he Australian Government announced that the planning level for the 2023-24 permanent Migration Program will be set at 190,000 places, with 137,100 places for the Skill stream.
On 24 August 2023, the Department of Home Affairs published additional information on how the State and Territory allocations has been distributed. Below is the nomination allocation table, which can also be found on the Home Affairs website.
| 2023–24 State and Territory nomination allocations | |||
| State | Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) visa | Skilled Work Regional (Subclass 491) visa | Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP)* |
| ACT | 600 | 600 | 0 |
| NSW | 2,650 | 1,500 | 0 |
| NT | 250 | 400 | 0 |
| QLD | 900 | 650 | 0 |
| SA | 1,100 | 1,200 | 0 |
| TAS | 600 | 600 | 0 |
| VIC | 2,700 | 600 | 0 |
| WA | 1,500 | 850 | 0 |
| Total | 10,300 | 6,400 | 0 |
Subclass 189/190 visas – general skilled migration
The State and Territory allocation levels has been reduced back to pre-pandemic levels. Potential applicants can expect a reduction in the number of invitations issued by the state/territory governments, as well as longer waiting time and increased competition.
Subclass 188 visas – business migration
You will also note that there is no current allocation to any state or territory government for the business innovation and investor visa programme. The Department advised that this is because it has enough applications on-hand to meet the 2023–24 planning level for the BIIP.
Global Talent visa – subclass 858
In contrast, Global Talent visa program has been allocated 5,000 places for 2023-24 program year. The GTI program offers direct permanent residency and does not depend on any points system, skilled occupation list, State or Territory nomination.
Nevertheless, the threshold to be invited to apply for the GTI visa is much higher than that of the GSM program. It may be the only pathway for very senior technical leaders, executives or entrepreneurs in the target sectors who are over 45. With the global talent visa, although the age limit is 55, candidates who can provide strong evidence of actual or potential but realistic extraordinary contribution to Australia may still be granted a global talent visa even if they are over 55.
We have helped highly skilled migrants secure the Global Talent visa who thought they were only eligible for the business skilled migration or employer nominated / general skilled migration programmes.
Whether you are onshore or offshore, email us on globaltalent@ashtonlegal.com.au, or call on +61412357238 or +61279009570 to find out if you’re eligible for the Global Talent visa pathway and let us help you secure your future in Australia.