Regional Migration in Australia

Overview Australia designates specific regions as regional areas for migration purposes. These regions are distinct from major cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Designated Regional Areas

The regional classification encompasses two categories and offers various incentives to skilled migrants based on their location:

Category 2 – Cities and Major Regional Centres Cities and major regional centres, such as Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong, and Hobart, provide access to the following regional incentives:

• Priority processing of regional visas.
• Access to the Regional Occupations List, which offers more job opportunities compared to non-regional lists.
• International graduates with a bachelor’s or higher qualification from a regional campus of a registered institution can access an additional year in Australia on a post-study work visa.

Category 3 – Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas Regional centres and other regional areas offer access to 11,200 dedicated regional places, priority processing of regional visas, and the Regional Occupations List. Additional incentives include:

• International graduates with a bachelor’s or higher qualification from a regional campus of a registered institution can access an additional 2 years in Australia on a post-study work visa.
• Priority in negotiating region-specific Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs).

Postcode List A list of postcodes specifying designated regional areas applies to various visas, including:

Regional Visas:

• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 494)
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) – designated regional areas apply to nominated visa holders after 16 November 2019.

Skilled Visas:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

Employer Sponsored Visas:

• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa (subclass 187) – Temporary Residence Transition stream remains open to transitional 457 or Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) workers.
• Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) – Nomination fee waiver if the position is in regional Australia.
• Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) – For occupations on the Regional Occupation List.

Temporary Graduate Visa:

• Second Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)

Business Investment Visas:

• Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) visa (subclass 888)
• State/Territory Sponsored Business Owner visa (subclass 892)

Exceptions Some visas are restricted to specific industries rather than regions, such as the Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

The Working Holiday Maker program offers a second and third-year visa option for those who have worked in a regional area in eligible industries. This program has a distinct list of postcodes, available for the Working Holiday (417) and Work and Holiday (462) subclasses.

The Safe Haven Enterprise visa (SHEV) is a temporary protection visa. Designated regional areas for SHEV arrangements differ from the list of designated regional areas for migration purposes. For SHEV pathway requirements and SHEV regional area postcodes, please refer to specific documentation.

Please note that the information is subject to change, and it’s advisable to consult official sources or authorities for the most up-to-date details regarding regional migration in Australia.