189Federal
80- Est. Invitations
- 1–1
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- 10 Aug 2026
Metal Machinist (First Class) 323214
MLTSSLVIC 2026–27 priority: ConstructionAssessed by TRA· Unit group 3232 Metal Fitters and Machinists·New to this? Start here
As at November 2026, Metal Machinist (First Class) (ANZSCO 323214) 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 10 August 2026 (an estimated 1 invitations, 3.6% of its 28 EOIs at 65+). The October 2026 189 pool holds 46 EOIs (0 at 85+ points), with 208 in 190 and 389 in 491. Latest state cut-offs: 190 at 70 points (20 March 2026) and 491 at 90 points (30 January 2025), community reported. Four states list the occupation for 190 or 491. The 189 cut-off ranged 65–95 over the last 6 rounds, rising.
An EOI is ranked by points, then date of effect. 190 and 491 cut-offs (state nomination) are community reported.
189Skilled Independent
Every round80pts
15 Oct · DOE 10 Aug 2026
0 visas 2024-25
190State nominated
4 states list it70pts
20 Mar 2026 · → from 70
39–45 visas 2025-26*
491Regional, state or family
4 states list it90pts
30 Jan 2025
12–15 visas 2025-26*
186Employer sponsored
LargestNo points test
485 → work → 482 or 186
48 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 | 46 | 0 | 80 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| NSWopen | 134 | 8 | 190 · 65 · 29 Apr 2025 |
| QLDopen | 116 | 5 | 190 · 70 · 20 Mar 2026 |
| VICopen | 109 | 7 | – |
| WAopen | 101 | 4 | – |
| SANot listed | 120 | 7 | 190 · 65 · 2 Sept 2024 |
| ACTNot listed | 54 | 2 | – |
| NTNot listed | 44 | 2 | – |
| TASNot listed | 35 | 1 | – |
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 more87 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
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 Metal Machinist (First Class)?
Likely at 80 points or more. Invited in 6 recent 189 rounds.
Last 189 round · 15 October 2026
- Cut-off
- 80 pts
- June: 85, so 5 lower
- Date of effect
- invited at 80 up to here
- Est. invited
- 1
- Metal Fitters and Machinists: 18
- Queue invited
- 3.6%
- 1 of 28 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 4 occupations in Metal Fitters and Machinists, not just Metal Machinist (First Class)
1,187est. ceiling645est. 189 places627est. left after 15 Oct
3%
542 to 186 / 190 / 49118 invited by 189open
15 Oct cut-off for the whole group: 80 pts · DOE 10 Aug – 13 Aug 2026
Who shares these places · 4 occupations
| Occupation | Est. invited this FY | EOIs ≥ 80 pts | In pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Machinist (First Class)323214THIS | 1 | 0 | 46 |
| Fitter (General)323211 | 15 | 4 | 295 |
| Fitter-Welder323213 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Fitter and Turner323212 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| 3232 total | 18 | 4 | 383 |
ImmiTrend estimate — official figures not yet published. FY2025-26 official: 1,244 ceiling, 873 remaining · How we estimate · All occupation ceilings →
If a round is heldcut-off by round size, custom number, full prediction row
If 10 invited
75DOE ≤ June 26
If 20 invited
65DOE ≤ May 25
If 50 invited
All invited (46)
If 100 invited
All invited (46)
If 200 invited
All invited (46)
If 500 invited
All invited (46)
If 1000 invited
All invited (46)
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 | 80 | 1–1 | 855–855 | 75DOE ≤ Nov 24 | 75DOE ≤ Nov 24 | 46 | 0 | 873 |
More 189 chartsqueue age, invitations per round, points gauge
Points reality gaugeyour points against those invited
Point Reality Gauge
- Points are rising. Recent invited scores for Metal Machinist (First Class) are rising, which suggests competition may be increasing. Higher points generally improve 189 ranking; 190/491 outcomes still depend on each state and territory's policy and priorities.
- Still 15 points above the EOI minimum. Despite current trends, Metal Machinist (First Class) remains competitive. Applicants significantly below 80 points are unlikely to receive invitations soon.
- 1 round so far in 2026-27. Metal Machinist (First Class) 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 Machinist (First Class)?
Four states list Metal Machinist (First Class) for 2026-27: NSW, VIC, QLD and WA are open.
Program status 2026-27
OpenOnshore onlyOpeningPaused or closedNot listed
New South WalesOpen
190 · since 15 Oct 2026
- This occupation
- Listed for 190 and 491
- 190 + 491 queue
- 134 EOIs · 8 at 85+ · most at 65
- Last invited
- 190 at 65 · 29 Apr 2025 (community)
- Next expected
- Rounds through the year
- Places 2026-27
- 190: – places, 11 used · 491: – places, 0 used
- Grants 2024-25
- 4 × 190 · 4 × 491 · 10 × 186 · 0 × 189
- Note
- NSW Skills List rebuilt to 78 unit groups (16 removed, 15 added). NSW doesn't announce round dates. Allocation not yet published.
Sign in to get an alert when NSW invites a Metal Machinist (First Class), 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 | 190, 491 | 49 | 85 | 8 | 190 · 65 · 29 Apr 2025 | – / – | 8 | All NSW data | |
| open | 190, 491 | 41 | 68 | 7 | – | 900 / – | 0 | All VIC data | |
| open | 190, 491 | 40 | 76 | 5 | 190 · 70 · 20 Mar 2026 | – / – | 5 | All QLD data | |
| open · onshore only | Not listed | 46 | 74 | 7 | 190 · 65 · 2 Sept 2024 | – / – | 14 | All SA data | |
| open | 190, 491 | 32 | 69 | 4 | – | – / – | 2 | All WA data | |
| open | Not listed | 13 | 22 | 1 | – | 1,250 / 800 | 0 | All TAS data | |
| closed | Not listed | 16 | 28 | 2 | – | – / – | 0 | All NT data | |
| open | Not listed | 18 | 36 | 2 | – | – / – | 1 | 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
From 8 community-reported 190 and 491 invitations for Metal Machinist (First Class), 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
5 invites last 2 FY · busiest 8,043 · typical 52
Most consistently invited
invited 4 of 4 roundsOccasional
oldest → newest · filled = invited
Year over year
4last FY · 3 rounds
1so far · 1 round
▼ −25% per roundRound to round · last 2 FY
1
1
2
1
85958580
▲ 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
Source:
| Date | Subclass | Source | Points | Est. Invitations | Salary | DOE / EOI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2026 | 189 | Federal | 80 | 1–1 | — | 10 Aug 2026 | |
| 4 Jun 2026 | 189 | Federal | 85 | 2–2 | — | — | |
| 20 Mar 2026 | 190 | QLDCommunity | 70 | — | — | — | |
| 23 Feb 2026 | 190 | QLDCommunity | 70 | — | — | — | |
| 5 Feb 2026 | 190 | QLDCommunity | 70 | — | — | — | |
| 13 Nov 2025 | 189 | Federal | 95 | 1–1 | — | — | |
| 21 Aug 2025 | 189 | Federal | 85 | 1–1 | — | — | |
| 29 Apr 2025 | 190 | NSWCommunity | 65 | — | — | — |
- ··
- 189Federal85
- Est. Invitations
- 2–2
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 190QLDCommunity70
- Est. Invitations
- —
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 190QLDCommunity70
- Est. Invitations
- —
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 190QLDCommunity70
- Est. Invitations
- —
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal95
- Est. Invitations
- 1–1
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 189Federal85
- Est. Invitations
- 1–1
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
·· - 190NSWCommunity65
- Est. Invitations
- —
- Salary
- —
- DOE / EOI
- —
··
FederalSkillSelectOfficialState governmentCommunityCrowdsourced
How many Metal Machinist (First Class) visas are actually granted?
82 skilled visas for Metal Machinist (First Class) in 2024-25, the 115th most of 581 occupations. 2025-26, provisional: 39–45 × 190, 12–15 × 491 (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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 82 | — | −16% | ||
59% | 48 | — | +7% | |
26% | 2112–15* | 12–15 | −25% | |
11% | 939–45* | 39–45 | — | |
5% | 4 | — | — | |
0% | 0 | — | — |
494 includes the closed 187 (peak 20 in 2015-16). 491 includes the closed 489 (peak 17 in 2017-18). — 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 | 78 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 20 |
| 2016-17 | 64 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 14 |
| 2017-18 | 68 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 11 |
| 2018-19 | 39 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019-20 | 50 | 12 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2021-22 | 60 | 28 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 7 |
| 2022-23 | 140 | 43 | 37 | 35 | 6 | 19 |
| 2023-24 | 98 | 45 | 16 | 28 | 3 | 6 |
| 2024-25 | 82 | 48 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 4 |
| 2025-26* | — | — | 39–45 | 12–15 | — | — |
Where they were granted
Employer location, 2024-25. Coloured by how each state's share of Metal Machinist (First Class) 186 grants compares with its usual share of all 186 grants.
- 1WAMore than usual35% · usually 17%17
- 2VICAbout usual23% · usually 25%11
- 3NSWLess than usual21% · usually 33%10
- 4QLDToo few to saytoo few to compare7
- 5SAToo few to saytoo few to compare3
- 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.
- 1India27.8%
- 2Philippines16.9%
- 3South Africa15.3%
- 4Iran10.0%
- 5United Kingdom9.1%
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 TRA, an English test result and at least 65 points. Study and graduate (485) time in Australia count.
Questions
What points do you need for Metal Machinist (First Class) subclass 189?
Metal Machinist (First Class) last invited (189) 15 October 2026 at 80 points; ranged 65–95 over its last 6 invited rounds. At 80 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 10 August 2026 were invited.
Was I invited in the 15 October 2026 189 round as Metal Machinist (First Class)?
In the 15 October 2026 round, Metal Machinist (First Class) EOIs at 85 points or more were invited; at 80 points, those with a date of effect on or before 10 August 2026; at 75 or less, none. ImmiTrend estimates 1 invitations to this occupation (18–18 to unit group 3232), 3.6% of its 28 EOIs at 65+ points.
Is the Metal Machinist (First Class) subclass 189 cut-off rising or easing?
Rising: across the last 6 189 rounds the Metal Machinist (First Class) cut-off ranged 65–95, from 65 (8 December 2022) to 80 (15 October 2026).
Is 85, 90 or 95 points enough to be invited for Metal Machinist (First Class) (subclass 189)?
Over Metal Machinist (First Class)'s last 6 invited 189 rounds (latest 15 October 2026) cut-offs ranged 65–95. Met: 95: 6 of 6, 90: 5 of 6, 85: 4 of 6, 80: 2 of 6, 75: 1 of 6, 70: 1 of 6. At 80 points, EOIs with a date of effect up to 10 August 2026 were invited.
What are the latest 190 and 491 cut-offs for Metal Machinist (First Class)?
For Metal Machinist (First Class): subclass 190 was last invited at 70 points (20 March 2026). subclass 491 was last invited at 90 points (30 January 2025).
How do I compare to applicants who got invited for Metal Machinist (First Class)?
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 Machinist (First Class); samples may be incomplete.
Which states nominate Metal Machinist (First Class) for 190/491?
Metal Machinist (First Class) 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 Machinist (First Class)?
About 627 subclass 189 places are estimated left in FY2026-27 after the 15 October 2026 round for Metal Fitters and Machinists, the unit group's 4 occupations together, Metal Machinist (First Class) included, of 645 for the year. Home Affairs has not yet published FY2026-27 occupation ceilings, so the places are an ImmiTrend estimate.
How often are Metal Machinist (First Class) invitation rounds held?
Subclass 189: 1 federal round so far in FY2026-27 (15 October 2026); Metal Machinist (First Class) received invitations in 1 of them. State nominations in FY2025-26: subclass 190 invitations on 3 round dates and subclass 491 on none (QLD; 70–70 points).
How many Metal Machinist (First Class) visas were granted in 2024-25?
82 main applicants: 48 through 186, 21 through 491, 9 through 190 and 4 through 494.
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.