Studying in regional Australia: what counts and what you gain
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For skilled migration, "regional Australia" means everywhere except Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, and Greater Brisbane. That is a wide net that includes several state capitals.
The two categories of regional area
Home Affairs splits regional Australia into two groups, and the distinction affects graduate visa length and processing priority.
| Category | Areas | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Category 2: Cities and major regional centres | Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, Wollongong and the Illawarra, Geelong, Hobart | A 1-year extension on the 485, regional points, 491 access |
| Category 3: Rest of regional Australia | Every other regional city and town, for example Toowoomba, Cairns, Townsville, Ballarat, Bendigo, Launceston, Darwin, Wagga Wagga | A 2-year 485 extension, priority visa processing, larger state nomination allocations |
All of these count as regional. The difference is that the smaller and more remote the area, the stronger the incentives the government attaches to it.
What you gain by studying regionally
- 5 points for study in a regional area, on top of the 5 for meeting the Australian study requirement.
- Access to the 491, which carries a 15-point nomination bonus, broader occupation lists, and lower cut-offs than the 189.
- State and territory nomination criteria that are usually easier to meet outside the big three cities, and which reserve places for local graduates.
- The extra 485 year or two shown in the table above.
- Lower living costs. Adelaide and Perth run well below Sydney and Melbourne. See the cost of living pages for a breakdown.
Worked example: the regional points swing
Two students take the same Master of IT. One studies in Melbourne, one in Adelaide, both get a 190 nomination from their state.
| Factor | Melbourne | Adelaide |
|---|---|---|
| Australian study requirement | 5 | 5 |
| Regional study | 0 | 5 |
| Base score before nomination | 70 | 75 |
| With 190 nomination | 75 | 80 |
| If Adelaide student takes a 491 instead | 90 |
The Adelaide student is 5 points ahead on the same profile, or 15 ahead if they use the 491.
What you trade
Smaller job markets in the Category 3 towns, fewer large-employer graduate programs, and smaller communities from your home country. Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra have none of these problems, with universities, airports, hospitals, and established migrant communities. A town of 30,000 is a different proposition and worth visiting before you commit.
A sensible approach
Many people study in Adelaide, Perth, or Canberra to get the regional points with a normal city job market, work there on the 485, and then decide whether to chase a 491 that converts to permanent residence through the 191, or aim straight for a 190. Where you studied earns the points; it does not lock you into staying in that exact town forever, though the 491 and 191 do require you to keep living and working regionally until you convert to permanent residence.
If I transfer to a regional university after a semester in a big city, do I still get the regional points?
Usually not. The 5 points for regional study require that all of the study counting toward your Australian study requirement was completed while you were living and studying in a regional area. If you spend a semester in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and then transfer to a regional campus, that metropolitan study generally disqualifies you from the regional points, even if the rest of the degree was regional. Distance and online study also do not count toward the regional points. If regional points are part of your plan, start regional, and if you have already split your study, get advice on your exact timeline before you assume either way.