The Business Innovation and Investment Program, which included the 188 visa, is closed to new applications across Australia. The Department of Home Affairs continues to process applications lodged before it closed, and New South Wales continues to nominate people under the skilled visa program. This page sets out what the state asked of investors, where an application already in the system stands, and which routes remain open to someone who wants to invest or run a business in New South Wales.
In short
Speak to us before you commit money to an Australian venture on the strength of a visa expectation. We will tell you plainly which routes remain open to you and what each one asks.
New South Wales nominates skilled workers for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) and the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491). It also continues to nominate existing provisional business visa holders for the subclass 188 Extension stream and for the subclass 888.
The Department of Home Affairs allocates the state a set number of nomination places for each program year, and Investment NSW opens and closes its pathways as those places are used.
Investment NSW uses a selection based invitation process, so nomination is granted by invitation rather than by direct application.
Investment NSW describes this nomination as exceptionally competitive and encourages applicants to consider every other migration pathway alongside it.
Two lists apply together. The occupation must appear on the eligible skilled occupation list published by the Department of Home Affairs for the subclass 190, and it must also sit inside a unit group identified on the NSW Skills List.
Investment NSW reserves the right to refuse a nomination where an application misses the published criteria, where the nomination serves the state poorly, or where its allocation is fully committed.
Nomination for the subclass 491 lets skilled migrants live, work and study in designated regional areas of New South Wales for five years, with a route to permanent residence through the subclass 191.
Applicants meet the Home Affairs criteria for the visa under all three pathways, and New South Wales adds its own tests on top.
Pathway one is for applicants already employed by a regional New South Wales employer in the nominated occupation.
Places under this pathway are limited, and Investment NSW may close it once the available places are filled.
Pathway two runs by invitation. Investment NSW selects candidates from the Expressions of Interest lodged in SkillSelect and invites them to apply for nomination.
Pathway three is for recent graduates of a regional New South Wales institution.
Applicants submit a Registration of Interest, which stays active for the program year in which it is submitted and expires at the end of that year.
The Department of Home Affairs closed the Business Innovation and Investment Program permanently to new applications, so no Australian state can nominate a new subclass 188 applicant.
New South Wales had already closed its own subclass 188 nomination ahead of the national closure, and it now focuses its business nomination on people who already hold a provisional visa.
For applicants whose provisional visa was nominated by New South Wales under the current settings, the state looks at the 12 months immediately before the nomination application.
Each year, the Australian federal and state governments review the 188 visa programme to ensure it delivers the best possible outcomes for Australia. Where deemed necessary changes are introduced without advanced notice. State governments open and close the investor visa stream within their respective jurisdictions as deem necessary to meet the local economic objectives.
That said, once an investor secures an invitation to emigrate (State Nomination), any future changes to the emigration policy will not affect their case.
Comparing life in Australia to the United Kingdom.
New South Wales has lower unemployment, a growing population and faster growth than London. State and regional figures come from the statistics agency on each side.
| Measure | New South Wales | London |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 4.2% | 6.5% |
| Population change in a year | A rise of 1.2% | A fall of 0.3% |
| Economic growth | 0.9% | 0.2% |
Sources: ABS; ONS Australian source
People in New South Wales live longer than Londoners, for men and for women. Both sides are measured over the same three year period.
| Measure | New South Wales | London |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 81.2 years | 80.5 years |
| Women | 85.3 years | 84.7 years |
Sources: ABS; ONS Australian source
A new house in any of the four largest Australian states dwarfs the average English home. The Australian figures are the average floor area of new houses in each state, and the English figure covers all homes.
| Measure | Australian state | England |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 239 m² | 97 m² |
| Victoria | 241 m² | 97 m² |
| Queensland | 226 m² | 97 m² |
| Western Australia | 223 m² | 97 m² |
Sources: ABS; English Housing Survey Australian source