Where you live changes everything
Two decisions sit behind every skilled visa: whether your area counts as regional, and which state is willing to nominate you. This page answers both.
Is your postcode regional?
Check any Australian postcode against the Department of Home Affairs designated regional area list.
Postcodes transcribed from the Department of Home Affairs list, which the Department last updated on 23 September 2024. Copied and checked here on 21 July 2026. Confirm against the official page before acting - postcode boundaries do change.
The three categories
Home Affairs splits Australia into three categories. Categories 2 and 3 are both designated regional areas and attract regional concessions, including the 15 points for regional nomination.
- Category 1 — Major cities Not regional
- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
- Category 2 — Cities and major regional centres Regional
- Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong and Hobart
- Category 3 — Regional centres and other regional areas Regional
- All other regional centres, towns and rural areas
Which state will nominate you?
State nomination adds 5 points on the subclass 190 and 15 on the 491. Every state runs its own program, and they behave very differently from each other.
| State or territory | 190 | 491 | Regional coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales NSW | Yes | Yes | Regional NSW is everything outside Greater Sydney. |
| Victoria VIC | Yes | Yes | Regional Victoria is everything outside Greater Melbourne. |
| Queensland QLD | Yes | Yes | Regional Queensland is everything outside Greater Brisbane - including the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. |
| South Australia SA | Yes | Yes | The whole of South Australia, including Adelaide, is designated regional. |
| Western Australia WA | Yes | Yes | The whole of Western Australia, including Perth, is designated regional. |
| Tasmania TAS | Yes | Yes | The whole of Tasmania is designated regional. |
| Australian Capital Territory ACT | Yes | Yes | The whole of the ACT, including Canberra, is designated regional. |
| Northern Territory NT | Yes | Yes | The whole of the Northern Territory is designated regional. |
New South Wales
NSW runs one of the largest and most competitive nomination programs in the country.
VICVictoria
Victoria targets narrowly.
QLDQueensland
Queensland has historically been one of the more approachable programs, nominating across a broad range of professional and trade occupations, and it usually opens earlier in the program year than the southern states..
SASouth Australia
South Australia is generally the most accessible mainland program.
WAWestern Australia
Western Australia runs its program around its own occupation lists, weighted heavily toward construction, health, mining and engineering.
TASTasmania
Tasmania has built its program around genuine, evidenced commitment to the state rather than raw points.
ACTAustralian Capital Territory
The ACT runs a matrix-based system, scoring candidates on ACT-specific factors - length of residence in Canberra, local employment, study in the ACT, English, and partner factors - and invites the top-ranked candidates rather than everyone above a threshold..
NTNorthern Territory
The NT runs the smallest program and is the most openly focused on genuine settlement.
Allocations for each state are published by the Department of Home Affairs at state and territory nomination allocations.