The official data for the SA invitation round May 2026 has been released! On 21 May 2026, South Australia’s Skilled and Business Migration issued its final scheduled round of invitations for the 2025-26 program year, offering hundreds of candidates a pathway to state nomination.
A total of 238 invitations were sent out in this late May draw. This included exactly 161 nomination invitations for the Subclass 190 visa and 77 nomination invitations for the Subclass 491 visa. This round brings South Australia’s total allocations for the 2025-26 program year to 1,767 invitations for the Subclass 190 and 1,086 invitations for the Subclass 491.
When analyzing the Subclass 190 and 491 May 2026 results, the clear preference for permanent residency via the Subclass 190 visa remains obvious in South Australia, though regional opportunities (Subclass 491) were prominent in the trades.
| ANZSCO Sub-major Group | Subclass 190 | Subclass 491 | Total (This Round) | Total (To Date) |
| 25 Health Professionals | 59 | 7 | 66 | 639 |
| 23 Engineering, Science & Transport | 31 | 10 | 41 | 468 |
| 32 Automotive & Engineering Trades | 8 | 21 | 29 | 149 |
| 24 Education Professionals | 20 | 2 | 22 | 195 |
| 33 Construction Trades Workers | 11 | 10 | 21 | 248 |
| 34 Electrotechnology Trades Workers | 18 | 1 | 19 | 139 |
| 26 ICT Professionals | 0 | 6 | 6 | 243 |
| All Other Groups Combined | 14 | 20 | 34 | 772 |
| GRAND TOTAL | 161 | 77 | 238 | 2,853 |
Notably, ICT and Hospitality professionals were only invited under the regional Subclass 491 stream this round, highlighting the strategic shifts South Australia makes as individual visa caps fill up toward the end of the financial year.
Looking closely at the latest General Skilled Migration program invitation data, South Australia continued to heavily target critical sectors to fill persistent local labour gaps.
The single largest sector invited in this draw was Health Professionals, securing a massive 66 invitations (59 for Subclass 190 and 7 for Subclass 491). Design, Engineering, Science and Transport Professionals followed closely behind with 41 invitations.
Traditional blue-collar and trade sectors also saw very strong representation:
With the current program year wrapping up, the competition for South Australia state nomination will restart soon. Don’t leave your migration points to chance.
Contact our registered migration agents today to audit your SkillSelect EOI, maximize your points score, and position your profile at the front of the line for the very first invitation rounds of the new financial year!
