State nomination: the 190 and 491 routes, explained

Whoever adds up their points and comes out below the practical threshold of the independent route isn't out of the game. Australia has two routes in which a state or territory nominates you — and that nomination is worth points: 5 extra with the 190 (permanent, with the expectation that you live there for the first two years), 15 extra with the 491 (five years provisional, in a regional area, with a path to permanent residence afterwards). How the three routes relate to each other is an article in itself; this piece is about how you get that nomination.

Eight programmes, no single counter

Here lies the essential difference from the rest of the journey: there is no central procedure. Every state and every territory has its own nomination programme, with its own occupation list, its own requirements and its own calendar. What New South Wales asks says nothing about what South Australia asks, and an occupation that is in demand in one state isn't even on the list in another.

Moreover, states work with quotas: each programme year Home Affairs allocates a number of nomination places per state (the allocations — see the sources), and some programmes close as soon as their quota is full. So timing is no detail here: a state that opens in July can be closed by spring.

What states want from you

The common denominator in what nomination programmes ask, in ascending weight:

• Your occupation on their list, often with extra requirements on top of the national ones — more years of experience, or a higher language-test score than the minimum.
• Commitment to the state. The 190 expects you to live and work there for the first two years; states test whether that is plausible. Applying for jobs in that state, family there, or an earlier stay all help.
• Sometimes a job offer or demonstrable funds — especially with the 491, where regional employers and communities weigh in.

And one thing you need to know with it: in your Expression of Interest you indicate which states you are open to, but it is the state that chooses you, not the other way round. You can improve the odds; you can't force it.

Don't promise anything you don't intend. Whoever gets nominated by a state where they never want to live signs up for an expectation they are going to break — and builds their permanent residence on a false start. Choose the states where you can really settle, and let the rest go.

How to approach this in practice

Start with your occupation: look up which states have your occupation on their list (the searchable ANZSCO tool from the occupation-list check shows that per occupation). Then read those states' own migration sites — the requirements are there verbatim, including whether the programme is open. And recalculate your points per candidate state, with the bonus.

Plan in a margin for it: the processing time of a nomination varies strongly per state and per round, and this is honestly the least predictable part of the whole journey. Precisely for that reason it pays to have your documents and language test in order before you approach the states — a candidate who can submit as soon as the state says yes is a more attractive candidate.