Skilled Work Regional Visa (Subclass 491)

First check both the NSW Government website and then the RDA website in the region you wish to apply to, to check if you are eligible to apply for nomination for a 491 Skilled Work Regional Visa through one of the following three streams:

Stream 1 – Living and working in regional NSW
Stream 2 – Recently completed study in regional NSW
Stream 3 – Living and working outside of a designated regional postcode of NSW

Applicants who do not meet the criteria in one of these three streams may be refused unless otherwise agreed with NSW Treasury.

‘Closely related occupations’ are defined as those having the same ANZSCO unit group, i.e. sharing the same first four digits.

‘Designated regional areas’ are determined by Home Affairs. Please see their website for a list of regional NSW postcodes.

Stream 1:

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must:

• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region's occupation list;
• have been living in a designated regional area of NSW for at least the previous 12 months; and
• have been working in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation, in a designated regional area of NSW, for at least the previous 12 months.

Stream 2:

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must:

• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region's occupation list;
• have completed study or education with an education provider, where:
  • the study was completed within the previous 24 months;
  • the education provider is located in a designated regional area in NSW;
  • the study meets the Australian study requirement (as determined by Home Affairs from time to time); and
  • the qualification obtained from this study has been assessed as closely related to your nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority; and
• have lived in a designated regional area of NSW while completing your study.

Stream 3:

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this stream you must meet all the criteria for at least one of the following categories:

a. Job offer in regional NSW

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this category you must:

• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region's occupation list;
• have an offer for ongoing employment that is:
  • in your nominated occupation, or a closely related occupation; and
  • for a minimum term of 12 months and 35 hours of work per week;
• have an offer for ongoing employment from an employer that is:
  • located in a designated regional area in NSW; and
  • registered in Australia.

c. Family ties in regional NSW

To be eligible for NSW nomination under this category you must:

• hold a valid skills assessment for an occupation that appears on your nominated region's occupation list; and
• have an immediate family member in a designated regional area in NSW who satisfies all of the criteria below:
  • is either your grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, brother or sister (including by virtue of a step or adoptive relationship);
  • at least 18 years of age;
  • either an Australian Permanent Resident, an Australian Citizen or a NSW nominated provisional visa holder (489);
  • currently residing in a designated regional area in NSW; and
  • has been residing in a designated regional area in NSW for at least the previous 24 months,
  • and you must ensure that your family member has completed a statutory declaration to confirm that they satisfy each of the above chain migration requirements.

**RDA Southern Inland will not be accepting offshore applications under stream 3b and 3c until further notice. This is due to the request from the Australian Government to prioritise on-shore applicants and the national border restrictions because of COVID-19.

The skilled occupations for each region will be different, so it is important that you check that your occupation is currently being accepted for our region. This list is updated regularly, and sometimes needs to be changed without notice. Your occupation must be on this list when you submit your application.

It is important that the skilled occupation on your application to the Southern Inland or Murray matches the occupation that is entered into SkillSelect. If these do not match, you cannot be nominated to apply from the NSW Government.

As the occupation list is updated regularly, there may be variances between the list below and the copy provided by the NSW Government. The list below is the current edition, and applications need to adhere to this list. Occupations that are on the copy provided by the NSW Government but not on this list will not be accepted.

Our occupation list is available here. 

As part of receiving a nomination from the NSW Government, applicants commit to live and work in NSW for the first two years of their visa. According to visa regulations, the applicant must have a genuine commitment to live and work in the nominating state.

This commitment is a condition of the NSW Government’s nomination.

As the region that is supporting you and providing you with the opportunity to gain a 491 visa and potentially permanent residency, we expect you to genuinely commit to the Southern Inland or Murray region by living and working here and to making a positive contribution to our communities.

Therefore, it is important that you get to know the Southern Inland or Murray region, and research whether the work and lifestyle opportunities it provides are suitable for you and any dependents you may have. We have collated a range of information about the region’s location, postcodes and communities to help you get to know the region to help you make this decision.

The below maps show the Southern Inland and Murray regions. 

As nominations are extremely limited at this time, prior to submitting your application, you MUST check that you are still able to apply for your skill in the nominating region. Do this by filling in  the Skill Availability form .

This template will request your name and skill only. Do not submit anything else. This is NOT an Expression of Interest process. It is to ensure that particular skills are not oversubscribed and that, when you apply, nominations in your skill area are still available. 

If your skill is still available, you will receive an email with an Interim Reference Number (IRN). Within 48 hours of receiving this IRN, you must submit your application, including this Interim Reference Number in the Subject heading of your application email. The Interim Reference Number expires after 48 hours and, should you submit after that time, your application will be ineligible.

The application form and required documentation for each stream is different, so it is important that you select the correct stream to avoid delays in processing your application.

Application forms and document checklists for each of the streams are available through the links below for:

Stream 1 – Living and Working in Regional NSW

Stream 1 Application Form and Document Checklist - PDF File

Stream 1 Application Form and Document Checklist - Word File

Stream 2 – Recently Completed Study in Regional NSW

Stream 2 Application Form and Document Checklist - PDF File

Stream 2 Application Form and Document Checklist - Word File

Stream 3a – Job Offer in Regional NSW (Onshore Applicants Only)

Stream 3 Application Form and Document Checklist - PDF File

Stream 3 Application Form and Document Checklist - Word File

Stream 3c -  Family Ties (Onshore Applicants Only)

Stream 3c Application Form and Document Checklist - Word File

RDA Southern Inland will not be accepting offshore applications under stream 3b and 3c until further notice. This is due to the request from the Australian Government to prioritise on-shore applicants and the national border restrictions because of COVID-19.

This will be reviewed in April and no exceptions can be made.

Certified Documents or Colour Scans

Supporting documents must be certified black and white copies, or colour scans of the original document.

Translations

Non-English documents must be accompanied by an English translation certified by a translator. You may not necessarily need to have the full document translated. Translations of the key pages to demonstrate your eligibility can be sufficient.

If you are applying from:

• Within Australia, the translator must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), or
• Outside Australia, the translator should be qualified and endorse the translated document with their full name, details of their qualification and contact details.

Note that payment for your application assessment fee does not guarantee a positive outcome for your application. You are paying for the assessment process, not the outcome.

Payment is required as part of your application, and we will not commence assessment of your application until your payment can be verified.

Our assessment fees are:

Skilled Regional State Nominated (491 visa): AUD $800.00 (incl. GST)
Employer Nomination (RSMS 494 Visa): AUD $770.00 (incl. GST)

We accept payment for your assessment fee by Direct Deposit only.

Please ensure that you include a copy of your payment receipt with your application submission so we can identify your payment.

Paying by Direct Deposit

Our bank account details are as below. This can be completed either through your online banking or by going into a branch of Commonwealth near you. Please include 491/the name that the application is in/and the IRN for the reference detail for the deposit. 

Account name: RDA Southern Inland

Bsb: 062 904

Account number: 10407899

All applications with all supporting documents clearly identified and in separate attachments/files within the one email should be addressed to our Migration Office via admin@rdasi.org.au 

Your application MUST have a valid Interim Reference Number (IRN – see above) in the Subject Heading.

You will receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application, including an Application Reference Number (ARN). This number must be quoted in any enquiries.

Applications will be processed in the order in which complete applications are received and will be completed within 6 weeks of the receipted date.

During assessment of your application, we may contact you to request further information if required. If additional documents are required, the processing time may be delayed.

If your application is successful, we will provide you with information about the next steps in the process.

Once we have advised the NSW Government that we have offered you nomination, it may take up to 5 working days (Monday to Friday, and excluding NSW public holidays) for the nomination to be processed and for you to receive an invitation to apply from SkillSelect.

Please do not call or email our office regarding the progress of your application if it has been less than 6 weeks.