Blog

Analysis and insights on Australian skilled migration data, trends, and policy changes.

23 October 2026

After the 15 October 2026 189 Round: Who Was Invited, Where Places Remain, What to Watch Next

An estimated 16,711–22,685 subclass 189 invitations, 30–40% of the year's places: who was invited most, where places remain, which groups are at their ceiling.

14 October 2026

Victorian points test calculator, plus an unofficial ROI pool

Work out your Victorian Points Test score with the official 2026–27 tables, then add your planned ROI to an unofficial, user-reported pool to see where you'd stand.

9 October 2026

Occupation Ceilings Are a Cap, Not a Target: The New 189 Prediction Method

189 invitation prediction, October 2026: our old model treated occupation ceilings as quotas. Backtests said otherwise. New method, 5-round test, what moved.

1 October 2026

Australia’s Visa Grants Over 10 Years — and the 2026-27 Plan

Home Affairs data, 2015-16 to 2024-25: 189 grants fell from 43,525 to 16,900 as 190 and regional grew. Plus the 2026-27 vs 2025-26 plan for each category.

5 August 2026

Will You Be Invited in the First 189 Round of 2026-27?

We project an 8,400–9,400-invitation first 189 round, then work out the points cutoff and date of effect it reaches in every occupation — including the 12 occupation groups that cannot be invited at all.

18 August 2026

How Many Points Do You Need for a 189 Invitation? How to Check Your Occupation's Cutoff, DOE and Queue Position

There is no single 189 cutoff — the same round can invite one occupation at the 65-point pass mark while another needs 90 points or more. A step-by-step guide to checking your own occupation's predicted cutoff and date-of-effect window for the next round, and your estimated queue position from the latest SkillSelect snapshot. Free, no account needed.

4 August 2026

Will You Be Invited This Financial Year? Your Rank vs the 189 Places Left

Introducing the invite window: your DOE-based queue rank drawn against this financial year's estimated 189 places for your occupation — with honest est. labels until official ceilings publish.

2 October 2026

Will You Be Invited in the First 189 Round of 2026-27? October Update

The round expected in September was not held, and Home Affairs now expects it by 31 October 2026. The same projection re-frozen on the September SkillSelect snapshot and an updated places estimate: an 8,400–9,400-invitation first 189 round, the points cutoff and date of effect it reaches in every occupation, and everything that moved since the September update.

2 September 2026

Will You Be Invited in the First 189 Round of 2026-27? September Update

The same projection re-frozen on the August SkillSelect snapshot, one month before the round: an 8,400–9,400-invitation first 189 round, the points cutoff and date of effect it reaches in every occupation, and everything that moved since 5 August after the June round's lapsed invitations returned to the queue.

September 2026

189 EOI Forecast vs Reality: August 2026 Scorecard

We graded 68 of our July 189-pool forecasts against August’s real SkillSelect data: the whole pool landed within 0.6%, but only 40 of 68 occupation pools stayed inside our 80% ranges after lapsed June-round invitations flowed back into the queue. Full numbers, misses included.

August 2026