Is My Suburb Regional? 491 Designated Regional Areas List 2026

Your postcode decides whether you live in a designated regional area, and your city does not. Parts of Greater Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sit on the regional list.

Almost every guide to regional visa rules tells you the same thing. Everywhere counts as regional except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. That shorthand gets you most of the way, then fails where you need a clear answer.

The real rule works on four-digit postcodes. It sits in a legal instrument called LIN 22/022, which has applied since 5 March 2022.

Council boundaries do not appear in it, nor do Greater Capital City boundaries. Only postcodes do.

That matters if you live near a boundary. Officer in Victoria is a designated regional area. Berwick, a few kilometres away, is not. Jindalee sits inside Brisbane City Council and is still on the list.

Below you will find a suburb table you can search and the NSW and Victorian postcode bands. You will also find the full list for every other state and a simple way to check your own address.

What counts as a designated regional area for the 491?

Every postcode outside Sydney, Melbourne and most of Brisbane is a designated regional area. The instrument splits regional Australia into two groups. Both count for the 491.

• Category 2, Cities and Major Regional Centres: Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Wollongong and the Illawarra, Geelong, and Hobart.
• Category 3, Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas: everywhere else on the list, including all of the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island.

Your 491 visa application treats the two categories the same way. Both give you access to the visa, and both count toward the three years you need for the subclass 191. The split mainly matters for student and graduate settings.

Your postcode is the only test. If your four-digit postcode is in the tables below, you live in a designated regional area. The official version is the Home Affairs regional postcodes page, last updated 7 October 2026.

Does your postcode sit right on a band edge? Check Your Postcode with an agent and confirm it against the instrument and your state’s nomination rules.

Is my suburb regional for the 491? Check the table

Find your suburb below, then confirm the postcode on your lease or job offer. On a phone or computer, use “Find on page” and type your suburb name. Each row was checked against the postcode bands in LIN 22/022 on 2 November 2026.

Some suburbs share a postcode with neighbours, and a few postcodes cover more than one suburb. If your suburb is not here, find your postcode and check it against your state’s bands below.

Which NSW areas are regional for the 491?

All of NSW is regional for the 491 except the Sydney postcodes, and even Greater Sydney has a few regional pockets. These are the NSW bands in LIN 22/022:

Regional pockets inside Greater Sydney

• 2753 and 2754: Richmond and the Hawkesbury area, Category 3.
• 2756 to 2758: Windsor and surrounds, Category 3.
• 2773 and 2774: the lower Blue Mountains, Category 3.

One detail deserves your attention. The band runs 2753, 2754, then jumps to 2756. Postcode 2755 is not in the instrument, so an address in 2755 is not regional, even though the postcodes on either side are.

The Central Coast is split too. Wyong (2259) is Category 2, while Gosford (2250) is Category 3. Both count for the 491. If you work in regional NSW, the NSW 491 pathways guide explains how NSW nominates.

Which Victorian areas are regional for the 491?

Everything in Victoria outside the Melbourne postcodes is regional, including several fringe suburbs that feel like Melbourne. These are the Victorian bands:

The Victorian gaps that catch people out

• 3800 to 3808: the bands stop at 3799 and restart at 3809. Officer (3809) is regional. Berwick (3806), Beaconsfield (3807) and Beaconsfield Upper (3808) are not.
• 3972 to 3977: Cranbourne (3977) is not regional, while Clyde North (3978) next door is.
• 3335 to 3339: Melton (3337) is not regional, though Bacchus Marsh (3340) is Category 2.
• 3425 to 3429: Sunbury (3429) is not regional, while Gisborne (3437) is.

Wollert surprises most people who check it. It sits well inside Greater Melbourne, yet postcode 3750 falls inside the 3430 to 3799 band. South Morang (3752), Mernda and Doreen (both 3754) are in the same band.

Two small pockets on the north-east and east fringe are also regional: 3097 to 3099 and 3139, on the edge of the Yarra Valley. If Victoria is your target state, the Victorian Points Test guide covers how Victoria ranks candidates.

Are parts of Brisbane regional for the 491?

Yes. Several postcodes inside Greater Brisbane are Category 2, even though central Brisbane is not regional.

Home Affairs marks these Brisbane postcodes as not applying to visas granted before 5 March 2022. For anyone applying now, they count.

Check your postcode rather than your city, and you avoid this problem entirely.

Is a designated area the same as a designated regional area?

No. Two terms sit close together in migration law, and the difference matters now because the government replaced one of them on 22 September 2026.

LIN 26/004 replaced IMMI 16/044. It matters if you hold an older subclass 489 visa and plan to apply for the subclass 887.

It does not change the 491. Every postcode on this page still applies, and LIN 22/022 remains in force as it was. If you saw news about a new designated areas instrument, that news covers the 489 and 887.

What is on the full 491 regional areas postcode list for 2026?

The full list is in section 3 of LIN 22/022 on the Federal Register of Legislation. NSW and Victoria are in their own sections above, so the tables below cover every other state and territory.

Category 2: Cities and Major Regional Centres

Category 3: Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas

Three states keep this simple. Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania treat anything outside Category 2 as Category 3, so every postcode in those states is regional. The same is true across the whole Northern Territory and the ACT.

A regional postcode passes the first test. The second is whether a state will nominate your occupation there. Book a 491 consultation with a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738) to check both together.

Is Perth regional for the 491 visa? And the other capitals?

Yes to Perth, and yes to most of the other capitals. This table shows where each one sits.

Perth has over two million people and Adelaide around 1.4 million. You are not choosing between a capital city and an outback town. You are choosing between three cities and the rest of the country.

Can you move to another regional area on a 491 visa?

Yes. This is one of the more generous parts of the visa.

You can move between designated regional areas. Condition 8579 asks you to live, work and study only in a designated regional area, not in one town or postcode. You can move from Adelaide to Geelong, or from Cairns to Perth, and stay compliant.

You can usually move interstate as well. The condition is about designated regional areas, not the state that nominated you. Your state nominated you on the basis that you planned to settle there, so get advice before you move states.

You can’t live or work in Sydney, Melbourne or non-regional Brisbane. Taking a job there breaches condition 8579. Your 191 application depends on meeting the conditions of your 491.

Your obligation follows the areas designated when your visa was granted. Condition 8579 refers to areas that were designated regional areas at the time of grant. If the list changes later, the areas that counted on your grant date are the ones that count for you.

Which visas use this postcode list?

Section 4 of LIN 22/022 sets out where the list applies, and it covers more than the 491.

• The subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa.
• A second subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa in the Post-Study Work stream.
• Employer nominations for regional positions, which is how the subclass 494 works.
• The subclass 888 Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa.
• The subclass 892 State or Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa.
• Grants of the older subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa.

If you hold a student visa and are still choosing where to study, read this list closely. Studying in a Category 2 or Category 3 area can open a second 485 visa and the 5 points for study in regional Australia.

Does Category 2 or Category 3 change anything for the 491?

No, your 491 application treats them the same. Both are designated regional areas, and both count toward the three years you need for the 191.

The 15 nomination or sponsorship points come from your state or relative, not from your postcode. The categories differ mainly in study and graduate settings. If you plan to study in Australia first, check your campus category before you enrol.

How do you check your own address?

Start with the exact postcode of the place you will live and work, then check it against the bands. Five steps cover it.

One, find your exact postcode. Skip your suburb’s best-known postcode and the one on your employer’s letterhead. Use the postcode of the address where you will actually live and work.

Two, check it against the tables above. A band written as 3809 to 3909 includes both end numbers and everything between. A single number listed on its own includes only itself.

Three, confirm it against the instrument. The tables here come from LIN 22/022, and reading the source takes two minutes.

Four, check your workplace as well as your home. Both need to be in a designated regional area, and they often have different postcodes.

Five, check before you sign anything. A lease or job offer in the wrong postcode is costly to fix, and this check takes minutes.

Do your home and work addresses have different postcodes, or does one sit on a band edge? Check Your Postcode with an agent before you sign a lease or accept a role.

Why did the list change, and where do old numbers come from?

If you find a postcode list that does not match this one, the date usually explains it.

Before 16 November 2019, a different definition applied, and cities like Newcastle, Wollongong and the Gold Coast sat inside the excluded zone. That version ended when the 491 replaced the old 489.

LIN 19/217 set the first postcode-based list under the current framework, from 16 November 2019.

LIN 20/292 replaced it from 20 January 2021 and introduced the two-category structure.

LIN 22/022 repealed LIN 20/292 and started on 5 March 2022. This instrument applies today.

Older blog posts and forum threads still share earlier lists, so check the instrument rather than any article about it.

What happens after the postcode check?

A regional postcode answers the first question, not all of them. Three more decide whether the 491 works for you.

Will a state nominate your occupation? As at 2 November 2026, the state-nominated stream covers 504 occupations across the MLTSSL, STSOL and ROL. The 491 occupation list guide explains which list applies.

Could a family sponsor give you a second route? Most 491 visas come through state nomination. The rest come through an eligible relative living in a designated regional area, and that stream is limited to MLTSSL occupations.

Do your points reach 65? Nomination or sponsorship gives you 15 of them, so you need 50 of your own. An invitation can ask for more than 65.

How The Migration Helps

The Migration has helped skilled migrants with regional visas for 7+ years. Its MARA-registered migration agents (MARN 2518738) check your postcode, occupation and points as one plan. You can confirm registration on the MARA register.

• Confirms whether your home and work postcodes are designated regional areas under LIN 22/022.
• Checks which states nominate your occupation now, and whether a family sponsor is an option.
• Explains what condition 8579 means for a move, a new job or study after grant.
• Maps your 491 to 191 timeline so your regional years count toward permanent residence.

For the visa itself, see the 491 visa page. No agent can guarantee a nomination or a visa outcome.

Conclusion

The 491 designated regional areas list works on postcodes, not cities. Sydney, Melbourne and most of Brisbane are out. Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong and fringe suburbs like Pakenham and Wollert are in.

Check your exact home and work postcodes against LIN 22/022, then look at occupation and points. Once you hold the visa, the 491 to 191 pathway shows how your regional years lead to permanent residence.

Ready to check your postcode, occupation and points together? Book a 491 consultation with a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738) before you sign a lease or accept a regional job.

Frequently asked questions