The Albanese Government confirmed on 23 October 2025 that it has written to the Cook Government in Perth proposing a reduction in Western Australia’s 2025-26 State Nominated Migration Program (SNMP) allocation from 5,000 to 3,400 places.
In practical terms the cut would remove almost one in three nomination slots used by WA employers to sponsor electricians, nurses, engineers and other professionals in critical shortage. Mining, construction and defence contractors working on AUKUS-related shipbuilding fear that fewer state-nominated visas will translate into higher labour costs and slower project delivery. Housing developers have also warned that the decision is at odds with the Commonwealth’s own target of building 1.2 million new homes this decade.
The Department of Home Affairs argues that the change is part of a national “rebalance” designed to streamline visa processing and reduce backlogs. It stresses that the overall national skilled-visa ceiling of 137,100 places remains unchanged; the government is simply reallocating places between states to ‘better reflect population shares’.
Premier Roger Cook has written to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles requesting a rethink, noting that WA generates 17 percent of national GDP yet historically receives barely nine percent of state-nominated places. Business groups including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Property Council have launched a joint campaign urging Canberra to maintain the larger allocation, pointing out that advertised vacancies in the state are still running 40 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
For employers planning 2026 budgets the message is clear: recruitment pipelines that rely on the SNMP should be accelerated before the new program year opens on 1 July 2025, and alternative pathways—such as the new Skills in Demand (subclass 482) streams—should be built into workforce plans in case the reduction proceeds.
In practical terms the cut would remove almost one in three nomination slots used by WA employers to sponsor electricians, nurses, engineers and other professionals in critical shortage. Mining, construction and defence contractors working on AUKUS-related shipbuilding fear that fewer state-nominated visas will translate into higher labour costs and slower project delivery. Housing developers have also warned that the decision is at odds with the Commonwealth’s own target of building 1.2 million new homes this decade.
The Department of Home Affairs argues that the change is part of a national “rebalance” designed to streamline visa processing and reduce backlogs. It stresses that the overall national skilled-visa ceiling of 137,100 places remains unchanged; the government is simply reallocating places between states to ‘better reflect population shares’.
Premier Roger Cook has written to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles requesting a rethink, noting that WA generates 17 percent of national GDP yet historically receives barely nine percent of state-nominated places. Business groups including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and the Property Council have launched a joint campaign urging Canberra to maintain the larger allocation, pointing out that advertised vacancies in the state are still running 40 percent above pre-pandemic levels.
For employers planning 2026 budgets the message is clear: recruitment pipelines that rely on the SNMP should be accelerated before the new program year opens on 1 July 2025, and alternative pathways—such as the new Skills in Demand (subclass 482) streams—should be built into workforce plans in case the reduction proceeds.
