491 Visa Requirements Checklist for Every Pathway (2026)

Core Requirements for Every 491 Applicant

These apply whichever pathway you use.

Age

You must be under 45 at the time you are invited to apply, according to Home Affairs. If you turn 45 after being invited, you can still apply. If you turn 45 after submitting your EOI and before receiving an invitation, you will not be invited.

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State pages such as Live in Melbourne also state the limit at the time of nomination, and South Australia lists the same limit.

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Eligible Occupation

Your nominated occupation must be on the skilled occupation list for the visa. Each state and territory also publishes its own list, and an occupation can be eligible in one state and not another.

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Check the skilled occupation list first, then the list for the state you are targeting.

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Positive Skills Assessment

You must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation. It must have been obtained within the 3 years before your invitation date, and if it covers a shorter period, that period must not have passed. The occupation must match the occupation in your EOI.

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Home Affairs also accepts a suitable assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period. If your skills were assessed on an Australian qualification gained on a student visa, the course must be registered on CRICOS.

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Medical practitioners can instead rely on AHPRA registration, and legal practitioners on admission to practice law in the relevant state or territory.

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Some states also set a minimum validity. Victoria, for example, requires at least 12 weeks of validity remaining when the nomination application is lodged.

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English Language

You need at least Competent English at the time of invitation. The scores are covered in the next section.

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Points Test

You need at least 65 points on the points test. State or territory nomination adds 15 points, and Victoria confirms the 65 includes those 15 points. Family sponsorship also adds points.

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Use our points calculator to see where you stand. The government has announced a points test overhaul, which we track in our 2026-27 Federal Budget points test update.

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Expression of Interest

You must submit an EOI through SkillSelect before you can be nominated or invited. Home Affairs explains the steps on its page about submitting your Expression of Interest.

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You will need your skills assessment details, your English test details, your qualifications and 10 years of work history.

Our EOI checklist walks through each field, and our SkillSelect guide explains the system.

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Nomination or Sponsorship

You need one of two things:

• Nomination from a state or territory government

• Sponsorship from an eligible relative living in a designated regional area

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Health, Character and Other Requirements

Home Affairs also sets these requirements:

• Health: you and any family members who apply with you must meet the health requirement. Family members not accompanying you might also need to meet it if requested.

• Character: you and family members aged 16 and over who apply with you must meet the character requirement. Family members not accompanying you must also meet it.

• Debt: if you or any family members, including those who do not apply with you, owe the Australian Government money, it must be paid back or arranged to be paid back.

• Australian Values Statement: if you are 18 or older, you must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and confirm you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws.

A refusal on health or character grounds can affect future applications, so read our guide to visa refusal in Australia if you have any concerns.

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English Language Requirements in Detail

Competent English means a minimum score in each of the four test components: listening, reading, writing and speaking. Home Affairs publishes the scores on its Competent English page.

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Scores changed for tests taken on or after 7 August 2025. The minimums for those tests, shown as listening, reading, writing and speaking, are:

• IELTS Academic or General Training: 6, 6, 6, 6

• PTE Academic: 47, 48, 51, 54

• TOEFL iBT: 16, 16, 19, 19

• Occupational English Test (OET): 290, 310, 290, 330

• Cambridge C1 Advanced: 163, 163, 170, 179

• CELPIP General: 7, 7, 7, 7

• LANGUAGECERT Academic: 57, 60, 64, 70

• Michigan English Test (MET): 56, 55, 57, 48

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Tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 can still be used until 6 August 2028, depending on the visa. The older minimums are:

• IELTS: 6 in each component

• PTE Academic: 50 in each component

• TOEFL iBT: 12 listening, 13 reading, 21 writing, 21 speaking

• OET: grade B in each component

• Cambridge C1 Advanced: 169 in each component

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Three rules catch applicants out:

• Fully online or at-home tests are not accepted. This includes IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition and OET@Home.

• Tests taken on or after 7 August 2025 are generally valid for 3 years before the visa application, depending on the visa subclass.

• Citizens who hold a valid passport from Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States can use the passport as evidence instead of a test.

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If you need to prepare, see our PTE training course.

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Requirements for State or Territory Nomination

Each state and territory sets its own nomination criteria on top of the Home Affairs requirements. Rules change between program years, so check the state page before you lodge.

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These examples show how different they can be:

• Victoria: You must have a selected Registration of Interest (ROI), commit to living and working in a designated regional area of Victoria, and lodge your visa application within 60 days of nomination. Most onshore categories also require skilled employment with an employer physically located in regional Victoria. Details are on Live in Melbourne.

• South Australia: You need an occupation on the State Skilled Occupations List and must be eligible under one of South Australia's nomination streams. See the South Australian Government page.

• New South Wales: Pathways 2 and 3 need an occupation on the NSW Regional Skills List. Pathway 2 is by invitation only, and invited applicants must support every EOI points claim with documents and apply within 14 days. At the time of writing, applications were closed for the current program year. See the NSW Government page and our update on the Pathway 1 closure.

• Tasmania: The Established Resident pathway requires at least 2 years living in Tasmania and current employment in Tasmania for at least 20 hours per week. See the Tasmanian Government page.

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For the full picture across states, see our guide to state and regional sponsorship for the 190 and 491 and our SkillSelect invitation rounds tracker.