Australian Immigration News Update: South Australian EOIs, the 2026 Occupation Shortage List and Priority Processing for Offshore Student Visa Applications
Executive Summary
Three developments this week carry real consequences for visa holders, employers and education providers. South Australia has opened a limited Expression of Interest (EOI) process for sponsorship nominations, with selection weighted towards six priority sectors. Jobs and Skills Australia has released its 2026 Occupation Shortage List, revealing that national shortages have eased by 9 per cent since the 2023 peak to 279 of 1,021 assessed occupations. Separately, the Department of Home Affairs has responded to the disruption caused by its student visa extension restrictions, confirming it will now prioritise certain offshore applications within five business days and will not refuse a student visa simply because the applicant is offshore when the decision falls due.
Introduction
Australia’s immigration system continues to operate at a point of significant friction. The practical realities of moving between education providers, the allocation of employer nomination places and the shifting data on occupational shortages are no longer separate policy conversations — they are now directly determining whether individual applicants can remain in Australia, secure a nomination, or complete the qualification for which they came.
This update examines the South Australian EOI process, the detail of the 2026 occupation shortage findings and the newly announced offshore priority processing arrangements for student visas, with practical guidance for affected applicants.
South Australia Opens a Limited Expression of Interest Process
Who is eligible in South Australia
South Australia has opened its EOI process for sponsorship nominations, but only partially. Eligibility for the onshore EOI route is confined to individuals who:
- Are currently living and working in South Australia; and
- Hold a current visa that will expire on or before 31 January.
Applicants in this cohort do not need to act immediately. The process is open and those with expiring visas will be contacted and invited to submit their expression of interest. It is a deliberate and welcome concession from the State Government, which has recognised the position of people whose visa status is about to lapse without any realistic prospect of a nomination pathway in the interim.
Offshore applicants and SkillSelect
Applicants who reside outside Australia do not need to submit a separate EOI. They should continue to maintain their SkillSelect expression of interest, and suitable candidates will be invited to proceed directly on the basis of that submission.
Selection criteria and priority sectors
Selection will focus on candidates working in the following priority sectors:
- Construction
- Defence
- Education
- Engineering
- Health
- Manufacturing
Highly ranked applicants in sectors outside this list may still be considered. This reflects a broader strategic reality: the States and Territories are monitoring these shortage data closely, and the volume of Subclass 189 invitations remains directly tied to the Employer Nomination Scheme allocation. Occupation data is no longer indicative — it is operational.
Jobs and Skills Australia Releases the 2026 Occupation Shortage List
A smaller national shortage, but a persistent one
Jobs and Skills Australia has published its annual list. The headline finding is that 279 of 1,021 assessed occupations are in national shortage, a reduction of approximately 9 per cent from the 2023 peak. The reduction in headline numbers should not be read as a resolution of labour market pressure. Shortages remain most widely distributed among technicians, tradespeople and professionals, and for employers seeking nominations, the location of an occupation on the list continues to shape assessment outcomes.
Health
Registered Nurses (uncategorised) have not appeared in the national shortage since 2024. Specialisations within the sector, however, remain in shortage, including:
- Acute care
- Aged care
- Mental health
Practitioners should note that alignment of duties, not job title alone, will drive whether an occupation is treated as in-shortage for nomination purposes.
Engineering
Engineering remains comprehensively affected. Occupations currently identified as in national shortage include data engineers, surveying, quantity surveying, civil engineering, rail, structures, transport, water, electrical, signals, electronics, mechanical and mining engineering.
ICT and cyber security
The ICT picture has shifted materially. No ICT occupations appear on the first page of the list. A cyber security consulting specialist and a cyber security engineer appear on the second page, with no ICT roles recorded in the final page covering the least-affected occupations. For ICT professionals, employer-nomination pathways are likely to require closer attention to specific specialisation and demonstrated scarcity rather than broad occupational standing.
Education and teaching
The list identifies shortages across:
- Early childhood education
- Secondary education
- Special education
- Teachers of the vision impaired and the hearing impaired
- Vocational education
The vocational education finding is significant, given that TAFE institutes received a strong allocation of student visa places in the current cycle.
Oscar codes versus ANZSCO 2013 — a live compliance risk
A material technical issue now affects nomination preparation. Jobs and Skills Australia uses the updated “Oscar” code set, while the Department of Home Affairs continues to rely on ANZSCO 2013 for points-based visa occupations. Where an occupation appears on the Jobs and Skills Australia list but does not map cleanly to an ANZSCO 2013 code, applicants risk misaligned occupation claims, incorrect points claims and refused nominations.
Before lodging any EOI, points test or nomination, applicants should have the exact occupation code reconciled across both systems. This is one of the most common — and most preventable — causes of nomination failure currently circulating.
Student Visas: The Offshore Problem and Five-Day Priority Processing
What has changed
The Department’s new student visa restrictions have made it effectively impossible for many international students to extend their visa while remaining in Australia to complete their course where they have changed education provider. The practical consequence has been that thousands of students are now required to travel offshore simply to lodge a student visa application.
The Department has responded by publishing new guidance pages explaining the options available to students lodging fresh applications in order to finish their studies, alongside worked examples illustrating the confusion the new rules have generated.
Priority processing within five business days
Priority processing within five business days will be considered for students who must lodge offshore, where they satisfy one of two defined sets of circumstances.
Circumstance one — Mandatory vocational or clinical placement. The student is required to undertake mandatory vocational or clinical training as part of their qualification (for example, nursing or medical placements), has moved education provider in order to complete that training, and/or requires additional time to complete it.
Circumstance two — Change of provider at an equivalent level. The student has commenced and progressed in their course with the provider for whom their visa was granted, and has subsequently moved to a similar provider for a course at the same level — for example, a bachelor degree to a bachelor degree, or a diploma to a diploma. Most affected students will fall within this second category.
Case-by-case assessment and the “similar provider” test
This priority is assessed individually on the facts, and no published guarantee accompanies it. The uncertainty is concentrated in the definition of a “similar provider”. A student who moves from a Bachelor of Science at a Melbourne university to an equivalent degree at a lower-cost institute may not satisfy that test on the basis of cost differential alone.
Applicants in this position should assemble documentary evidence of comparability, including the AQF level equivalence, field of study alignment, CRICOS provider comparison, academic progression and subject mapping. Where the evidence is strong, it materially strengthens a priority processing request.
The offshore refusal concession
The Department has confirmed an important concession: it will not refuse a student visa application solely on the basis that the applicant is outside Australia when the decision is made. A refusal may still be made on other grounds. Crucially, where the Department is able to grant the application, it will contact applicants directly to progress the matter.
Monitor your correspondence — and note the departure request
The Department’s published position is that where an applicant is in Australia when their visa is ready for grant, they may be asked to leave Australia so that processing can continue. Applicants must therefore:
- Review their Department inbox and online account regularly;
- Keep contact details, email addresses and telephone numbers current; and
- Act promptly on any request to depart.
Global processing times and visa expiry risk
Global processing times remain a significant exposure for students pursuing priority processing. A Subclass 500 visa currently takes approximately seven months to grant for vocational training and four months for higher education. A student whose visa is close to expiry may therefore find that the visa lapses before processing concludes, even where priority processing is accepted. Exit dates and contingency options should be planned before lodging, not after.
A visitor visa as an urgent interim option
The Department has acknowledged that a visitor visa application may be an urgent solution for a person who will shortly complete their studies but cannot lodge a student visa application from within Australia. A typical example is final examinations requiring in-person attendance that cannot be completed in the interim.
Two caveats require emphasis. First, grants are discretionary and confined to limited circumstances; a visitor visa should not be treated as a default strategy. A visitor visa does not permit work; any study must fit the visa’s conditions and permitted visitor activities. Second, the Department commonly applies condition 8503 to graduate visa applications. Condition 8503 does not prevent an applicant from lodging a Subclass 485 application, nor does a Subclass 485 applicant need to hold a current student visa at the time of grant — they need only have held a student visa within the previous six months. Its practical effect is that an applicant whose student visa expires while a graduate application is pending must leave Australia. The correct strategy is therefore to lodge the graduate application while status is still current, and to do so well before expiry.
Practical Guidance for Affected Students
- Determine your priority category. Assess whether your circumstances fall within the mandatory placement test or the equivalent-level provider change test, and record the reasoning in writing.
- Document provider comparability. Assemble AQF level, field of study, CRICOS, subject mapping and academic progression evidence.
- Lodge promptly and offshore. Where offshore lodging is required, do so without delay, and lodge any graduate stream application well before your current visa expires.
- Monitor correspondence daily. Check your Department inbox and online account, and respond immediately to any request.
- Reconcile occupation codes. Confirm the correct ANZSCO 2013 code against the Oscar code before lodging an EOI, points test or nomination.
- Model the contingency. Assess visitor visa options and course completion timing against realistic processing times before committing to a departure date.
Key Takeaways
- South Australia’s limited EOI process prioritises onshore workers in construction, defence, education, engineering, health and manufacturing, while offshore applicants continue to rely on existing SkillSelect submissions.
- The 2026 Occupation Shortage List records 279 of 1,021 occupations in national shortage, with persistent pressure concentrated in technicians, tradespeople and professionals, and health, engineering and teaching remaining the strongest nomination pathways.
- Jobs and Skills Australia’s use of Oscar codes against the Department’s continued reliance on ANZSCO 2013 creates a genuine mapping risk that must be checked before any nomination or points test is lodged.
- The Department will prioritise qualifying offshore student visa applications within five business days, and has confirmed it will not refuse an application solely because the applicant is offshore when the decision falls due.
- Condition 8503 does not prevent lodging a Subclass 485 application, but it does require departure if a student visa expires while the graduate application remains pending — early lodgement is essential.
Speak with Australian Immigration Agency
The Australian Immigration Agency advises international students, employers and education providers on student visa extensions, offshore lodgement, state nomination and employer nomination strategy. Given the interaction between occupation data, provider comparability and processing timelines currently in force, early advice is materially valuable.
Book a consultation with one of our registered migration agents to discuss your individual circumstances and options.
This article provides general information about Australian immigration policy and does not constitute legal advice for any individual case.
