189Federal
65- Est. Invitations
- 13–15
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- 29 Sep 2026
Musician (Instrumental) 211213
As at November 2026, Musician (Instrumental) (ANZSCO 211213) is still invited through the subclass 189: the 15 October 2026 round invited it at 65 points, for EOIs with a date of effect up to 29 September 2026 (an estimated 13–15 invitations, 100% of its 13 EOIs at 65+). The October 2026 189 pool holds 3 EOIs (0 at 85+ points), with 4 in 190 and 7 in 491. One state lists the occupation for 190 or 491. The 189 cut-off ranged 65–90 over the last 6 rounds, easing.
An EOI is ranked by points, then date of effect. 190 and 491 cut-offs (state nomination) are community reported.
189Skilled Independent
Every round65pts
15 Oct · DOE 29 Sept 2026
2–8 visas 2025-26*
190State nominated
1 states list it–pts
no round recorded
0 visas 2024-25
491Regional, state or family
1 states list it–pts
no round recorded
0 visas 2024-25
186Employer sponsored
LargestNo points test
485 → work → 482 or 186
2 visas 2024-25
Every pathway at a glance
October 2026 EOI pool. State rows count the 190 and 491 queues together, and one person can hold several EOIs. State scores are community reported.
| Pathway | In queue | At 85+ | Last invited |
|---|---|---|---|
| 189Eligible | 3 | 0 | 65 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| VICopen | 10 | 0 | – |
| SANot listed | 6 | 1 | – |
| NSWNot listed | 5 | 0 | – |
| QLDNot listed | 2 | 0 | – |
| WANot listed | 2 | 0 | – |
| TASNot listed | 1 | 0 | – |
| NTNot listed | 1 | 0 | – |
| ACTNot listed | 0 | 0 | – |
See who gets nominated → community-reported 190 and 491 invitations
Checking your access…
Where do you sit in the 189 queue?
What this means at your score and date of effect
- 65 or more10 EOIs at that score or higher.
- 60Your date of effect decides within the score.
- Below 60Below the recent 189 cut-offs. Check the state lists for nomination.
Subclass 189 wait estimates · October 2026 EOI pool
Not enough recent rounds to compute a wait estimate for this subclass.
How these figures are worked outmethod and limits
189 rank can be estimated from points and DOE; 190 and state/territory-nominated 491 are selected by each jurisdiction under its own policy and priorities, so a national EOI queue rank doesn't apply.
Will I get a 189 invitation as a Musician (Instrumental)?
Likely at 65 points or more. Invited in 6 recent 189 rounds.
Last 189 round · 15 October 2026
- Cut-off
- 65 pts
- June: 80, so 15 lower
- Date of effect
- invited at 65 up to here
- Est. invited
- 13–15
- Music Professionals: 15–17
- Queue invited
- 100%
- 13 of 13 at 65+
Cut-off and date of effect: Home Affairs. Invited and queue share: ImmiTrend estimates from the 1 Oct 2026 pool (queue = EOIs at 65+).
All 159 occupations in this round →We predicted 85 for this round. See the scorecard →
189 places this financial year
FY2026-27 · estimatedShared by all 2 occupations in Music Professionals, not just Musician (Instrumental)
500est. ceiling495est. 189 places478–480est. left after 15 Oct
3%
5 to 186 / 190 / 49115–17 invited by 189open
15 Oct cut-off for the whole group: 65–70 pts · DOE to 29 Sept 2026
Who shares these places · 2 occupations
| Occupation | Est. invited this FY | EOIs ≥ 65–70 pts | In pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musician (Instrumental)211213THIS | 13–15 | 1 | 3 |
| Music Director211212 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2112 total | 15–17 | 1 | 4 |
ImmiTrend estimate — official figures not yet published. FY2025-26 official: 500 ceiling, 500 remaining · How we estimate · All occupation ceilings →
If a round is heldcut-off by round size, custom number, full prediction row
If 10 invited
All invited (3)
If 20 invited
All invited (3)
If 50 invited
All invited (3)
If 100 invited
All invited (3)
If 200 invited
All invited (3)
If 500 invited
All invited (3)
If 1000 invited
All invited (3)
Or calculate a custom number
189 prediction — full row
| Last round | Cutoff | Oct 26 | Spots left (FY) | If floor invited | If anchored invited | Active EOIs | At/above | Ceiling remaining |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26 | 65 | 13–15 | 483–485 | All invited (3) | All invited (3) | 3 | 1 | 500 |
More 189 chartsqueue age, invitations per round, points gauge
Points reality gaugeyour points against those invited
Point Reality Gauge
- Points are easing. The minimum invited score has moved from 90 to 65 over the past 3 rounds — this can reflect round size, occupation allocation or EOI pool changes.
- At or near the EOI minimum. This occupation has recently invited at or near the EOI minimum, but future cut-offs and outcomes can still change.
- 1 round so far in 2026-27. Musician (Instrumental) has been invited in 1 invitation round this financial year. The round count alone doesn't indicate future demand or guarantee invitations.
Which state could nominate a Musician (Instrumental)?
VIC lists Musician (Instrumental) for 2026-27; its program is open.
Program status 2026-27
OpenOnshore onlyOpeningPaused or closedNot listed
VictoriaOpen
190 · since 26 Oct 2026
- This occupation
- Listed for 190 and 491
- 190 + 491 queue
- 10 EOIs · 0 at 85+ · most at 65
- Last invited
- No Musician (Instrumental) report yet
- Next expected
- Rounds through the year; no set dates
- Places 2026-27
- 190: 900 places, 0 used · 491: – places, 0 used
- Grants 2024-25
- 0 × 190 · 0 × 491 · 1 × 186 · 0 × 189
- Note
- First round expected in November, then roughly monthly (15 Oct briefing). ROI $60, once per program year; nomination $180.
Sign in to get an alert when VIC invites a Musician (Instrumental), with your position, the points distribution and the monthly series.Sign in
Status from state program pages. Queues: SkillSelect, 10/2026. An EOI can nominate several states, so state queues add up to more than the national totals.
All states as a tablestatus, listing, queue, last cut-off, places, grants
| State | Status | Listed | 190 queue | 491 queue | 85+ | Last cut-off | State places 190 / 491 (all occupations) | 190 + 491 grants | State page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| open | Not listed | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – / – | 0 | All NSW data | |
| open | 190, 491 | 7 | 3 | 0 | – | 900 / – | 0 | All VIC data | |
| open | Not listed | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – / – | 0 | All QLD data | |
| open · onshore only | Not listed | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | – / – | 0 | All SA data | |
| open | Not listed | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – / – | 0 | All WA data | |
| open | Not listed | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1,250 / 800 | 0 | All TAS data | |
| closed | Not listed | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – / – | 0 | All NT data | |
| open | Not listed | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – / – | 0 | All ACT data |
Per-state queue chartspoints distribution, queue trend, invited and lodged
Pick a state above to see its three charts
All eight states · 24 charts
Who gets nominatedcommunity-reported 190 and 491 invitations
No community-reported 190 or 491 invitations for Musician (Instrumental) yet.
Cut-off history
Where it ranks · 189
Outside top 50 by volume
of 170 occupations invited
▲ Rising
⋯
This occupation · most invited →least invited
24 invites last 2 FY · busiest 8,043 · typical 52
Most consistently invited
invited 4 of 4 roundsOccasional
oldest → newest · filled = invited
Year over year
9last FY · 3 rounds
15so far · 1 round
▲ +400% per roundRound to round · last 2 FY
1
1
7
15
90908065
▲ Rising · invites per round · number under a bar = 189 cut-off
Minimum points invited, by source
Dashed line = the 65-point pass mark
Round History
| Date | Subclass | Source | Points | Est. Invitations | Salary | DOE / EOI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2026 | 189 | Federal | 65 | 13–15 | — | 29 Sep 2026 | |
| 4 Jun 2026 | 189 | Federal | 80 | 6–7 | — | — | |
| 13 Nov 2025 | 189 | Federal | 90 | 1–1 | — | — | |
| 21 Aug 2025 | 189 | Federal | 90 | 1–1 | — | — | |
| 7 Nov 2024 | 189 | Federal | 90 | 1–2 | — | — | |
| 8 Dec 2022 | 491 | Federal | 65 | — | — | — | |
| 8 Dec 2022 | 189 | Federal | 65 | ~22Est. | — | — |
- ··
- 189Federal80
- Est. Invitations
- 6–7
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal90
- Est. Invitations
- 1–1
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal90
- Est. Invitations
- 1–1
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal90
- Est. Invitations
- 1–2
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 491Federal65
- Est. Invitations
- —
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal65
- Est. Invitations
- ~22Est.
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
··
FederalSkillSelectOfficialState governmentCommunityCrowdsourced
How many Musician (Instrumental) visas are actually granted?
2 skilled visas for Musician (Instrumental) in 2024-25, the 501st most of 581 occupations. 2025-26, provisional: 2–8 × 189 (186 and 494 not yet published).
25-26* is provisional: the full year to June 2026 for 189, 190 and 491 from a Home Affairs data release. The official release with every visa is expected in late 2026.
| Visa | Share of total | 2024-25 | 2025-26* | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | — | — | ||
100% | 2 | — | — | |
0% | 0 | — | — | |
0% | 0 | — | — | |
0% | 02–8* | 2–8 | — | |
0% | 0 | — | — |
— means last year had fewer than 20 grants. Tap a colour to show or hide its line. The grey area is the total.
Show the numbers for every year
| Year | Total | 186 | 190 | 491 | 189 | 494 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016-17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017-18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-20 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-22 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024-25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025-26* | — | — | — | — | 2–8 | — |
Where they were granted
Employer location, 2024-25. Coloured by how each state's share of Musician (Instrumental) 186 grants compares with its usual share of all 186 grants.
- 1VICToo few to saytoo few to compare1
- 2QLDToo few to saytoo few to compare1
- 3NSWToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- 4SAToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- 5WAToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- 6TASToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- 7ACTToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- 8NTToo few to saytoo few to compare0
- More than usual (1.3× or more)
- About usual
- Less than usual (under 0.75×)
- Too few to say (under 10)
Who was granted
Country of citizenship, 2022-23 to 2024-25 combined.
- 1United Kingdom21.4%
- 2India14.3%
- 3Vietnam14.3%
- 4Nepal7.1%
- 5China7.1%
Data: July 2015 to June 2025, main applicants only. Occupation is recorded only for main applicants in the Skill stream, so partner, parent, business and 858 visas can't appear here, and temporary visas such as 482 aren't in this data. Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0068 (CC BY). The views expressed are those of ImmiTrend and not necessarily those of the Department.
Your next step
Before you can submit an EOI you need a positive skills assessment from VETASSESS, an English test result and at least 65 points. Study and graduate (485) time in Australia count.
Questions
What points do you need for Musician (Instrumental) subclass 189?
Musician (Instrumental) last invited (189) 15 October 2026 at 65 points; ranged 65–90 over its last 6 invited rounds. At 65 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 29 September 2026 were invited.
Was I invited in the 15 October 2026 189 round as Musician (Instrumental)?
In the 15 October 2026 round, Musician (Instrumental) EOIs at 70 points or more were invited; at 65 points, those with a date of effect on or before 29 September 2026; at 60 or less, none. ImmiTrend estimates 13–15 invitations to this occupation (15–17 to unit group 2112), 100% of its 13 EOIs at 65+ points.
Is the Musician (Instrumental) subclass 189 cut-off rising or easing?
Easing: across the last 6 189 rounds the Musician (Instrumental) cut-off ranged 65–90, from 65 (8 December 2022) to 65 (15 October 2026).
Is 85, 90 or 95 points enough to be invited for Musician (Instrumental) (subclass 189)?
Over Musician (Instrumental)'s last 6 invited 189 rounds (latest 15 October 2026) cut-offs ranged 65–90. Met: 95: 6 of 6, 90: 6 of 6, 85: 3 of 6, 80: 3 of 6, 75: 2 of 6, 70: 2 of 6. At 65 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 29 September 2026 were invited.
What are the latest 190 and 491 cut-offs for Musician (Instrumental)?
For Musician (Instrumental): subclass 491 was last invited at 65 points (8 December 2022).
How do I compare to applicants who got invited for Musician (Instrumental)?
States and territories issue 190 and 491 invitations under their own policies, not national EOI queue order. Check My Score compares your profile with community-reported invited samples for Musician (Instrumental); samples may be incomplete.
Which states nominate Musician (Instrumental) for 190/491?
Musician (Instrumental) is on the current 190/491 state nomination lists of: VIC. State lists and quotas change each program year — check each state's official list.
How many subclass 189 places are likely left this FY2026-27 for Musician (Instrumental)?
About 478–480 subclass 189 places are estimated left in FY2026-27 after the 15 October 2026 round for Music Professionals, the unit group's 2 occupations together, Musician (Instrumental) included, of 495 for the year. Home Affairs has not yet published FY2026-27 occupation ceilings, so the places are an ImmiTrend estimate.
How often are Musician (Instrumental) invitation rounds held?
Subclass 189: 1 federal round so far in FY2026-27 (15 October 2026); Musician (Instrumental) received invitations in 1 of them.
How many Musician (Instrumental) visas were granted in 2024-25?
2 main applicants: 2 through 186.
Last updated 2 November 2026Sources:OfficialEstimated
EOI snapshot October 2026
Community-reported and estimated figures are indicative and may be incomplete — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee. Official figures come from Home Affairs / SkillSelect.
General information only — not migration advice.
Compiled by ImmiTrend from official SkillSelect data.