Tasmania's First Invitation Round of 2026-27 Held 20 August 2026

Migration Tasmania held the first invitation round of the 2026-27 Skilled Migration State Nomination Program on Thursday 20 August 2026, three days after Registrations of Interest opened. Rounds now run weekly for the rest of the program year.^[1][2]

If you have an ROI in the system, this is the point at which the theory becomes practical. This article covers how the rounds actually select candidates, what an invitation does and does not give you, and the 28 day clock that starts the moment one arrives. For the program parameters themselves, including the 2,050 nomination places and the suspended offshore 491 pathway, see our report on the program opening.

How the Weekly Rounds Work

Tasmania does not invite on a first come, first served basis, and lodging an ROI earlier does not by itself move you up the queue. In each round, Migration Tasmania invites the highest ranked Registrations of Interest based on the strength of their priority attributes.^[2][3]

• •Rounds run weekly, with invitations issued progressively across the program year rather than in large batches.
• •Candidates are ranked, and the strongest profiles are invited first.
• •Submitting an ROI never guarantees an invitation, regardless of how long it has been sitting there.
• •An unsuccessful ROI stays valid for six months, after which it lapses and must be resubmitted.

Because places are released weekly rather than all at once, a profile that is not competitive in August can become competitive later in the year as the pool changes. The reverse is also true.

The Priority Pass Bands

Each ROI is assigned a priority pass, and that pass is the clearest signal of how quickly you are likely to be invited.^[2]

A Green pass is not a promise and an Orange pass is not a refusal. Both describe likelihood against the current pool, and the pool changes every week.

What an Invitation Actually Gives You

This is where expectations most often run ahead of reality. An invitation from Migration Tasmania is permission to lodge a state nomination application. It is not the nomination itself, and it is certainly not a visa.^[2][3]

Each step can fail independently. Being invited does not mean the nomination will be approved, and a nomination does not mean the visa will be granted.

The 28 Day Clock

An invitation is valid for 28 days. Within that window you need to log back into your Migration Tasmania account, upload the supporting documents and pay the nomination fee, currently $387 plus GST.^[1][2]

• •The nomination fee is not refundable, including if the nomination is later refused.
• •The 28 days covers gathering and uploading evidence, not just clicking submit, so start immediately rather than at the end.
• •Evidence must support the priority attributes your ranking was based on. A mismatch between what you claimed and what you can prove is a serious problem at this stage.
• •Letting the invitation lapse wastes it. There is no guarantee of receiving another.

The single most useful thing an ROI holder can do before being invited is assemble the evidence pack in advance. Employment contracts, payslips confirming hours and income, and proof of residence in Tasmania all take time to collect, and 28 days disappears quickly if you start from nothing.

Where to Check Round Outcomes

Migration Tasmania publishes invitation round data, including the lowest attribute score that received an invitation, alongside processing times and allocation usage on its website. That published cut-off is the most reliable gauge of how competitive the current round was, and it is worth checking weekly rather than relying on anecdote.^[2]

At the time of writing, outcome data for the 20 August round had not yet been published. Figures circulating on forums and social media in the hours after a round are frequently wrong, so treat the official page as the only source worth acting on.

If You Were Not Invited

Missing the first round of a program year is entirely normal and is not a signal that your profile has failed. There are 2,050 places to be distributed across roughly a year of weekly rounds.

• •Check which pass band you sit in and what specifically is holding it down.
• •Look at the attributes you can realistically improve, such as length of employment, weekly hours in a single position, or income level.
• •Watch the six month ROI expiry so your registration does not lapse unnoticed.
• •Remember that the 30 hour requirement in the revised TSE Gold attribute applies to a single position, not combined roles.

Conclusion

The 20 August round opens a program year that runs on weekly cycles rather than a handful of large releases. That structure rewards patience and preparation over speed. Candidates who understand their pass band, keep their ROI current, and have their evidence ready before an invitation arrives are the ones who convert an invitation into a nomination inside the 28 day window.

The broader context has not changed either. Tasmania's settings sit alongside a national shift toward prioritising applicants already in Australia, which we covered in our analysis of Ministerial Direction 119.

References

• [1]Migration Tasmania, Skilled Migration State Nomination Program, official program information, invitation rounds, how to apply and published round data. migration.tas.gov.au
• [2]Aussizz Group, Tasmania 190 and 491 Visa Program Opens on 17 August 2026. Weekly invitation schedule, priority pass bands, 28 day invitation validity, nomination fee and six month ROI validity. aussizzgroup.com
• [3]Visa Envoy, Tasmania State Nomination 2026-27. ROI ranking, invitation process and nomination requirements. visaenvoy.com