Victoria's new points test for 190 and 491 — will the 189 follow?

As of 2026-10-15 · Fidelity Editorial

Victoria has announced a seven-factor points test for subclass 190 and 491 nomination, along with six priority lanes and new ROI and nomination fees. We break down each factor, work through three examples and look at how it compares with the federal 189 redesign.

Princes Bridge and the Melbourne skyline. Photo: DXR / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

On 13 October 2026, Victoria announced how it will select candidates for subclass 190 and 491 nomination in the 2026–27 program year. At the centre is the Victorian Points Test (VPT), a seven-factor points table. Alongside it, Victoria published six priority occupation lanes, an extra condition for early childhood teachers, and new fees for Registrations of Interest (ROIs) and nominations.

This article is based on the Live in Melbourne material as revised on 14 October 2026. As at the date of this post (15 October 2026), the new program has not opened yet, and details may change when it does.

What has changed

The biggest change is transparency. Until now, candidates met the 65-point federal threshold and lodged an ROI, but Victoria did not publish how it weighed candidates against each other.

	Before	2026–27
Federal points	Meet 65 federal points first	65 federal points still required
Selection	Selection weighting not published	All ROIs ranked by the 7-factor VPT
Fees	No fee for ROI or nomination	ROI and nomination fees apply

The federal 65 points remain the entry point. What is new is how Victoria ranks ROIs above that line. There is also no fixed cut-off. Each round invites from the top of the pool at that time, and Victoria states it cannot tell you your likelihood of invitation. In practice, the same score may be enough in one round and not in another, depending on who else is in the pool.

Seven factors make up your VPT total.

Factor	Maximum points
Age	300
English	200
Experience in nominated occupation	100
Qualification	100
Occupation skill level	50
Partner	50
Annual earnings in Victoria	150

The weights are uneven. Age and English alone are worth up to 500 points, and earnings in Victoria (up to 150) outweigh qualifications (up to 100). Where the weight sits says a good deal about which candidates Victoria wants at the front of the queue.

Work out your own VPT total — enter the seven factors in Fidelity's Victorian Points Test calculator to see your total and which of the six priority lanes your occupation sits in. There is no fixed cut-off, so it does not estimate your chance of invitation.

Calculate my VPT total

Age: points fall every year from 30.

Age	Points
18	265
19	282
20–29	300
30	286
31	270
32	256
33	240
34	226
35	210
36	196
37	180
38	166
39	150
40	136
41	106
42	76
43	46
44	16

Anyone aged 20–29 receives the full 300 points. From 30, you lose about 14–16 points a year; from 40, 30 points a year. Ages 18 and 19 score 265 and 282, and the table does not go beyond 44. A 35-year-old starts at 210, which is 90 points behind a candidate in their twenties on this factor alone.

English, experience, qualification and skill level

Factor	Points by band
English	Competent 0 · Proficient 100 · Superior 200
Experience	1 year 20 · 2–3 years 40 · 4–5 years 60 · 6–7 years 80 · 8+ years 100
Qualification	Other 25 · Bachelor 50 · Master's 75 · PhD 100
Skill level	Level 2–3: 0 · Level 1: 50

Competent English scores zero. Moving to Proficient adds 100 points, and Superior adds 200, so each English band is worth 100 points.

Skill level depends on the qualification your occupation normally requires. Level 1 occupations normally require a bachelor degree or higher (for example nurses, teachers, engineers and accountants) and score 50. Level 2–3 occupations normally require a diploma or certificate (for example chefs, carpenters, tilers and electricians) and score zero. A VET qualification counts as "Other" and scores 25. For trade occupations, that means lower scores on both qualification and skill level.

Earnings in Victoria

Annual earnings in Victoria (AUD)	Points
$80,000–$84,999	8
$85,000–$89,999	16
$90,000–$94,999	24
$95,000–$99,999	32
$100,000–$104,999	39
$105,000–$109,999	47
$110,000–$114,999	55
$115,000–$119,999	63
$120,000–$124,999	71
$125,000–$129,999	79
$130,000–$134,999	87
$135,000–$139,999	95
$140,000–$144,999	103
$145,000–$149,999	111
$150,000–$154,999	118
$155,000–$159,999	126
$160,000–$164,999	134
$165,000–$169,999	142
$170,000+	150

This factor counts only if you currently work in Victoria in your nominated occupation. If not, it scores zero. Points rise by about 8 for each $5,000 band above $80,000, up to 150 at $170,000 or more. Candidates living interstate will therefore start behind those already working in Victoria on this factor.

Partner: 50 points, only if all three apply

Your partner earned the 10 partner-skills points in your SkillSelect EOI (under 45, Competent English, positive skills assessment).
Your partner is included in your 190 or 491 visa application.
Your partner's occupation is on Victoria's priority list.

If any one of these is missing, the 50 points do not apply. If you are single, or your partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, this factor scores zero.

Including a partner never lowers your VPT total. It can, however, change your federal points by 10: partner skills or English add points, while a partner with neither does not. It is worth checking both calculations separately.

Worked examples: same age, very different totals

Here are three 28-year-olds, each with two years' experience. The partner factor is not included.

Factor	Chef	Carpenter	Registered Nurse
Profile	Melbourne restaurant, Competent, Diploma, $80,000	Melbourne employer, Proficient, Cert III, $90,000	Melbourne hospital, Proficient, Bachelor, $90,000
Age	300	300	300
English	0	100	100
Experience	40	40	40
Qualification	25	25	50
Skill level	0	0	50
Earnings	8	24	24
Total	373	489	564

With identical age and experience, the totals range from 373 to 564, a gap of about 190 points. English, qualification, skill level and earnings make the difference. Even between the chef and the carpenter, both Level 2–3 occupations, English (0 versus 100) and the earnings band open up a 116-point gap.

Who gains, who loses

Loses ground	Gains ground
Aged 35+: starts at 210 or below	Aged 20–29: full 300
Competent English: 0	Superior English: 200
VET qualification: 25	Master's or PhD: 75 or 100
Skill Level 2–3 (chefs, cooks, hairdressers): 0	Skill Level 1 (nurses, teachers, engineers): 50
Living outside Victoria: earnings 0	High earner in Melbourne: $120,000+ scores 71 and up
Fresh graduate: experience 0	8+ years' experience: 100

Priority occupations queue in six lanes.

Flinders Street Station, Melbourne. Photo: Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Lane	Occupations	Note
01 Healthcare	About 60 occupations (e.g. registered nurses, physios, specialists)
02 Social assistance	Psychologists, social workers, welfare workers	Counsellors are not listed
03 Education: Teachers	Secondary and special needs teachers	Primary teachers compete in the general pool
04 Education: Early Childhood	Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher	Child Care Worker is not a 190/491 occupation
05 Construction professionals	6 occupations (e.g. surveyors, project managers)
06 Construction trades	25 occupations (e.g. carpenters, tilers, electricians)

Priority ROIs are ranked within their own lane. Chefs, cooks, hairdressers, ICT, accountants, GPs, enrolled nurses and civil engineers are not priority occupations. They are not excluded. They compete in the general pool on their VPT total.

An extra condition for early childhood teachers

For priority invitation in the Early Childhood lane (241111), candidates need at least one year of relevant experience and Proficient or Superior English. If you planned to lodge an ROI straight after graduating, this condition comes before the points table.

In 2025–26, early childhood teachers lodged 532 subclass 190 applications nationally, the most of any teaching occupation. The busiest lane now has one more gate.

ROI and nomination fees

Item	Paid outside Australia	Paid in Australia
Registration of Interest	$60	$66
Subclass 190 nomination	$180	$198
Subclass 491 nomination	$180	$198

The nomination fee is payable only if you are invited and apply. The ROI fee is charged once per program year, and resubmitting within the same year is free.

Last year's ROI does not carry over. You will need to lodge a new one when the program opens.

Will subclass 189 follow the same structure?

On 17 September 2026, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke flagged a redesign of the points test for subclasses 189, 190 and 491, aimed at lifting the "economic value" of skilled migration, with housing construction trades to be recognised on par with a university qualification. Commencement is reported as unlikely before mid-2027. We covered the speech in our summary of the September 2026 overhaul.

Victoria has applied similar thinking first, by a different route: age, English and earnings weigh heavily, and construction trades get their own lane rather than extra points.

Nothing about the federal redesign is confirmed. Victoria's table may turn out to be a preview of where the federal test is heading, but how the 189 points test actually changes will only be clear once the details are released.

Summary

For 2026–27, Victoria ranks 190 and 491 ROIs that meet the federal 65 points using a seven-factor VPT. There is no fixed cut-off.
Age (up to 300) and English (up to 200) carry the most weight, and earnings while working in Victoria in your nominated occupation are worth up to 150.
Priority occupations compete within six lanes; all other occupations compete in the general pool.
Early childhood teachers face an extra experience and English condition, ROIs and nominations now attract fees, and last year's ROI does not carry over.

As at the date of this post the program has not opened, so it is worth checking the final details once Victoria opens it. The federal 189 redesign is still at the announcement stage, and the calculation may differ once it is settled.

Calculate my VPT total