Skilled Work Regional visa (491)

Check estimated processing times for the Australian Skilled Work Regional visa (Subclass 491). Data sourced from Department of Home Affairs via Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

Estimated processing time

21 months

Median processing time

January 2026

25% processed within8 months

75% processed within28 months

90% processed within28 months

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Processing times vary significantly based on your country of citizenship and location. Get a personalised estimate for your specific situation.

Free - based on FOI data from Department of Home Affairs

About Skilled Work Regional visa processing times

About this data

The processing times shown above are monthly averages for the Skilled Work Regional visa, aggregated across all applicants regardless of citizenship or application location. Actual processing times vary significantly based on these factors.

Data source

This data is derived from a dataset provided by the Department of Home Affairs in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request (Reference: DA25/10/00449), covering approximately 4.5 million visa grants from July 2024 to September 2025.

Methodology

Processing times shown are monthly averages for this visa subclass and stream, aggregated across all countries and application locations.Times are presented as percentiles (25th, 50th, 75th, 90th) showing what proportion of applicants received decisions within each timeframe.Data is updated monthly when new information becomes available from the Department of Home Affairs.

Get a personalised estimate

The figures above are aggregated averages. Processing times vary significantly based on your citizenship and whether you apply from inside or outside Australia. Our Visa Time Checker provides personalised estimates based on your specific situation, which may differ from these aggregated figures.

Check other visa types

Want to check processing times for a different visa type or stream? Use our visa processing time checker to see estimates for any Australian visa subclass.

Want to learn more?

Read our guide explaining how processing times work, what affects them, and how to interpret percentile-based estimates: Australian visa processing times guide