Not Enough Points for a 189 Visa? Your 3 Options in 2026

You have a positive skills assessment, a solid English result and an EOI that clears the 65-point pass mark. Months later, SkillSelect is still quiet.

That silence rarely means you did something wrong. It usually means your score sits below the level your occupation is being invited at, or that your occupation isn’t being invited at all.

When you don’t have enough points for a 189 visa, you have three realistic moves. You can lift your score, hold your EOI while waiting still makes sense, or switch to a 190 or 491.

Your skills assessment and English result carry across to those visas, and the bar is usually lower.

This guide walks through each option using the 2026–27 planning levels, as at 30 October 2026. If you are still weighing up the visa itself, start with The Migration’s 189 visa page.

Prefer to have your score checked by a person? Book a points review with a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738).

Why are you not getting a 189 invitation?

You are not getting a 189 invitation because SkillSelect ranks you against everyone else in your occupation, and your score is below the line for that round. Home Affairs invites from the top down, only in the occupations it targets. The guide to General Skilled Migration shows how the system fits together.

Three forces set the line

• Planning levels. The government sets a fixed number of places each year. In 2026–27 Skilled Independent places rose from 16,900 to 21,090, but that is still a small pool.
• Occupation demand. Some occupations attract far more qualified applicants than there are places. The same points test gives opposite results in different occupations.
• Date of effect. When two people hold the same score, Home Affairs invites the one who reached it first.

Home Affairs sends no letter when your score falls short. Your EOI stays in SkillSelect for up to two years. Treat that silence as information about where you stand.

Where the rounds stand

• The 2025–26 year had three rounds: 21 August 2025, 13 November 2025 and 4 June 2026, with 26,887 invitations in total.
• The latest round Home Affairs has published is 4 June 2026.
• Agencies reported a round on 15 October 2026, but Home Affairs had not published its results as at 30 October 2026.
• Rounds are not announced in advance.

Round-by-round results and trends are tracked in the 189 visa invitation rounds guide.

What score does your occupation actually need?

Your occupation needs whatever score was invited in recent rounds, and that is often well above 65. After each round, Home Affairs publishes the minimum score invited for every occupation in that round on its SkillSelect invitation rounds page.

In the 4 June 2026 round, most construction trades were invited at 65 points. Registered nurses and secondary school teachers needed 75, and engineering managers needed 80. Some engineering roles needed more, such as telecommunications and electronics engineers at 95. Past minimums are a guide, not a guarantee for the next round. See the 189 invitation round results by occupation for the last three published rounds.

Occupations with no 189 invitations in 2025–26

• Software engineer
• ICT business analyst
• Accountant
• Civil engineer
• Chef

An accountant at 90 points is not five points short. That occupation was not invited at all, so no score would have changed the result.

For a closer look at whether a score of 75, 80, 85 or 90 is likely to get an invite, read is 80 points enough for a 189 visa. Unsure which list your occupation sits on? See the 189 visa occupation list.

Being eligible and being invited are different things

• Accountants, software engineers and ICT business analysts are still on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List. They can still lodge a 189 EOI.
• They are simply not being selected in targeted rounds, so chasing five more points does nothing for them.
• An aged care worker (Aged or Disabled Carer) is not on the skilled lists at all. Registered Nurse (Aged Care) is a different occupation, and it is invited.

Applicants lose the most time here. They compare themselves with the 65-point pass mark, or with a friend in another occupation. The only number that matters belongs to their own occupation code. If you work in ICT or engineering, see the visa pathways for IT professionals and the PR pathway for engineers.

Not sure whether your gap is a points problem or a pathway problem? Book a points review and a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738) will check your score, your occupation and your best next step.

Option 1: Can you lift your points?

Yes, most people who feel stuck can add 5 to 10 points, as long as their occupation is being invited. If it isn’t, skip to Option 3, because extra points won’t help.

Scores cluster in fives, so five more points can move you past a large block of applicants. Check every option below before you write off the 189. The guides to maximising your points score and calculating your points cover each claim in detail.

The option almost everyone misses

• If you have no spouse or de facto partner, you claim 10 points.
• If your partner is already an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you also claim 10 points.
• This is separate from partner skills points, and it costs nothing.

How partner points work

• A partner on the same application, under 45, with Competent English and a positive skills assessment adds 10 points.
• A partner on the same application with Competent English only adds 5 points. This category needs no skills assessment and has no age limit.
• Many couples skip partner points because they assume only the main applicant counts.

NAATI CCL: the cheapest five points

• A credentialed community language test is worth 5 points and is offered in many languages.
• The test fee is $814. With preparation, budget around $1,000 to $1,500.
• A Professional Year earns the same 5 points but takes 44 weeks and costs far more.

The English trap

• English moves points fastest, but Superior English is a high bar: IELTS 8 in every band.
• For PTE Academic taken from 7 August 2025, Superior means at least 69 listening, 70 reading, 85 writing and 88 speaking.
• If you score 7 across the board, you can spend months chasing the last band while rounds pass. Judge your real level, not your best band.

The English language requirement for skilled migration guide explains each level. Every point you claim needs evidence at invitation. A claim you can’t prove can lead to refusal after you have lodged, and an overstated claim is worse than a weak one. The 189 requirements and document checklist show what to have ready.

Watch your clocks

• Your English test must be taken within 3 years before your invitation.
• Your skills assessment must be within 3 years before your invitation, or the shorter period written on it.
• Some assessing authorities set a shorter period. ACS outcomes are valid for 2 years, for example.
• Check the expiry on your own outcome letter before you plan a long wait.

The list of assessing authorities maps each occupation to its assessor.

Option 2: When does holding your EOI make sense?

Holding makes sense only when your occupation is being invited and you are within about 5 points of its recent level. In most other cases, waiting costs you more than it gains.

Waiting works when

• Your occupation is being invited, and your score is within 5 points of its recent published minimum.
• Your occupation’s published minimum has trended down over recent rounds.
• You stay in your current age band for at least another year.
• You hold a valid visa in Australia, or you are offshore with no deadline.
• You have a points option in progress that lands within a few months.

Waiting fails when

• Your occupation received no invitations in the last two rounds.
• Your gap is 10 points or more with no option left to close it.
• You turn 33, 40 or 45 within the year.
• Your onshore visa ends before a realistic invitation.
• You have held the same score for 12 months with no movement.

Age points drop from 30 to 25 at 33, and from 25 to 15 at 40. You must be under 45 at invitation, and Home Affairs counts your age on the invitation date, not the EOI date. If you are close to that line, read visa options after you turn 45 first.

Changes to the points test have also been discussed publicly. Nothing has been legislated as at 30 October 2026, so treat it as a risk, not a fact. The summary of major visa changes is kept up to date.

Option 3: Should you switch to a 190 or a 491?

For most people below their occupation’s level, switching to a 190 is now the stronger move, and a 491 still works if you can live regionally. Both lead to permanent residency.

The 190 Skilled Nominated visa (Home Affairs criteria) is permanent from grant, like the 189. State nomination adds 5 points.

The 491 Skilled Work Regional visa is provisional for five years and adds 15 points. You must live, work and study only in a designated regional area. The guides to 190 rules, lists and ROI and the 491 PR pathway go further.

Read the 2026–27 allocation before you choose

Source: Migration Program planning levels, Department of Home Affairs. The total program stays at 185,000 places.

• Regional places were cut by more than half, so the 491 is a narrower door than last year.
• State-nominated places grew and are still the largest of the three points-tested categories.
• If you are 15 points short and genuinely want to live regionally, the 491 is still the biggest single boost available.

The three pathways compared

Charges apply from 1 July 2026; confirm yours on the Home Affairs current visa pricing page. Citizenship timing follows the general residence requirement.

What carries over

• Your skills assessment, English result and employment evidence all carry across, within their validity periods.
• In most cases you lodge a new EOI on the same file.

What changes

• Your occupation list widens. The 190 adds the STSOL, and the state-nominated 491 adds the Regional Occupation List.
• An occupation closed for the 189 is often open somewhere under the 190.
• Your competition shrinks, because one state ranks you against the people it wants. Each state publishes its own criteria, and Victoria now uses the Victorian Points Test.

Start with priority occupations in state nomination and the 190 requirements set by Home Affairs and each state.

About the “two years in the state”

• The 190 has no visa condition that makes you live in the nominating state. Legally, you can live anywhere from grant.
• The commitment is an undertaking you give the state at nomination: usually two years, three in the Northern Territory.
• The real risk is honesty. If you never meant to live there, it can affect later applications. If your circumstances genuinely change, tell the state and explain why.

What “regional” actually means

• A designated regional area is everywhere except Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
• Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong and Hobart all count.
• Condition 8579 uses the regional areas as they stood on your grant date, so a later postcode change doesn’t move your boundary.

See regional visa options and how to apply for a 491 for the nomination step.

Getting from the 491 to permanent residency

• The 191 visa (Home Affairs criteria) needs at least three years on the 491.
• You must have complied with the 491 conditions.
• You provide ATO notices of assessment for three income years out of the five years on the 491. Home Affairs publishes no dollar threshold for this.
• The 191 charge is AUD 630 for the main applicant.

The 190 vs 191 comparison explains how the two permanent outcomes differ.

The honest trade-off

• If your occupation is invited and you can reach its level within a year, the 189 rewards the wait: no conditions, no state undertaking, no second visa.
• If your occupation had no invitations in the last two rounds, waiting for the 189 is not a plan. Move to the 190.
• If you are 15 points short and can live regionally, the 491 still works, with fewer places this year.

The costly path is indecision. Three years hoping for a 189 can leave you starting the 190 at 41, with fewer age points than you had at 38. For the full menu, see the best ways to get PR in Australia.

Weighing a 190 against a 491? Book a pathway consultation with a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738) to compare your points under each visa and the states likely to nominate your occupation.

How do you decide between waiting and switching?

Work through these six checks in order and stop at the first one that gives you a clear answer.

1. Is your occupation on the MLTSSL? If not, the 189 is closed to you at any score. Check the current occupation lists, then move to the 190 or 491.
2. Is your occupation being invited at all? If it had no 189 invitations in the last two rounds, this is a pathway decision, not a points decision.
3. How big is your gap? Compare your score with your occupation’s recent level, not the 65-point pass mark. Under 5 points is a waiting question. Over 10 is a pathway question.
4. Which points options are left? Go through every row of the table above, starting with the one that costs nothing. If the total closes your gap within a year, it is worth the effort.
5. How much age runway do you have? If you turn 33, 40 or 45 within your timeline, subtract those points first.
6. Do you face a deadline? An ending 485 or other onshore visa changes everything. An EOI is not a visa application, so it gives you no bridging visa.

If steps 1 to 4 leave you short, treat it as a pathway decision. Make it early and you keep more of your age points.

How The Migration Helps

The Migration has helped skilled migrants plan their points and pathways for 7+ years. Its MARA-registered migration agents (MARN 2518738) look at your whole file, not just your score. You can check any agent’s registration on the Office of the MARA website.

• Confirms your real points score and every claim you can prove.
• Checks how your occupation has fared in recent rounds.
• Lists the points options still open to you, with time and cost.
• Recommends whether to hold your 189 EOI or switch to a 190 or 491, and which states to target.

Consultations are available at the Harris Park office or online. If the 189 still works for you, the agent will say so. If it doesn’t, you’ll hear that too. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome.

Conclusion

Not having enough points for a 189 visa is a decision point, not a dead end. Start by checking whether your occupation is being invited at all, then measure your gap against its recent level.

If the gap is small, lift your points. If your occupation isn’t being invited, or the gap is large, a 190 or 491 usually gets you to permanent residency sooner and with the same file.

Want a clear plan for your score? Book a points and pathway review with a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738), and leave knowing whether to hold, lift or switch.

Frequently asked questions