The Subclass 189 points tested visa stream and Subclass 489 invitation rounds have traditionally been run fortnightly. The Department has reviewed this process and will now extend invitations on a monthly basis. The invitation numbers will be increased accordingly, to ensure the number of applications received will maintain a strong pipeline for the skilled program. There are no other changes being implemented aside from moving to a monthly invitation process.
There is currently a very healthy pipeline of applications and we will continue to monitor those so we can make sure we invite an appropriate number each month. The invitation rounds are not set in stone in terms of invitation numbers, they can fluctuate depending on our processing capacity and pipeline.
We have been allocated the same number of places in the Migration Program as last year and will continue to work as hard as we can to meet finalisations while maintaining our high level of scrutiny and integrity in the program.
The pro-rata occupations will continue to maintain the same split as previous to allow room for other non pro-rata occupations to also be invited.
Source - Department of Home Affairs/MIA