Which Australian state is easiest to get nominated by?
There is no permanently easiest state. Each state and territory publishes its own occupation list, quota and conditions every programme year from July, and they change. The practical answer is the state whose current list includes your occupation and whose conditions you meet, which is often a regional nomination for the 491 visa rather than a capital city.
Why the question has no fixed answer
Australia's states nominate against their own lists and their own needs, and they reset the lists each July. A state that invited accountants freely one year can close the occupation the next. Anybody who tells you a particular state is "easiest" is describing last year.
What actually differs between them
- Occupation lists. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory each publish one, and they overlap only partly.
- Conditions. Some states require a job offer in the state; some require you to already live there; some accept offshore applicants freely in specific occupations. Some require a higher English level than the federal minimum.
- Quotas. Each state receives an allocation from the federal government for the year, and nominations slow or stop when it is used.
- Regional versus city. The 491 regional nomination is worth 15 points against 5 for a 190, and regional lists are usually longer. The trade-off is three years of living and working outside the major cities before permanent residence.
How we approach it
Rather than ranking states, we check, on the day, which lists carry your occupation, which conditions you meet from India, and which nomination adds the points you are short. For a nurse that is often several states at once; for a marketing specialist it may be one regional area or none.
Check the Australia points calculator with and without a nomination; the difference tells you how much a state has to give you before it is worth pursuing.
Sources
Checked against these on by Hari Prasad, Head of Sales — Australia Migration. Immigration rules change without notice — if you are reading this much later, check them again.