Australia's New Migration Program Year Starts 1 July 2026: 10-Step Checklist for Nepali PR Aspirants

Introduction

The Australia migration program year 2026-27 began on 1 July 2026 — the new year is now in force, and the weeks on either side of that date decide who is ready and who is left scrambling. SkillSelect invitation rounds, state nomination programs, and visa caps have all reset for the new program year — so the smartest Nepali PR aspirants are getting their paperwork live now, before the first rounds of the year run.

This article is not about points or fees. It is a pure timing and action-sequencing guide built around the 1 July boundary. If you are aiming for a subclass 189, 190, or 491, your job right now is simple: get your Expression of Interest (EOI), your PTE Academic score, and your state Registration of Interest (ROI) all locked in so they are live the moment SkillSelect reopens.

For the planning-level numbers behind the new program year, see our breakdown on the Australia federal budget 2026-27 and immigration page. For how the EOI machine actually works, our SkillSelect EOI guide for Nepali students is the canonical reference. This page focuses on what to do, and when.

What Changed on 1 July 2026 — Now In Force

The 2026-27 settings are no longer announcements; they took effect when the program year turned (fees under instrument F2026L00874 — source: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au):

• Planning levels: 185,000 permanent places in total. Employer Sponsored is now the largest skilled category at 58,040 (up from 44,000); subclass 189 gets 21,090 (up from 16,900); subclass 190 gets 35,500 (up from 33,000). Regional places (491 and 494 combined) fall to 14,110 — down about 57% from 33,000 — which makes a fast, well-prepared state ROI even more critical on the 491 pathway.
• Visa application charges rose on 1 July 2026, and the fee in force on your lodgement date is the one you pay. Subclass 189 is now AUD 6,135; subclass 190 and 491 are AUD 6,140 each — the three subclasses no longer share one fee. Secondary applicants 18+ pay AUD 3,070. For context, the student visa (subclass 500) is now AUD 2,500 and the subclass 485 base charge is AUD 5,750.
• No new points test: despite months of speculation, no new points test was legislated for 1 July 2026. Superior English through PTE still earns 20 points.
• Employer-sponsored threshold: the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) rose to AUD 79,423.

Why Late June Is the Real Deadline, Not 1 July

The Australian migration program runs on a 1 July to 30 June program year. Each year the Department of Home Affairs is given a planning allocation, and SkillSelect issues invitations against that allocation through scheduled invitation rounds. When a program year nears its end, the remaining places for 189 and 491 family-sponsored invitations get used up, and the final invitation rounds of the year typically run in the May to June window (always confirm exact round dates on the official invitation-rounds page — see immi.homeaffairs.gov.au, as the department does not publish dates far in advance).

What this means for you is straightforward. After the last round of a program year, no further 189 or 491 family-sponsored invitations are issued until the new program year opens and rounds resume. So if your EOI is not ready, your PTE score is stale, or your state ROI is unsubmitted, you do not just miss one round — you can wait months for the machine to restart.

The most recently published round we can confirm issued 10,000 subclass 189 invitations on 13 November 2025 (source: immi.homeaffairs.gov.au invitation rounds). Use that as a reality check on round size and volatility, but always verify the latest round yourself before acting.

Two Different Reopening Clocks

There are actually two reopening events you are racing, not one:

• SkillSelect rounds for 189 and 491 family-sponsored invitations, which resume after 1 July on the department's schedule.
• State and territory nomination programs for 190 and 491 state-nominated places, which open their own application windows — often within days of the new program year, sometimes with a fixed quota that fills fast.

Missing the SkillSelect restart costs you a round. Missing a state's day-one reopening can cost you the entire year if that occupation's quota fills before you submit. Both clocks matter.

The 10-Step Checklist for the 1 July 2026 Boundary

Here is the full sequence. Work through it in order — several steps depend on the one before, especially booking your PTE early enough that the result lands before round one.

Step 1: Check Your EOI's 2-Year Expiry

Your SkillSelect EOI is valid for two years from its date of effect. If you submitted yours in mid-2024, it may be approaching expiry right as the new program year opens. Log in and confirm the date — an expired EOI silently drops out of the pool and you will not be invited from it.

Step 2: Update Your PTE Score Inside SkillSelect

Submitting a new PTE score to Pearson is not enough. You must manually update the English-test fields in your SkillSelect EOI with the new test date and scores. An EOI still showing your old, lower score will be assessed on that lower score — and a higher English band can be the difference between sitting below and above an occupation's cut-off.

Step 3: Prepare State ROIs for Day-One Reopening

For 190 and 491 state-nominated pathways, draft your Registration of Interest content now — work experience summary, commitment-to-region statement, and any state-specific evidence. When a state reopens on or just after 1 July, you want to submit within hours, not spend a week writing.

Step 4: Book PTE NOW So Results Land Before Round One

This is the step people get wrong every year. PTE Academic results are typically returned within about two business days, though Pearson notes some can take up to five business days when a security or identity review is triggered (source: pearsonpte.com). If you want your score live in SkillSelect for the first rounds of the 2026-27 year, you cannot book your test days before a round — you need a buffer.

Work backwards: book the earliest realistic date you can get now, leaving time to receive the result, update SkillSelect, and still re-sit once if you fall short. The program year has already turned — every week of delay is a week your EOI sits in the pool at the lower score.

If your current score is below your occupation's likely cut-off, do not gamble on one attempt under deadline pressure. Our 1-on-1 PTE mentorship runs as a focused 79+ sprint with time-zone-flexible slots, so your target score is live in SkillSelect before round one — not stuck "almost there" while invitations go out.

Step 5: Recheck the Occupation Lists

Occupation lists (MLTSSL, STSOL, ROL, and the state lists) can change between program years. An occupation that was on your pathway's list this year may move or come off it. Confirm your nominated occupation is still eligible for your intended subclass before you rely on a stale EOI. See the EOI guide for which lists feed which visa.

Step 6: Recalculate Your Points

Your points can shift across the boundary even if nothing about your application changes — an age bracket can tick over, an Australian study or work milestone can mature, or a partner's situation can change. Re-run the numbers. Use our Australia PR points calculator and cross-check against the PR points table explained for Nepal. And remember: no new points test was legislated for 1 July 2026, so the current table — including 20 points for Superior English — still applies.

Step 7: Get Your Documents Ready

A skills assessment must exist before invitation, and it has its own validity window. Confirm your assessment, English test, passport, and identity documents are all current and will not expire mid-process. Scan and organise everything so that if you are invited, you can lodge within the 60-day window without hunting for files.

Step 8: Monitor State Nomination Openings

State and territory programs publish their reopening dates and occupation priorities on their own websites. Bookmark the pages for the states matching your occupation and check them frequently through July. Some open the moment the program year starts; some stagger by occupation. For 2026-27, per-state nomination allocations had not been released as of early July 2026 — and 2025-26 ended with quotas exhausted (Tasmania, for example, paused invitations in June 2026 with only a few dozen 190 and 491 places left against hundreds of pending ROIs) — so expect states to move quickly once their allocations land.

Step 9: Set Round and Reopening Alerts

SkillSelect rounds are usually announced only two to three days before they run. Set up alerts: turn on SkillSelect notifications, bookmark the official invitation-rounds page, and add a recurring reminder to check state sites every few days through July. The cost of a missed alert is a missed round.

Step 10: Submit a Fresh EOI If Yours Is Weak or Expiring

If your EOI is near its 2-year expiry, or your circumstances have improved a lot, consider submitting a new EOI with the stronger profile. Among equal scores, the EOI that reached that score earlier wins on date of effect — so do not delay a fresh submission once your higher PTE score and updated points are confirmed.

Australia Migration Program Year 2026-27 Key Dates: July to September

Exact SkillSelect round dates are not published far ahead, so treat this as a planning skeleton and confirm specifics on official pages.

Window	What typically happens	Your action
Late June 2026	Old program year closed; final 189/491-family rounds already done	EOI, PTE score, and ROIs fully ready
1 July 2026	New program year 2026-27 began; fresh 185,000-place allocation and new fees now in force	Confirm EOI live and accurate
Early July 2026	State and territory programs reopen as their 2026-27 nomination allocations are confirmed	Submit state ROIs same day
Jul-Sep 2026	SkillSelect invitation rounds resume on the department's schedule	Watch alerts; respond within 60 days if invited

Confirm every date on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au and the relevant state nomination websites before you act — these windows move year to year.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Booking PTE for late June. If the result is delayed by a security review, it misses round one entirely. Build a buffer.
• Submitting a new PTE score to Pearson but not updating SkillSelect. The EOI is assessed on the score in the EOI, not the one sitting in your Pearson account.
• Letting a 2-year-old EOI expire unnoticed. Expired EOIs leave the pool silently — you simply stop being invited.
• Treating 1 July as the deadline. The real deadline for being ready is the last round of the old year, typically in May-June.
• Ignoring state day-one openings. A 190 or 491 state quota can fill within days; a late ROI can cost you the whole year.
• Assuming the occupation list is unchanged. Lists can move between program years — verify before relying on an old EOI.

Step-by-Step: Your Action Plan Now the Year Has Turned

1. This week: Log into SkillSelect, note your EOI's date of effect and 2-year expiry, and recalculate your points with the points calculator.
2. Book your PTE for the earliest date that leaves a clear buffer before the next invitation round — results usually land in about two business days, but allow up to five.
3. Prepare materials in parallel: draft state ROIs, gather documents, and confirm your skills assessment is valid and within its window.
4. After the test: the moment your result arrives, update the English fields in your EOI and re-check whether your new total clears your occupation's likely cut-off.
5. Set alerts: SkillSelect notifications on, official invitation-rounds page bookmarked, recurring reminder to check state sites through July.
6. With the year now underway: submit state ROIs the day your target state reopens, watch for round announcements, and if invited, lodge within the 60-day window — the visa charge in force on your lodgement date is the one you pay (189 now AUD 6,135; 190 and 491 now AUD 6,140).

Tips for Nepali Students

Sitting from Nepal adds a few timing realities to plan around. Use them to your advantage rather than letting them surprise you.

• Book test centres early. Slots in Kathmandu, Bharatpur, and Pokhara fill during peak intake periods, and the run-up to 1 July is peak season. Reserve your seat weeks ahead so deadline pressure does not force a late date.
• Budget realistically. PTE Academic in Nepal is now listed at USD 220, which works out to roughly Rs. 32,000 to Rs. 33,000 at checkout — confirm the exact amount when you book, and plan as if you may need one re-sit.
• Mind the time-zone gap. Nepal is hours behind Sydney and Melbourne. When a round drops or a state opens "today" Australian time, it may already be evening in Nepal — check official pages in the morning, Nepal time, so you are not a day late.
• Practise for the Nepali accent issue early. Read Aloud and Repeat Sentence are where many Nepali test-takers lose Speaking points. Fix clarity and fluency weeks before the test, not the night before, so your score holds up under deadline pressure.
• Diaspora students, use your local centre. If you are already in Australia, Canada, the UK, or the Gulf, the program-year timing is identical — book locally, but follow the exact same EOI and SkillSelect update steps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When does the Australia migration program year 2026-27 start?

A: The Australian migration program year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so the 2026-27 program year began on 1 July 2026 and is now underway, with a 185,000-place planning level in force. SkillSelect invitation rounds and state nomination programs reset their allocations for the new year at this boundary.

Q: How long does it take to get my PTE result before a SkillSelect round?

A: Pearson states most PTE Academic results return within about two business days, but some can take up to five business days when a security or identity review is triggered. Book early enough to absorb that delay and still update SkillSelect before round one.

Q: How long is my SkillSelect EOI valid?

A: An EOI is valid for two years from its date of effect. As that date approaches across the new program year, check it in SkillSelect — an expired EOI drops out of the pool and you stop being invited.

Q: Will my points change just because the program year rolled over?

A: They can. An age bracket can tick over, or an Australian study or work milestone can mature, shifting your total even if you change nothing. Note that no new points test was legislated for 1 July 2026 — the current table, including 20 points for Superior English, still applies. Recalculate with the Australia PR points calculator before relying on an old EOI.

Q: Should I wait for 1 July to do anything?

A: No. Ideally the work — booking PTE, updating SkillSelect, drafting state ROIs, gathering documents — happens in May and June so everything is ready the moment rounds and state programs reopen. If you are starting after 1 July, run the same steps immediately: rounds and state openings continue through July to September, and a fast catch-up still beats waiting.

Conclusion

The Australia migration program year 2026-27 started on 1 July 2026, and the aspirants who get invited early are the ones who treated late June as their real deadline — or who catch up fastest now that the year has turned. Lock in your EOI's validity, update your PTE score inside SkillSelect, prepare your state ROIs for reopening day, and above all, book your PTE early enough that the result lands before round one. The numbers behind the new year are on our budget 2026-27 page; the EOI mechanics are in the SkillSelect EOI guide.

If your PTE score is the one thing standing between you and a round-one invitation, do not leave it to a single rushed attempt. Our 1-on-1 PTE mentorship is a targeted 79+ sprint with time-zone-flexible slots for students in Nepal and across the diaspora — built to get your score live in SkillSelect before the first rounds of the new year fill. Reach out now, and be invitation-ready when the next round runs.