Australia Schedules First 2026-27 Skilled Independent Invitation Round for 15 October

What happened

The Department of Home Affairs has posted a SkillSelect notice that “the next invitation round for the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa will be held on 15 October 2026”. It asks candidates to make sure their Expression of Interest (EOI) is up to date and accurate. The notice was last updated on 9 October 2026 and appears on Home Affairs’ invitation rounds page.

This will be the first departmental round of the 2026-27 program year. The last round was on 4 June 2026.

Who is affected

The round is for people with an EOI for the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa, a permanent visa that needs no sponsor. You need at least 65 points and must be under 45 when invited. The notice does not mention the 491 (Family Sponsored) stream. State-nominated 190 and 491 invitations are not part of this round, because states and territories nominate candidates on their own schedules.

What it means for your move

There are more 189 places this year. The 2026-27 Migration Program sets 21,090 Skilled Independent places, up from 16,900 in 2025-26, within a total program of 185,000.

For a sense of competition, the 4 June 2026 round issued 10,000 invitations with a tie-break date of 24/04/2026. Minimum scores ranged from 65 for trades such as Carpenter, Electrician (General), Plumber (General) and Bricklayer, to 100 for Urologist. Many teaching and health roles, such as Secondary School Teacher and Registered Nurse (Aged Care), needed 75. Many other occupations needed 80 to 95. The October results may be different.

Where candidates have equal points, the person who reached that score first is invited first.

What to do now

• Log in to SkillSelect and check every claim in your EOI before 15 October. Invitations are based on the points you claim, and you must be able to prove them when you apply.
• Update English test scores, work experience and qualifications if they have changed. Each update can change your score and tie-break date.
• Check that your skills assessment and English test will still be valid when you lodge.
• If invited, you normally have 60 days to lodge your visa application.

Our SkillSelect guide explains how rounds work, and the points test calculator guide helps you check your score.

What happens next

Home Affairs usually publishes results, including invitation numbers and minimum scores by occupation, on the invitation rounds page after a round. We will update this report when the 15 October results appear. The government has also announced a points test redesign with no start date yet. Follow the Australia hub and updates page.