Each financial year, the Australian Government sets a Permanent Migration Program planning level — the total number of permanent visa places to be allocated across the major migration streams. For 2025–26, the program is set at 185,000 places, maintaining the same level as 2024–25, with a continued emphasis on skilled migration. The program is divided into four streams — Skill, Family, Special Eligibility, and Humanitarian (planned separately) — each with its own allocation. The planning levels are policy targets, not hard caps on individual applications: they shape DHA's processing priorities and the number of places that can be granted in each category, but eligible applicants are not individually turned away because a stream is "full" in a simple sense. This page explains how the program is structured, what the different streams contain, and what planning levels mean for applicants.

For current migration program planning levels and the breakdown by stream, refer to the DHA migration program planning levels page.

• Migration Act 1958, s 85 — the Minister may set a ceiling on the number of visas that may be granted in a class or a period — this is the legal basis for the annual program cap
• Migration Act 1958, s 87 — the Minister may determine the order in which visas in a class are to be considered (queue management)
• Migration Regulations 1994 — specific visa subclasses are allocated to streams and are subject to the program planning levels for their stream
• DHA: Permanent Migration Program planning levels — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/migration-program-planning
• DHA: Humanitarian Program — published annually, available on the DHA website

What the planning level is

The Permanent Migration Program planning level is the total number of permanent visa grants targeted across all non-humanitarian permanent migration categories in a financial year (1 July to 30 June). Key points:

• It is a planning target, not a strict legal cap that stops individual visa grants — however, DHA manages its processing and grant pace to align with the program level
• If a stream is running ahead of its allocation, DHA may slow processing in that stream; if behind, it may accelerate
• The planning level is set annually by the government as part of the budget process and is announced before the start of the financial year
• Temporary visa grants (such as TSS 482 or student visas) are not subject to the annual program planning levels — only permanent visa grants are counted against the program

The four streams of the Permanent Migration Program

Skill stream

The Skill stream is the largest component of the Permanent Migration Program. It includes:

• Employer-sponsored visas: Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS subclass 186), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187), Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494 pathway to 191)
• Points-tested independent visas: Skilled Independent (subclass 189), including the NZ citizen stream
• State and territory nominated visas: Skilled Nominated (subclass 190), Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491 pathway to 191)
• Business innovation and investment visas: Business Innovation (subclass 888), Investor (subclass 888), Significant Investor (subclass 888 pathway)
• Global Talent and National Innovation Visa

Family stream

The Family stream covers visas for family members of Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible NZ citizens. It includes:

• Partner visas: onshore (820/801) and offshore (309/100) partner pathways
• Parent visas: contributory parent (143/864) and non-contributory parent (103/804) — the non-contributory parent visa queue can extend to decades due to the large gap between applicant numbers and the small annual allocation; for details, see the parent visa queue page
• Child visas: subclass 101, 802, adoption visa 102
• Other family visas: remaining relative (115/835), aged dependent relative (114/838)

Special Eligibility stream

The Special Eligibility stream contains a small number of places for specific categories of applicants, including:

• Former Australian residents and citizens in some circumstances
• Residents of Norfolk Island
• Other prescribed categories

The Humanitarian Program — planned separately

The Humanitarian Program is planned and reported separately from the Permanent Migration Program. It covers:

• Offshore resettlement: refugee category visas (subclasses 200, 201, 203, 204) and the Special Humanitarian Program (subclass 202)
• Onshore protection: Protection visa (subclass 866) grants — includes people who arrived in Australia and were assessed to engage Australia's protection obligations

The Humanitarian Program operates with its own planning levels and is managed separately from the economic and family migration programs. It does not compete with the Permanent Migration Program cap.

What planning levels mean for applicants

The practical effects of program planning levels for individual visa applicants:

• Skills stream (SkillSelect/points-tested): the number of invitations issued through SkillSelect in each programme year reflects the Skill stream allocation. Higher demand and a full programme queue means lower invitation scores (higher CRS equivalent in points terms) or longer wait times. Points-tested places can run out mid-year if demand exceeds the initial projection
• Family stream (partner visas): partner visas are not subject to a strict queue like parent visas — processing times are determined by application volume and staff resources rather than an allocation limit. However, in years where the family stream allocation is tight, DHA may adjust processing pace
• Parent visas: non-contributory parent visas (103/804) have a very small annual allocation — a large queue means wait times that currently extend to decades. Contributory parent visas (143/864) have a larger allocation but shorter (though still significant) queues
• Employer-sponsored visas: the ENS 186 and related employer-sponsored visa grants contribute to the Skill stream allocation — though there is generally no queue in these categories, high program utilisation can affect processing priorities mid-year

For current program planning levels, stream allocations, and the year-to-date migration program statistics, refer to the DHA migration program planning levels page.

The relationship between the annual program planning level and individual visa applicants is often misunderstood — applicants sometimes believe there is an absolute queue limit that will see their application refused when the "cap" is reached. This is not how it works for most visa categories. The planning level shapes DHA's processing pace and may affect how many invitations are issued through SkillSelect in a given year, but an eligible application already lodged is generally not refused solely because the planning level was "full." The exception is the parent visa category, where the non-contributory (103/804) queue is so long relative to the annual allocation that it functions in practice like a decades-long waiting list. For the current year's program statistics and the breakdown between Skill and Family streams, refer to the DHA migration program planning levels page.