A total of 160,000 visa places will be available for the 2019 – 2020 programme year. Approximately two thirds of the programme will be allocated to the Skilled stream with an increasing focus on regional settlement. In the Family stream the vast majority of places will be taken up by partner applicants (39,799) sponsored by an Australian citizen , permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and parents will receive 7,371 places.There will also be 3,350 places available under the Child sub-classes and 236 places for Special Eligibility.
Visas for the Skilled stream will be allocated as follows:
• Skilled Independent – 18,652
• State/Territory Nominated – 24,968
• Employer Sponsored - 30,000
• Skilled Employer Sponsored – 9,000
• Skilled Work Regional -14,000
• Business Innovation/investment – 6,862
• Global Talent – 5,000
• Distinguished Talent - 200
The General Skilled Migration programme will continue to encourage applicants to live in regional area with the introduction of two new skilled regional provisional visas being introduced in November 2019:
Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa is for people sponsored by an employer in regional Australia with 700 eligible occupations available for applicants to choose from;
Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa for people who are nominated by a state or territory government or sponsored by an eligible family member to live and work in regional Australia with 500 eligible occupations available for applicants to choose from.
Migrants applying for these visas will have the benefit of priority processing and will be granted a visa for up to 5 years but, will be required to live and work in a regional area of Australia for at least 3 years before becoming eligible to apply for permanent residence (Skilled Regional Visa).
In November 2019, regional Australia will be simplified and expanded to include anywhere in Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Perth.