How Occupation Tier Impact 189 Visa Occupation Ceiling

What is the Occupation Tier? How Will It Impact Your Chance of Being Invited for a 189 Visa?

The Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) is undergoing a significant update on its invitation system, which is affecting the occupation ceiling. According to internal data from the Department of Home Affairs titled Reform of SkillSelect Invitation Rounds, the Department of Home Affairs has approved some major changes for 189 Visa invitation issuance in the 2025-26 program year.

Below is the detailed breakdown of the changes and how they impact your chance of being invited for a 189 Visa.

Why the Department of Home Affairs Change the 189 Invitation System?

According to the data, the Department of Home Affairs changed the 189 invitation system to solve the following issues:

• Low acceptance rates: Since many candidates had already accepted a 190 or 491 nomination elsewhere, many invitations were wasted.
• Extended waiting periods: Some candidates had to wait years to receive an invitation after submitting an EOI.
• Absence of a Systematic Invitation System: While occupations have always been given priority in invitations, there hasn’t been a more comprehensive, systematic structure for the process.

To solve these issues, the Department of Home Affairs created a new priority, scheduling and occupation ceiling logic for each 189 invitation round.

Change 1: More Frequent and Predictable 189 Invitation Round

In the 2025-26 program year, the Department of Home Affairs will:

• Hold invitation rounds quarterly.
• Announce the schedule for the invitation rounds to the public.
• Provide transparency around priority occupations.

In 2025, the Department of Home Affairs conducted invitation rounds twice: August and November.

Since the Department will conduct the invitation round quarterly, we predict the next invitation rounds for 189 Visa will occur in February and May 2026.

Change 2: Introduction to Four-Tier Occupation Model for 189 Invitation

The major change is the introduction of the tier occupation model, which determines the number of invitations available for each occupation.

Each tier will have an occupation ceiling multiplier, which will be applied to ABS occupational employment stock in determining the occupation ceiling.

Here are the details of each tier:

Source: Reform of SkillSelect Invitation Rounds (Department of Home Affairs, 21 May 2025)

Tier 1: Highest value occupations

This tier has an occupation ceiling multiplier of 4.0%. It represents occupations with the highest strategic value for Australia’s workforce and long-term national capabilities.

The characteristics of Tier 1 occupations are:

• Need years of postgraduate training or specialised education.
• They are consistently in short supply across the country, even when migration is low.
• Directly support innovation, population, health, or national competence.
• Cannot be readily replaced or substituted by jobs that are close by.

Key occupations included in Tier 1 are:

• Medical specialists: cardiologists, oncologists, anaesthetists
• Medical practitioners in high demand: GPs, emergency physicians
• Registered nurses and specialised nursing categories
• Scientific researchers: biomedical, pharmaceutical, climate, engineering research
• Advanced diagnostic and therapeutic health professionals

Tier 2: High-priority occupations

This tier has an occupation ceiling multiplier of 2.0%. It covers occupations listed in Ministerial Direction 105, which gives priority to occupations that provide immediate public value and are important to government services. These occupations are also crucial, even if they don’t require as much training as Tier 1 occupations.

The characteristics of Tier 2 occupations are:

• Is in Ministerial Directions 105 as priority processing
• Support economic productivity and vital community services
• Experience persistent shortages in remote, regional, and metropolitan regions.
• Demand registration or professional accreditation

Key occupations included in Tier 2 are:

• Teachers: primary, secondary, special education
• Social workers, counsellors, psychologists
• Engineers: civil, mechanical, electrical, structural
• Health technicians and allied health professionals
• Construction and infrastructure professionals

Tier 3: Diverse occupations

This tier has an occupation ceiling multiplier of 1.0. It is the largest category with the majority of general skilled occupations listed here. These occupations support a broad and well-balanced skilled migration program, which guarantees that Australia can meet labour demands in a variety of industries without unduly concentrating on a select few.

The characteristics of Tier 3 occupations are:

• Not currently in serious shortage, but they are nonetheless important to the skilled program.
• Represent a broad range of technical, trade, and professional roles.
• Participate in a wide talent pipeline that spans numerous industries.
• Give the broader skilled migration scheme some leeway.

The key occupations included in Tier 3 are:

• Marketing specialists
• Human resource professionals
• ICT support roles
• Hospitality and retail management roles
• Mid-level trade occupations

Tier 4: Oversupplied occupations

This tier has the lowest occupation ceiling multiplier of 0.5%. This tier covers occupations that are oversupplied in the Australian labour market and the skilled migration program. These occupations are often found in employer-sponsored pathways, state nomination programs, and temporary visa grants, which leads to a disproportionately large volume of EOIs relative to the real labour market need.

The characteristics of Tier 4 occupations are:

• High immigrant representation or a large number of graduates from within the country.
• Large EOI pools in the past have resulted in competitive invitation rounds.
• Multiple visa pathways (190, 491, 482, etc) are available, which eliminates the requirement for 189 spots.
• The Government works to prevent certain professions from becoming overly concentrated.

Key occupations included in Tier 4 are:

• Accountants
• ICT professionals: Software engineers, developers, business analysts
• Chefs and Cooks
• Sales & Marketing professionals
• Hospitality and service industry roles

Change 3: 189 Occupation Ceiling will Use “Remaining Places” After 186, 494, 190 and 491 Visa

The issued document states:

“Occupation ceilings will be filled by grants in the preceding year under the Employer Nomination Scheme, Skilled Nominated Program and Regional Provisional Programs. The remaining unused places in the ceiling will be able to be granted in the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) Program. Occupation ceilings will be managed at the Minor Group (ANZSCO4) level.”

In other words:

Only the remaining quota will be given to 189 after employers and states have used their allocations.

This implies:

1. Occupations with high demand can receive fewer than 189 invitations.
2. Candidates in Tier 1 or Tier 2 occupations might have a greater chance.
3. Candidates in Tier 4 (oversupplied) should anticipate receiving very few or even no invites.

So, how do you count the occupation ceiling?

Here is the formula:

ABS Occupation Stock × Occupation Ceiling Multiplier (4.0% / 2.0% / 1.0% / 0.5%) − Total visa grants for 186, 494, 190, and 491

Here’s an example of calculating and filling occupation ceilings for Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher according to this released FOI:

In 2024/25, there were:

• 79,171 Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers in Australia, and
• 556 visa grants in 2024/25 to Early Childhood Teachers across the ENS, Skilled Nominated, and Regional Provisional programs

Early Childhood Teachers are a Tier 2 occupation with a multiplier of 2.0%, so:

79,171 X 2.0% – 556 = 1,027 visa grants available to the 189 Visa in 2025/26

Another example of a Tier 4 occupation:

In 2024/25, there were:

• 214,100 accountants in Australia (JSA Occupation and Industry Profiles)
• 2,271 visa grants across the State/Territory Nominated and Regional program (2024-25 Migration Trends Report)

Accountant is listed on Tier 4 Occupations, so you have a 0.5% multiplier. This brings you to:

214,100 X 0.5% – 2,271 = -1,200 visa grants available to the 189 Visa in 2025/26.

Meaning, very limited, or even no place available for Accountants to get an invitation for the 189 Visa.
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This result aligns with the latest 189 invitation round, in which Accountant is not listed as “invited occupation” in both rounds (August and November 2025).

Why is this important for you?

1. There’s no longer uncertainty in waiting for the 189 invitation rounds: it’s more transparent, so you can prepare well.
2. Your chance is now determined by the occupation tier.
3. 189 Visa may no longer be your primary pathway, especially if your occupation is on the Tier 4 list. You should consider the regional or ENS pathway.
4. No more double invitations, creating a more efficient and fair system.

What should you do now?

1. Understand your occupation tier, as it directly affects your chances and migration plan.
2. Update your EOI regularly and consider targeting a state nomination.
3. Consider other alternative pathways, for example, the employer-sponsored visa under 482, 186 or 494 Visas.
4. Seek professional guidance from a Registered Migration Agent.

How to Contact ONEderland Consulting

Understanding this transition is very crucial. If you need help, we’re just a message away. Contact us via email at visa@onederland.com.au, phone at 1300 827 159, or WhatsApp at +61494372414. Alternatively, you can book your consultation online, backed by our 100% Money-Back Guarantee Program.

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