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Metal Fabricator 322311

MLTSSLVIC 2026–27 priority: ConstructionAssessed by TRA· Unit group 3223 Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers·New to this? Start here
Where are you?StudyingGraduatedChoosing a visaReady to submitEOI submittedVisa lodged

As at November 2026, Metal Fabricator (ANZSCO 322311) is still invited through the subclass 189: the 15 October 2026 round invited it at 80 points, for EOIs with a date of effect up to 28 August 2026 (an estimated 17 invitations, 9.2% of its 185 EOIs at 65+). The October 2026 189 pool holds 252 EOIs (0 at 85+ points), with 336 in 190 and 325 in 491. Latest state cut-offs: 190 at 80 points (12 November 2026), community reported. Four states list the occupation for 190 or 491. The 189 cut-off ranged 75–105 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 round
80pts
15 Oct · DOE 28 Aug 2026
4–16 visas 2025-26*
190State nominated
4 states list it
80pts
12 Nov 2026 · ▲ from 70
53–56 visas 2025-26*
491Regional, state or family
4 states list it
–pts
no round recorded
5–20 visas 2025-26*
186Employer sponsored
Largest
No points test
485 → work → 482 or 186
107 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.

PathwayIn queueAt 85+Last invited
189Eligible252080 · 15 Oct 2026
WAopen22244–
VICopen18641–
NSWopen15219190 · 80 · 12 Nov 2026
QLDopen696190 · 75 · 5 Feb 2026
SANot listed704190 · 70 · 26 Feb 2025
NTNot listed262–
TASNot listed182–
ACTNot listed162–

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

  • 80 or more226 EOIs at that score or higher.
  • 75Your date of effect decides within the score.
  • Below 75Below the recent 189 cut-offs. Check the state lists for nomination.

Subclass 189 wait estimates · October 2026 EOI pool

80
Ahead4
Met the cut-off4/6
How these figures are worked outmethod and limits

Subclass 189 invitation rounds have paused since 15 October 2026, so a wait estimate can't be reliably projected while rounds are paused. The queue figures above are current; the wait will depend on when rounds resume.

"Met the cut-off" counts how many of the last 6 subclass-189 rounds your points would have been at or above the round's minimum.

Figures describe observed invitation rounds and the current EOI pool — indicative only, not migration advice.

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 Metal Fabricator?

Likely at 80 points or more. Invited in 6 recent 189 rounds.

Last 189 round · 15 October 2026

Cut-off
80 pts
June: also 80
Date of effect
invited at 80 up to here
Est. invited
17
Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers: 88–90
Queue invited
9.2%
17 of 185 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 →

Next 189 round

A forecast for the next round is coming.

If a round is held ↓Get your verdict →

189 places this financial year

FY2026-27 · estimated

Shared by all 2 occupations in Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers, not just Metal Fabricator

813est. ceiling361est. 189 places271–273est. left after 15 Oct

24–25%
452 to 186 / 190 / 49188–90 invited by 189open

15 Oct cut-off for the whole group: 80 pts · DOE 28 Aug – 1 Sept 2026

Who shares these places · 2 occupations
OccupationEst. invited this FYEOIs ≥ 80 ptsIn pool
Metal Fabricator322311THIS174252
Welder (First Class)32231371–7316472
3223 total88–9020724

ImmiTrend estimate — official figures not yet published. FY2025-26 official: 775 ceiling, 486 remaining · How we estimate · All occupation ceilings →

If a round is heldcut-off by round size, custom number, full prediction row
Compare all occupations

If 10 invited

75DOE ≤ Nov 25

If 20 invited

75DOE ≤ May 26

If 50 invited

70DOE ≤ June 25

If 100 invited

70DOE ≤ Oct 26

If 200 invited

60DOE ≤ Aug 26

If 500 invited

All invited (252)

If 1000 invited

All invited (252)

Or calculate a custom number

189 prediction — full row

Last roundCutoffOct 26Spots left (FY)If floor invitedIf anchored invitedActive EOIsAt/aboveCeiling remaining
Oct 268017–17396–39875DOE ≤ May 2675DOE ≤ May 262524486

Grants (190/491/ENS) · 2025-26

289

FOI source ↗
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 85 to 80 over the past 3 rounds — this can reflect round size, occupation allocation or EOI pool changes.
  • Still 15 points above the EOI minimum. Despite easing, Metal Fabricator remains competitive. Applicants significantly below 80 points are unlikely to receive invitations soon.
  • 1 round so far in 2026-27. Metal Fabricator 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 Metal Fabricator?

Four states list Metal Fabricator for 2026-27: NSW, VIC, QLD and WA are open.

Program status 2026-27
Map of Australia: Status by stateNew South Wales — openVictoria — openQueensland — openSouth Australia — Western Australia — openTasmania — openNorthern Territory — closedAustralian Capital Territory — openNSWopenVICopenQLDopenSAWAopenTASopenNTclosedACTopen
OpenOnshore onlyOpeningPaused or closedNot listed

Western AustraliaOpen

190 · since 16 Sept 2026

This occupation
Listed for 190 and 491
190 + 491 queue
222 EOIs · 44 at 85+ · most at 65
Last invited
No Metal Fabricator report yet
Next expected
Monthly rounds
Places 2026-27
190: – places, 17 used · 491: – places, 120 used
Grants 2024-25
1 × 190 · 0 × 491 · 40 × 186 · 2 × 189
Note
Latest round 14 October. Invitation counts by stream and the last-invited lines per occupation are on the WA page. Allocation not yet published.
WA program page ↗All WA data
Sign in to get an alert when WA invites a Metal Fabricator, 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
StateStatusListed190 queue491 queue85+Last cut-offState places 190 / 491 (all occupations)190 + 491 grantsState page
open190, 491836919190 · 80 · 12 Nov 2026– / –6All NSW data
open190, 4911087841–900 / –0All VIC data
open190, 49136336190 · 75 · 5 Feb 2026– / –6All QLD data
open · onshore onlyNot listed34364190 · 70 · 26 Feb 2025– / –4All SA data
open190, 49110511744–– / –1All WA data
openNot listed7112–1,250 / 8000All TAS data
closedNot listed9172–– / –1All NT data
openNot listed792–– / –0All 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

From 9 community-reported 190 and 491 invitations for Metal Fabricator, the median was 70 points.

Cut-off history

Where it ranks · 189

Outside top 50 by volume
of 170 occupations invited
▲ Rising
⋯
This occupation · most invited →least invited

39 invites last 2 FY · busiest 8,043 · typical 52

Most consistently invited

invited 4 of 4 roundsOccasional

oldest → newest · filled = invited

Year over year

22
last FY · 3 rounds
17
so far · 1 round
▲ +132% per round

Round to round · last 2 FY

1
7
14
17
105858080

▲ Rising · invites per round · number under a bar = 189 cut-off

Compare on the movers board

Minimum points invited, by source

Dashed line = the 65-point pass mark

Round History

Source:
  • 190NSWCommunity
    80
    Est. Invitations
    —
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 189Federal
    80
    Est. Invitations
    17–17
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    28 Aug 2026
  • 189Federal
    80
    Est. Invitations
    12–14
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 190NSWCommunity
    70
    Est. Invitations
    —
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 190NSWCommunity
    70
    Est. Invitations
    —
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 190QLDCommunity
    75
    Est. Invitations
    —
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 189Federal
    85
    Est. Invitations
    6–7
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
  • 189Federal
    105
    Est. Invitations
    1–1
    ·
    Salary
    —
    ·
    DOE / EOI
    —
FederalSkillSelectOfficialState governmentCommunityCrowdsourced

How many Metal Fabricator visas are actually granted?

148 skilled visas for Metal Fabricator in 2024-25, the 76th most of 581 occupations. 2025-26, provisional: 53–56 × 190, 5–20 × 491, 4–16 × 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.

Visa2024-25Change
148+9%
107+18%
1253–56*—
12—
114–16*—
65–20*—

494 includes the closed 187 (peak 70 in 2016-17). 491 includes the closed 489 (peak 8 in 2018-19). — 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
Metal Fabricator visa grants to main applicants, by programme year and visa
YearTotal186190491189494
2015-16210971272668
2016-172081041071770
2017-1814375145742
2018-199748148324
2019-209758136119
2020-2151425004
2021-22533083012
2022-231931003417240
2023-24136911081116
2024-251481071261112
2025-26*——53–565–204–16—

Where they were granted

Employer location, 2024-25. Coloured by how each state's share of Metal Fabricator 186 grants compares with its usual share of all 186 grants.

Map of Australia coloured by where Metal Fabricator 186 grants went compared with usualNew South Wales — 23Victoria — 20Queensland — 22South Australia — 0Western Australia — 40Tasmania — 1Northern Territory — 1Australian Capital Territory — 0NSW23VIC20QLD22SA0WA40TAS1NT1ACT0
  1. 1WAMore than usual37% · usually 17%40
  2. 2NSWLess than usual21% · usually 33%23
  3. 3QLDMore than usual21% · usually 15%22
  4. 4VICAbout usual19% · usually 25%20
  5. 5TASToo few to saytoo few to compare1
  6. 6NTToo few to saytoo few to compare1
  7. 7SAToo few to saytoo few to compare0
  8. 8ACTToo 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)
All 186 grants by state

Who was granted

Country of citizenship, 2022-23 to 2024-25 combined.

  1. 1Philippines22.4%
  2. 2United Kingdom13.2%
  3. 3South Africa8.8%
  4. 4India8.0%
  5. 5Ireland7.8%
91%
applied from within Australia in 2024-25134 of 148 main applicants

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 TRA, an English test result and at least 65 points. Study and graduate (485) time in Australia count.

Pre-EOI checklistPoints calculator

Questions

What points do you need for Metal Fabricator subclass 189?

Metal Fabricator last invited (189) 15 October 2026 at 80 points; ranged 75–105 over its last 6 invited rounds. At 80 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 28 August 2026 were invited.

Was I invited in the 15 October 2026 189 round as Metal Fabricator?

In the 15 October 2026 round, Metal Fabricator EOIs at 85 points or more were invited; at 80 points, those with a date of effect on or before 28 August 2026; at 75 or less, none. ImmiTrend estimates 17 invitations to this occupation (88–90 to unit group 3223), 9.2% of its 185 EOIs at 65+ points.

Is the Metal Fabricator subclass 189 cut-off rising or easing?

Easing: across the last 6 189 rounds the Metal Fabricator cut-off ranged 75–105, from 75 (5 September 2024) to 80 (15 October 2026).

Is 85, 90 or 95 points enough to be invited for Metal Fabricator (subclass 189)?

Over Metal Fabricator's last 6 invited 189 rounds (latest 15 October 2026) cut-offs ranged 75–105. Met: 95: 5 of 6, 90: 5 of 6, 85: 5 of 6, 80: 4 of 6, 75: 2 of 6. 70 or below: none. At 80 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 28 August 2026 were invited.

Check how your own points and Date of Effect rank →

What are the latest 190 and 491 cut-offs for Metal Fabricator?

For Metal Fabricator: subclass 190 was last invited at 80 points (12 November 2026). subclass 491 was last invited at 65 points (8 December 2022).

How do I compare to applicants who got invited for Metal Fabricator?

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 Metal Fabricator; samples may be incomplete.

Which states nominate Metal Fabricator for 190/491?

Metal Fabricator is on the current 190/491 state nomination lists of: NSW, QLD, VIC, WA. 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 Metal Fabricator?

About 271–273 subclass 189 places are estimated left in FY2026-27 after the 15 October 2026 round for Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers, the unit group's 2 occupations together, Metal Fabricator included, of 361 for the year. Home Affairs has not yet published FY2026-27 occupation ceilings, so the places are an ImmiTrend estimate.

How often are Metal Fabricator invitation rounds held?

Subclass 189: 1 federal round so far in FY2026-27 (15 October 2026); Metal Fabricator received invitations in 1 of them. State nominations in FY2026-27: subclass 190 invitations on 1 round date and subclass 491 on none (NSW; 80–80 points).

How many Metal Fabricator visas were granted in 2024-25?

148 main applicants: 107 through 186, 12 through 190, 12 through 494, 11 through 189 and 6 through 491.

Last updated 12 November 2026Sources:OfficialEstimatedCommunity-reported

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.

Plain-text version for AI assistants (Markdown)