What are Australia’s migration priorities?
It can be challenging to understand what priorities the Australian government has when it comes to migration. This can be frustrating for migrants who want to know what options they have and what visa pathways are likely to be the most successful for them.
Each year, the Australian Department of Home Affairs releases an update on their ‘Permanent Migration Program’ which outlines how many places they are planning to allocate to various permanent visa options. The government just released this for the 2025-26 year, and we’ll outline what they’ve said and what you should know!
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Skilled Stream
- 132,200 places available for 2025-26 year
- Makes up approximately 71% of the program
- Stream designed to improve the productive capacity of the economy and fill skill shortages in the labour market, particularly those in regional Australia.
Which visas are included in this stream and how many places are there for each?
- Employer sponsored (eg. 186 ‘Employer Nomination Scheme’) – 44,000 places
- Skilled Independent (subclass 189) – 16,900 (6,900 invitations to apply already issued)
- Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) – 33,000 places
- State & Territory Nominated (subclass 190) – 33,000 places
- Other – 5,300 places
Key learning: strong focus on employer sponsored visas and skilled regional visas
FREE ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT – SKILLED VISAS
Family Stream
- 52,500 places available for 2025-26 year.
- Makes up approximately 28% of the program.
- Stream mainly made up of partner visas, with some other options too.
- Goal to enable Australians to reunite with family members from overseas and provide them with pathways to citizenship.
Which visas are included in this stream and how many places are there for each?
- Partner (eg. subclasses 820/801, 309/100, 300) – 40,500 places
- Parent (eg. subclasses 870/884/804/864/143/173) – 8,500 places
- Child (eg. subclasses 802 & 101) – 3,000 places
- Other – 500 places
Key learning: strong focus on partner visas (onshore & offshore)
FREE ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT – FAMILY VISAS