Designated Regional Areas
From 16 November 2019 regional will be defined as any area excluding Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Important change: Perth and Gold Coast are classified as regional areas. Regional areas include Perth, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Lake Macquarie, Illawarra, Geelong, Newcastle, Wollongong, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra.
The Department of Home Affairs have released the list of postcodes considered as regional areas for the purposes of the below Australian visas lodged on or after 16 November 2019 namely:
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa
- Subclass 189 Skilled Independent visa
- Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated visa
& employer sponsored visas:
- Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) visa
- Subclass 482 Temporary Skills Shortage visa
The regional definition is comprised of 3 categories and offers regional incentives for skilled migrants who migrate to locations classified as Category 2 ‘Cities and Major Regional Centres’ or Category 3 ‘Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas’
- Category 2 – ‘Cities and Major Regional Centres’ of Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong and Hobart
- Category 3 – ‘Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas (Include Designated regional area postcodes as per below table)
Regional Postcodes
| State or Territory | Category | Postcodes |
| New South Wales | Cities and major regional centres | 2259, 2264 to 2308, 2500 to 2526, 2528 to 2535 and 2574 |
| New South Wales | Regional centres and other regional areas | 2250 to 2258, 2260 to 2263, 2311 to 2490, 2527, 2536 to 2551, 2575 to 2739, 2753 to 2754, 2756 to 2758 and 2773 to 2898 |
| Victoria | Cities and major regional centres | 3211 to 3232, 3235, 3240, 3328, 3330 to 3333, 3340 and 3342 |
| Victoria | Regional centres and other regional areas | 3097 to 3099, 3139, 3233 to 3234, 3236 to 3239, 3241 to 3325, 3329, 3334, 3341, 3345 to 3424, 3430 to 3799, 3809 to 3909, 3912 to 3971 and 3978 to 3996 |
| Queensland | Cities and major regional centres | 4207 to 4275, 4517 to 4519, 4550 to 4551, 4553 to 4562, 4564 to 4569 and 4571 to 4575 |
| Queensland | Regional centres and other regional areas | 4124 to 4125, 4133, 4183 to 4184, 4280 to 4287, 4306 to 4498, 4507, 4552, 4563, 4570 and 4580 to 4895 |
| Western Australia | Cities and major regional centres | 6000 to 6038, 6050 to 6083, 6090 to 6182, 6208 to 6211, 6214 and 6556 to 6558 |
| Western Australia | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in Western Australia not mentioned above |
| South Australia | Cities and major regional centres | 5000 to 5171, 5173 to 5174, 5231 to 5235, 5240 to 5252, 5351 and 5950 to 5960 |
| South Australia | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in South Australia not mentioned above |
| Tasmania | Cities and major regional centres | 7000, 7004 to 7026, 7030 to 7109, 7140 to 7151 and 7170 to 7177 |
| Tasmania | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in Tasmania not mentioned above |
| Australian Capital Territory | Cities and major regional centres | All postcodes in the ACT |
| Australian Capital Territory | Regional centres and other regional areas | None |
| Northern Territory | Cities and major regional centres | None |
| Northern Territory | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in the NT |
| Norfolk Island | Cities and major regional centres | None |
| Norfolk Island | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in Norfolk Island |
| Other Territories | Cities and major regional centres | None |
| Other Territories | Regional centres and other regional areas | All postcodes in a Territory other than the ACT, NT, or Norfolk Island |
The regional definition is comprised of 3 categories and offers regional incentives for skilled migrants who migrate to locations classified as Category 2 ‘Cities and Major Regional Centres’ or Category 3 ‘Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas’:
- Category 2 – ‘Cities and Major Regional Centres’ of Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Canberra, Newcastle/Lake Macquarie, Wollongong/Illawarra, Geelong and Hobart have access to the following regional incentives:
- Priority processing of regional visas
- Access to the Regional Occupations List – more jobs compared to non-regional lists
- International graduates with a bachelor or higher qualification from a regional campus of a registered institution will be eligible to access additional year in Australia on a post-study work visa
- Category 3 – ‘Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas’ will also have access to the dedicated 11,200 regional places, priority processing of regional visas, and the Regional Occupations List. Additional incentives include:
- International graduates with a bachelor or higher qualification from a regional campus of a registered institution will be eligible to access an additional 2 years in Australia on a post-study work visa.
- Priority in negotiating region-specific Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs)
