Australia End-of-Financial-Year Visa Planning: What to Do Before 30 June

30 June is the official end of Australia's Program Year and Financial Year. The Department of Home Affairs resets visa quotas, increases application fees, and raises salary thresholds from 1 July every year. Skilled visa applicants, temporary visa holders, and employer-sponsored workers who lodge before 30 June secure current fees, salary thresholds, and a place in this year's migration program before the reset.

Australia indexes visa application charges annually in line with the new financial year. The Department of Home Affairs implements fee increases from 1 July every year across most visa subclasses. Lodging your application before 30 June locks in current application charges and saves you hundreds of dollars on the same visa. Fee increases apply to all applications lodged on or after 1 July regardless of when you began preparing.

Applications lodged on or after 1 July are assessed under the new program year settings. This means higher visa application fees, increased salary thresholds for employer-sponsored visas, and reduced quota allocations in some streams. If your application is time-sensitive, lodging before 30 June ensures it is assessed under current, more favourable settings before the annual reset takes effect.

The Core Skills Income Threshold is the minimum salary an employer must pay a sponsored skilled worker under the Subclass 482 and 186 visas. It increases from AUD 76,515 to AUD 79,499 on 1 July. Employer nominations lodged before 30 June are assessed under the current lower threshold. Nominations lodged on or after 1 July must meet the new higher salary requirement.

No Subclass 189 invitation rounds have been issued since November 2025. The visa now operates under a four-tier occupation priority model with Tier 1 critical shortage occupations receiving most invitations. While no rounds are guaranteed before 30 June, applicants should ensure their SkillSelect EOI is active, updated, and accurate to remain in consideration for any rounds issued before the financial year closes.

Log in to your SkillSelect account and update your Expression of Interest with your latest work experience, qualifications, English test scores, and any changes to your personal circumstances. Ensure every points claim is accurate and supported by documentation. An updated EOI improves your invitation ranking and keeps you in consideration for the final invitation rounds of the current program year before 30 June.

Each state and territory receives a fixed nomination allocation for the program year. Most states exhaust their Subclass 190 and 491 nomination quotas before 30 June and close applications until the new program year begins on 1 July. Applicants who meet state occupation and points requirements should lodge their nomination interest as early as possible to be considered before the current year's allocation closes.

Yes. The Subclass 491 adds 15 points to your score — the single largest points boost available in Australia's migration system. For applicants scoring between 60 and 80 points, the 491 is currently the most realistic and reliable pathway to Australian PR. After three years of regional living and work, 491 holders can apply for permanent residency through the Subclass 191 visa.

The Subclass 191 is the permanent residency pathway for Subclass 491 and 494 visa holders. To be eligible, you must have held a regional provisional visa for at least three years, lived and worked in a regional area, and met the minimum income threshold for all three years. Lodging your Subclass 191 application before 30 June gives you the best chance of securing PR within this year's program allocation.

Yes. Australia directs 70% of visa places to onshore applicants. Temporary visa holders already in Australia are better positioned for PR than offshore candidates. Onshore applicants are eligible for a wider range of PR pathways including the Subclass 190, 491, 186, and 191, and benefit from faster processing times and seamless visa transition arrangements while their PR application is assessed.

Subclass 485 holders should update their SkillSelect EOI, confirm their skills assessment is current, and verify their English test results are still valid before 30 June. This ensures you remain in consideration for the final invitation rounds of the current program year. Use EOFY as an opportunity to review your points score and identify the strongest PR pathway — whether through the Subclass 189, 190, or 491 — before the new program year begins.

No. Salary threshold increases that take effect on 1 July do not affect current visa holders or nominations lodged before that date. The new Core Skills Income Threshold of AUD 79,499 applies only to employer nominations lodged on or after 1 July. Existing sponsored workers whose nominations were lodged before 30 June continue to be assessed under the current threshold of AUD 76,515.

Key documents include a valid passport, positive skills assessment, English test results, academic transcripts, employment references, and evidence of work experience. For employer-sponsored visas, your employer will need to provide a signed employment contract meeting current salary thresholds. Ensuring all documents are current and valid before lodging reduces the risk of delays or requests for additional information after submission.

No. The Subclass 500 student visa can be lodged before 30 June to lock in current application fees before the 1 July increase. You will need a valid Confirmation of Enrolment from your Australian institution and evidence of financial capacity. Lodging before the financial year closes ensures your application is assessed under existing genuine student requirements before any policy updates take effect from 1 July.

Labour Market Testing is the process employers must complete before nominating an overseas worker for an employer-sponsored visa. It requires advertising the position locally for a minimum period before lodging the nomination. Employers who want to lodge before 30 June to lock in current salary thresholds must begin Labour Market Testing immediately, as the advertising period must be completed before the nomination can be submitted.

Any visa places that remain unclaimed from the current program year's allocation lapse on 30 June and do not carry over to the new program year. This is why lodging before 30 June is important for capped visa streams — once the quota is reached or the year closes, no further places are available until the new allocation opens on 1 July.

The Department of Home Affairs publishes the Core Skills Occupation List and the Specialist Skills Occupation List on the official immigration website. You can search your occupation by ANZSCO code to confirm eligibility for the Subclass 482, 186, 189, 190, or 491. Occupation lists are reviewed at the start of each program year, so confirming your occupation's status before 30 June ensures you are applying under current settings.

Yes. You can submit a new EOI for the Subclass 190 or 491 at any time through SkillSelect without withdrawing your existing Subclass 189 EOI. Many applicants maintain multiple EOIs across different visa subclasses simultaneously to maximise their chances of receiving an invitation. If your points score is below 85, submitting a Subclass 190 or 491 EOI before 30 June gives you additional pathways into the current program year.

Australia's migration program allocation is set at 185,000 places, with approximately 70% of places directed to onshore applicants. The skilled stream accounts for the majority of places, covering independent, state-nominated, regional, and employer-sponsored pathways. The new allocation opens on 1 July, with fresh quota available across all skilled migration streams for the new program year.

Yes. Australia's visa system is complex and changes frequently at the end of each financial year. A registered migration agent can assess your profile, identify the strongest visa pathway, ensure your application is complete and accurate, and lodge before the 30 June deadline on your behalf. Using a registered migration agent reduces the risk of errors, delays, and missed deadlines that could affect your place in this year's program.