Regional will be referred to as any location that is not Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane as of 16 November 2019. A significant shift is the designation of Perth and the Gold Coast as regional regions. Perth, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie, the Illawarra, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide, Hobart, and Canberra are examples of regional regions.
For the purposes of the following Australian visas submitted on or after November 16, 2019, the Department of Home Affairs has published a list of postcodes deemed regional districts, namely:
- .Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa, Subclass 491
- .Skilled Independent Visa, Subclass 189
- .Skilled Nominated Visa Subclass 190
& visas sponsored by employers:
- Subclass 494 Regional (Provisional) Skilled Employer sponsored visa
- Temporary Skills Shortage Visa, Subclass 482.
The regional definition includes three categories and provides regional incentives for skilled migrants moving to places that fall under Category 2 or Category 3 (Regional Centers and Other Regional Areas) classifications.
- Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong, and Hobart are included in Category 2’s “Cities and Major Regional Centers.”
- Regional Centers and Other Regional Areas in Category 3 (Including Designated Regional Area Postcodes as Per the Below Table)
Skilled Visa
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The regional definition, which is divided into three categories, provides regional incentives for skilled migrants moving to places that fall under Category 2 (“Cities and Major Regional Centres”) or Category 3 (“Regional Centers and Other Regional Areas”):
In category 2
- The following regional incentives are available to the “Cities and Major Regional Centers” of Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra,
- Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong, and Hobart:
- processing of regional visas with priority
- More employment are available on the Regional Occupations List than on non-regional listings.
- A post-study work visa will allow international graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regional campus of an accredited school to stay in Australia for an extra year.
