Canberra Matrix Invitation Round: Latest Scores, Results and ACT Nomination Guide

You cannot apply for ACT nomination directly. You first lodge a Canberra Matrix, a points-based expression of interest. The ACT Government ranks the submissions and, in periodic invitation rounds, invites the highest-ranked people in each occupation to apply. After each round it publishes how many people it invited and the lowest scores it invited.

The latest round was held in the week starting 12 October 2026, and it was for subclass 190 only. This guide explains what that round’s results show and what they do not, how the Matrix and the ranking work, who is eligible as a Canberra resident or an overseas applicant, and the fees and deadlines that follow an invitation.

The Canberra Matrix is the ACT Government’s score-based expression of interest for ACT nomination of a Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) or Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa. You claim points for things such as skilled employment, English, qualifications, time living or studying in Canberra, investment and close family ties. The ACT says the Matrix is weighted so that people who have made, or will make, a positive economic contribution to the Territory, or who have shown a genuine commitment to it, are more likely to be invited.

Four separate decisions stand between a Matrix and a visa:

The Matrix is not your SkillSelect Expression of Interest (EOI). The ACT requires a valid SkillSelect EOI with Home Affairs before you start the ACT process (ACT Government nomination). The Matrix is a separate, ACT-only submission made in the ACT Migration Application Portal.

The ACT’s July 2026 nomination guidelines (Canberra residents; overseas applicants) set out how Matrix submissions are selected:

• Two separate rankings. Canberra residents and overseas applicants may be ranked separately, because the Matrix differs by residency status.
• By occupation. On the occupation-list pathway, the highest-ranked Matrix in each occupation is invited. The cut-off depends on demand, the places available and the number of invitations issued.
• 491 first. Subclass 491 submissions are selected first. If you hold an active 491 invitation, your 190 Matrix is not ranked or selected.
• Ties. Where too many submissions share a score, selection may be based on the date and time the Matrix was submitted. If you update your Matrix, the submission date becomes the date of the update.
• Doctorate Streamlined. Invitations are issued automatically in every round.
• Critical sectors may be prioritised. The guidelines name care, education, construction, renewables and advanced technology.
• No invitation if you have an active application in the system or have already received ACT nomination.

The ACT also says it has a fixed number of nomination places each month, pro-rata against the annual allocation (Invitation Round page). It will not prioritise anyone because of personal circumstances, including visa expiry dates or “critical birthdays”, and it will not answer requests for ranking information.

As published on the ACT’s Invitation Round page and in its 2026-27 Invitation round rankings document:

The rankings list minimum scores for 105 occupation groups. Some examples, as printed:

N/A means Matrix submissions were not considered. Vocational Education Teachers is marked “491 Only” on the ACT occupation list. Five resident scores carry a date in brackets, such as Accountants “135 (1/10/2026)”; the ACT does not explain these dates, so we show them exactly as printed.

• A score belongs to one round, one occupation and one cohort. (Small Business Owners had one overall minimum, 120; the Doctorate Streamlined pathway has none.) In this round the overseas minimum was lower than the resident minimum in many occupations (Registered Nurses: 80 overseas, 115 resident) and higher in others (General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers: 80 overseas, 65 resident).
• It is not a pass mark. In the ACT’s words, “the minimum ranking score is an indication only and not a guarantee that an invitation was issued”. Reaching it in a later round does not mean you will be invited.
• It moves with supply and demand. The cut-off depends on the remaining monthly allocation, submission timing, occupation caps and demand. With the 2026–27 allocation still unannounced, one round is too little to project the next.
• It says nothing about 491. No 491 Matrix was considered in this round, so there is no 2026–27 ACT 491 cut-off yet.

The ACT publishes each program year’s rankings in a single document. Its 2025-26 rankings (six rounds, 15 September 2025 to 11 June 2026) and its 2026-27 rankings (12 October 2026) give seven rounds of minimum scores. What they show, in our reading:

• Most resident 190 minimums held. Of the 102 occupation groups with a Canberra-resident subclass 190 minimum in both the 6 May and 12 October 2026 rounds, 55 were unchanged, 40 rose and 7 fell. 36 groups had the same resident 190 minimum in all six rounds from 10 December 2025 to 12 October 2026.
• Overseas 190 minimums rose more often. Of the 102 groups with an overseas subclass 190 minimum in both rounds, 53 rose, 34 were unchanged and 15 fell.
• No 491 occupation minimum has been published since 6 May 2026. The 11 June 2026 rankings list only Canberra-resident subclass 190 minimums (83 occupation groups), and the 12 October 2026 rankings only subclass 190 minimums.

Canberra-resident subclass 190 minimums for four occupations, as printed (“N/A” = not considered):

The ACT does not explain individual movements. The factors it says set each cut-off are the remaining monthly allocation, the date and time of Matrix submission, occupation caps and demand, and it may prioritise occupations in critical sectors. Two facts from its own pages frame the recent rounds: the 2025–26 allocation was fully used by 30 June 2026, and the 2026–27 allocation had not been announced by 28 October 2026. Use the occupation explorer above to see any group’s history.

Federal requirements apply to everyone. You must meet the Home Affairs criteria for your visa on the day you submit (or update) your Matrix, and keep meeting them until you receive ACT nomination. Under federal law you must not have turned 45 when you are invited to apply for the visa (Migration Regulations 1994, Sch 1 items 1138 and 1241), and you must reach the points-test pass mark of 65 (LIN 19/210). You also need a skills assessment in your nominated occupation and the English level the visa requires. The ACT adds that your English test and skills assessment must be valid both when you submit the Matrix and when you are nominated.

ACT pathways:

• Occupation list. Your nominated occupation is on the ACT Nominated Migration Program Occupation List, last updated on 10 October 2025: 279 occupations, 20 of them marked “491 Only”. The list applies to every Matrix, whenever it was submitted. This pathway is open to Canberra residents and to applicants living overseas.
• Doctorate Streamlined. A doctorate from an ACT university. Canberra residents must also have lived in the ACT for at least 12 months; interstate or overseas applicants must have been awarded it within the last two years. It is fee-free, and other ACT criteria and Matrix points do not apply.
• Small Business Owner (Canberra residents). You are the majority owner of an eligible registered business located in the ACT. Your occupation need not be on the ACT list if it is on the relevant Home Affairs skilled occupation list.
• Significant Economic Benefit. Started only by the ACT Government; you cannot apply for it.

Living within a 30-minute commute in NSW, such as Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra or Googong, counts as living in Canberra for these criteria. Working online or from a home office for an interstate employer does not count.

For overseas applicants, the work experience must be assessed as relevant by the assessing body in a points-tested skills assessment (where that body offers points advice). They must also hold any Australian registration or licence their occupation requires, and their skills and experience must be relevant to the ACT economy. To claim partner points, the ACT requires a marriage or civil partnership/union certificate (Canberra residents may also use VEVO secondary-applicant status). It does not accept a de facto relationship without a relationship certificate, except, for overseas applicants, where one cannot legally be obtained in their country of residence.

This calculator uses the points tables in the ACT’s July 2026 guidelines: 12 categories for Canberra residents (maximum 195 points) and 11 for overseas applicants (maximum 185). Pick your occupation to compare your estimate with the lowest score the ACT invited in the latest round that considered your cohort and visa. The ACT also links its own score checkers from its Canberra Matrix page.

If you are 5 to 10 points below a recent minimum, these are some of the categories in the ACT’s tables where a score often changes; qualifications, ACT study and family ties can add points too. Most take time, and every claim must be true and provable on the date you submit or update your Matrix.

Canberra residents

Overseas applicants

Both are illustrations built from the ACT’s published tables, not assessments of anyone’s eligibility.

Sources: Home Affairs subclass 190 page; Migration Regulations 1994, Sch 1 item 1138(4), cl 491.511, Schedule 6D (items 6D121 and 6D131) and Sch 8 condition 8579 (Federal Register of Legislation); LIN 22/022 (designated regional areas). A 491 does not give permanent residence on grant. Because the ACT selects 491 submissions first, someone eligible for both may be invited for a 491 before a 190.

You can submit at most two Canberra Matrix submissions per nomination pathway, for a maximum of four occupations. The ACT offers one nomination place per person: once nominated, you cannot be nominated again except, at the ACT’s discretion, in exceptional circumstances.

The ACT’s key documents checklist governs, and the ACT says a decision may be based solely on the documents in the application. Which items apply depends on your cohort and the points you claim.

Meeting the criteria only puts you in the pool. The ACT says there is no guarantee a Matrix will be ranked, even if you meet the eligibility criteria. Its own rules give the reasons a Matrix may be passed over: higher-ranked submissions in the same occupation; the monthly allocation or an occupation cap being reached; an equal score submitted earlier; a round that did not consider your subclass (the 12 October round considered no 491 submissions); an active application already in the system; or a previous ACT nomination.

ACT service fees are non-refundable (ACT Migration application fees, last updated 27 July 2026):

The Doctorate Streamlined pathway is fee-free, and updating or withdrawing a Matrix costs nothing. The Home Affairs visa application charge, skills assessment, English test and health and police checks are separate costs.

• Subclass 190 visa requirements, from eligibility to grant
• How to score 65 points for subclasses 189, 190 and 491
• South Australia’s 2026–27 skilled migration update, for comparison with another state
• Victoria’s 2026–27 skilled nomination program

Want your eligibility and Matrix claims reviewed before you submit? Book a consultation or contact our migration team.

This is general information, not personal migration advice. ACT nomination rules, the occupation list, invitation rounds and fees can change without notice; the figures above are as at 28 October 2026. Global Migrations is the trading name of Global Migration & Education Solutions (ABN 22 998 014 414); our registered migration agent is Ranbir Singh, MARN 1069570. We are not part of the ACT Government.