Migration advisers received fresh statistics on 13 July 2026 when Work Visa Lawyers published Department of Home Affairs figures for the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) invitation round held on 4 June 2026. A total of 10,000 invitations were issued, with minimum points thresholds ranging from 75 for engineers to 85 for accountants and auditors. Health-care and teaching professions again dominated invitations, underscoring the government’s focus on critical skills.
![Government Releases Latest Skilled-Independent Visa Invitation Round Data]()
Whether you’re an employer mapping workforce plans or a skilled professional polishing your Expression of Interest, VisaHQ’s Australian migration portal delivers clear visa guides, real-time requirements, and dedicated support that can help you move smoothly from points testing to final application lodging.
The round is the first since the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) was indexed on 1 July, rising 3.8 % to A$79,499. Employers must now budget higher base salaries to secure talent once invited candidates lodge applications. Immigration lawyers urge companies to audit salary bands quickly; nominations lodged with outdated figures risk refusal or costly re-nomination. Notably, Home Affairs reaffirmed that the next invitation round ‘is expected by 30 September 2026’, suggesting a possible quarterly cadence rather than the ad-hoc pattern of recent years. This greater predictability is welcome news for global mobility teams planning January 2027 start dates. Demand remains intense: SkillSelect still holds more than 240,000 Expressions of Interest scoring 70 points or above. Experts say that unless the government expands planning levels in the October Budget, cut-off scores are unlikely to drop. For multinational employers, the message is clear—sponsorship pathways such as the Skills-in-Demand (subclass 482) visa remain critical stop-gaps while high-scoring permanent-residency hopefuls wait for scarce invitations.
Whether you’re an employer mapping workforce plans or a skilled professional polishing your Expression of Interest, VisaHQ’s Australian migration portal delivers clear visa guides, real-time requirements, and dedicated support that can help you move smoothly from points testing to final application lodging.
The round is the first since the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) was indexed on 1 July, rising 3.8 % to A$79,499. Employers must now budget higher base salaries to secure talent once invited candidates lodge applications. Immigration lawyers urge companies to audit salary bands quickly; nominations lodged with outdated figures risk refusal or costly re-nomination. Notably, Home Affairs reaffirmed that the next invitation round ‘is expected by 30 September 2026’, suggesting a possible quarterly cadence rather than the ad-hoc pattern of recent years. This greater predictability is welcome news for global mobility teams planning January 2027 start dates. Demand remains intense: SkillSelect still holds more than 240,000 Expressions of Interest scoring 70 points or above. Experts say that unless the government expands planning levels in the October Budget, cut-off scores are unlikely to drop. For multinational employers, the message is clear—sponsorship pathways such as the Skills-in-Demand (subclass 482) visa remain critical stop-gaps while high-scoring permanent-residency hopefuls wait for scarce invitations.
