 5
234511 Life Scientist (General) 8 < 5 < 5 < 5
234513 Biochemist < 5 < 5 < 5
234514 Biotechnologist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
234599 Life Scientists nec < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
234611 Medical Laboratory Scientist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 6 7 5 33 8 10
241111 Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher 5 < 5
241411 Secondary School Teacher 6 < 5 < 5 < 5
241511 Special Needs Teacher < 5
242111 University Lecturer 5
251211 Medical Diagnostic Radiographer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
251212 Medical Radiation Therapist < 5
251411 Optometrist < 5 < 5
251912 Orthotist or Prosthetist < 5
252411 Occupational Therapist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
252511 Physiotherapist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
252711 Audiologist < 5
252712 Speech Pathologist (Aus) / Speech Language Therapist (NZ) < 5 < 5 < 5
253111 General Practitioner 10 10 6 17 22 18 16 7 6 < 5 < 5
253112 Resident Medical Officer < 5
253311 Specialist Physician (General Medicine) < 5 < 5
253312 Cardiologist < 5 < 5
253317 Intensive Care Specialistv < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
253399 Specialist Physicians nec < 5 < 5 < 5
253411 Psychiatrist < 5 < 5 < 5
253511 Surgeon (General)v < 5
253912 Emergency Medicine Specialist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 5 < 5
253913 Obstetrician and Gynaecologist < 5 < 5
253917 Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologistv < 5 < 5 < 5
253999 Medical Practitioners nec 18 22 18 18 34 24 8 12 15 < 5 < 5
254111 Midwife < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254412 Registered Nurse (Aged Care) < 5 7 < 5 10 7 7 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254413 Registered Nurse (Child and Family Health) < 5 < 5
254414 Registered Nurse (Community Health) < 5 < 5
254415 Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) 7 < 5 < 5 < 5 7 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254417 Registered Nurse (Disability and Rehabilitation) < 5 < 5
254418 Registered Nurse (Medical) 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 5 < 5 7 < 5 < 5 < 5
254421 Registered Nurse (Medical Practice) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254422 Registered Nurse (Mental Health) < 5 < 5 < 5
254423 Registered Nurse (Perioperative) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254424 Registered Nurse (Surgical) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254425 Registered Nurse (Paediatrics) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254499 Registered Nurses nec 24 26 19 41 41 34 18 5 10 < 5 5
261111 ICT Business Analyst 42 < 5 6 < 5 < 5 < 5
261112 Systems Analyst 19 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
261311 Analyst Programmer 24 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
261312 Developer Programmer 58 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
261313 Software Engineer 72 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
261314 Software Tester < 5
261399 Software and Applications Programmers nec 8 < 5
262112 ICT Security Specialist 48 < 5 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer 57 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
263311 Telecommunications Engineer 14 < 5
263312 Telecommunications Network Engineer 7 < 5
271311 Solicitor < 5 < 5 < 5
272311 Clinical Psychologist < 5
272313 Organisational Psychologist < 5
272399 Psychologists nec < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
272511 Social Worker < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
312211 Civil Engineering Draftsperson < 5
312212 Civil Engineering Technician < 5 < 5
312311 Electrical Engineering Draftsperson < 5
313211 Radiocommunications Technician < 5
321212 Diesel Motor Mechanicv < 5
331111 Bricklayer < 5
331212 Carpenter < 5
341111 Electrician (General) < 5
342315 Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (Special Class) < 5
Not Specified 533 592 460 822 351 355 593 234 260 173 101
Subclass 189 – Total 1,283 721 596 983 523 506 685 290 363 206 126

 

Number of 491 (Family Sponsored) Visa grants

 

Occupation 03/2020 04/2020 05/2020 06/2020 07/2020 08/2020 09/2020 10/2020 11/2020 12/2020 01/2021
133111 Construction Project Manager < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
224111 Actuary < 5
232214 Other Spatial Scientist < 5
233111 Chemical Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233112 Materials Engineer < 5
233211 Civil Engineer 6 < 5 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 5 < 5 < 5
233213 Quantity Surveyor < 5 < 5 < 5
233214 Structural Engineer < 5 < 5
233215 Transport Engineer < 5
233311 Electrical Engineer < 5 5 < 5 6 < 5 < 5 < 5
233411 Electronics Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 10 6 < 5 < 5
233511 Industrial Engineer < 5
233512 Mechanical Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 7 < 5 < 5
233513 Production or Plant Engineer < 5
233611 Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum) < 5 < 5
233612 Petroleum Engineer < 5 < 5
233912 Agricultural Engineer < 5
233913 Biomedical Engineer < 5
233914 Engineering Technologist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
233915 Environmental Engineer < 5 < 5
234111 Agricultural Consultantv < 5 < 5 < 5
234211 Chemist < 5 < 5
234212 Food Technologist < 5 < 5
234513 Biochemist < 5
234514 Biotechnologist < 5 < 5
234611 Medical Laboratory Scientist < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
234914 Physicist < 5
241111 Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher < 5 < 5 < 5
241411 Secondary School Teacher < 5 < 5
242111 University Lecturer < 5
251211 Medical Diagnostic Radiographer < 5 < 5 < 5
252111 Chiropractor < 5
252112 Osteopath < 5
252312 Dentist < 5
252411 Occupational Therapist < 5 < 5
252511 Physiotherapist < 5
253111 General Practitioner < 5 < 5
253999 Medical Practitioners nec < 5
254111 Midwife < 5
254411 Nurse Practitioner < 5
254412 Registered Nurse (Aged Care) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254413 Registered Nurse (Child and Family Health) < 5 < 5
254414 Registered Nurse (Community Health) < 5 < 5
254415 Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 7 < 5 10 6
254417 Registered Nurse (Disability and Rehabilitation) < 5
254418 Registered Nurse (Medical) 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 6 5
254421 Registered Nurse (Medical Practice) < 5
254422 Registered Nurse (Mental Health) < 5 < 5
254423 Registered Nurse (Perioperative) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254424 Registered Nurse (Surgical) < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
254425 Registered Nurse (Paediatrics) < 5
254499 Registered Nurses nec 8 7 5 < 5 14 12 6 10 22 10 8
261111 ICT Business Analyst < 5 < 5 < 5
261211 Multimedia Specialist < 5
261311 Analyst Programmer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
261312 Developer Programmerv < 5 6 12 < 5 < 5 < 5
261313 Software Engineer 6 < 5 7 9 5 7 8
261399 Software and Applications Programmers nec < 5 < 5
262112 ICT Security Specialist 11 < 5 5 30 < 5 < 5
263111 Computer Network and Systems Engineer < 5 5 16 5 6 < 5
263311 Telecommunications Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 6 < 5
263312 Telecommunications Network Engineer < 5 < 5 < 5
271311 Solicitor < 5
272399 Psychologists nec < 5
272511 Social Worker < 5 < 5 < 5
311411 Chemistry Technician < 5
312211 Civil Engineering Draftsperson < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5 < 5
312212 Civil Engineering Technician < 5 < 5
312311 Electrical Engineering Draftsperson < 5 < 5
313213 Telecommunications Network Planner < 5
321211 Motor Mechanic (General) < 5 < 5
351311 Chef < 5 < 5
Not Specified 54 14 26 13 23 26 9 110 98 95 68
491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (Family Sponsor) Total 130 46 94 36 54 52 24 263 196 165 125

What this means in 2026

The figures above are a snapshot of a very unusual period. Borders were closed, and the Department of Home Affairs focused invitations and grants on health, engineering, ICT and science occupations that were critical to the pandemic response. That is why 189 grants fell so sharply and why accountants received no grants from mid 2020.

Topic 2020 to 2021 (this data) October 2026
Who was invited Mainly priority occupations (health, engineering, ICT, science) Rounds are run by the Department through SkillSelect. Results vary from round to round, and competition is high, so a strong points score matters.
Processing Priority occupations processed first Processing priorities for skilled visas are now set by Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 (from 19 September 2026), which favour health, construction, teaching, resources, agriculture, aquaculture and fishing.
Subclass 189 Points-tested permanent visa, invitation only Same: you need an invitation from your EOI, a suitable skills assessment, at least 65 points, competent English and to be under 45 when invited.
Subclass 491 (Family Sponsored) 5-year provisional regional visa Same: an eligible relative living in a designated regional area sponsors you, and you get 15 points. After 3 years you may qualify for the 191 permanent visa, which has had no minimum income requirement since June 2023.
Who this affects now

If you are a skilled worker with a lodged Expression of Interest, or a relative in a regional area hoping to sponsor a family member, past grant numbers by occupation are not a reliable guide to your chances today. What counts is your points score, your occupation, how up to date your EOI is and whether your claims can be proven.

Next steps
  1. Check your score with our points test calculator and the points test table.
  2. Read the 189 visa and 491 visa guides, including 491 Family Sponsored eligibility for your relative.
  3. Keep your SkillSelect EOI up to date and consider state sponsorship as well.
  4. Check current skilled visa processing times, or book a consultation to review your options.

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