State Nomination for Aged Care Workers: STSOL Pathways and What That Means for You

#Why can't aged care workers apply for subclass 189?

The subclass 189 Independent Skilled visa is reserved exclusively for occupations on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Because Aged or Disabled Carer sits on the STSOL, your EOI will simply not be eligible to receive a 189 invitation — even if you accumulate 90 points and have flawless English. This is a structural rule, not a processing queue issue.

We regularly speak with aged care workers at VJ Consulting and Education who have spent months preparing an EOI for 189, only to discover at the final step that their occupation was never eligible. One applicant described it perfectly:

That frustration is real and avoidable. The STSOL designation is also why the skilled migration landscape for aged care workers looks fundamentally different from registered nurses — a distinction that matters enormously for your planning.

#Which states are nominating aged care workers for 190 or 491 in 2026?

The good news for aged care workers is that, precisely because this occupation is on the STSOL and Australia faces a projected workforce gap of over 110,000 aged care workers by 2030, multiple states treat it as a priority for their nomination allocations. Below is a summary of the states where nomination is realistic for ANZSCO 423111:

States not listed — including Victoria and New South Wales — have historically been more restrictive about including STSOL occupations in their 190 programs, or have closed their lists to aged care workers in favour of higher-skilled clinical roles. This does not mean they will never open; it means you should not build your strategy around them without confirmed current information.

#What is the minimum points score for aged care worker state nomination?

This is one of the most significant advantages of being an aged care worker in the points-tested system. Because demand for nominations in this occupation often exceeds supply from applicants — unlike registered nursing, where the applicant pool has become intensely competitive — states can afford to invite at lower scores.

Here is how the points arithmetic typically works for a 190 nomination:

For context, the typical invitation score range with nomination factored in sits between 60 and 70 points. For subclass 491, the nomination bonus is 15 points, which means an even lower base score becomes viable — though the 491 comes with its own regional living conditions (discussed in the next section).

This contrasts sharply with the experience of registered nurses in the 189 pool, where one community member noted that "护理现在的申请人数是幼教的6倍" — the nursing applicant pool has become six times more competitive than early childhood education. Aged care workers are not swimming in that same pool.

#Is the 491 regional visa the best option for aged care workers?

Regional aged care facilities are precisely where Australia's workforce shortage is most acute. This creates a natural alignment: states and territories are motivated to nominate aged care workers for 491 because regional facilities genuinely cannot fill positions, and aged care workers benefit from a lower points bar and a 15-point nomination bonus that can make an otherwise borderline EOI competitive.

The 491 pathway for an aged care worker typically looks like this:

The honest trade-off is lifestyle. Regional towns where aged care facilities are located may be far from major cities, with limited community infrastructure and social networks. Many of our aged care clients at VJCE have told us that the hardest part was not the visa process — it was building a life in a new regional town while managing the emotional weight of the work itself. As one aged care worker shared:

That resilience is characteristic of aged care workers navigating the migration system. The 491 regional pathway rewards exactly that kind of persistence — and for those who complete it, the reward is permanent residence without needing the high points scores that metropolitan pathways demand.

#What conditions do states attach to aged care worker nominations?

State nomination is not a rubber stamp — it is a bilateral commitment. When a state nominates you, it is using one of its finite allocation slots on the expectation that you will contribute to that state's aged care workforce. Breaching nomination conditions can have serious consequences for your visa and for future applicants in your occupation.

Common conditions attached to aged care worker nominations

The pitfalls we see most often

In our experience at VJ Consulting and Education, the conditions that catch aged care workers off guard most frequently are not the obvious ones — they are the procedural details. The four most common assessment pitfalls for this occupation include: submitting an overseas qualification without formal equivalency recognition through ACWA; accepting an employment offer before confirming the salary meets the 2026 TSMIT of $73,150 (critical if 482 sponsorship is also in play); presenting informal family caregiving as formal work experience when ACWA requires written proof from a registered employer; and overlooking the NDIS Worker Screening requirement for roles that involve disability clients.

Labour agreement streams referenced in stories like this one can sometimes operate under modified conditions — including adjusted language requirements and TSMIT waivers — but these arrangements are employer and region-specific. Do not assume a labour agreement pathway applies to your situation without verifying the specific agreement terms.