190 Refusal Grounds 2026: Practitioner Checklist of Failure Points

On the Department of Home Affairs Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190) page (current as of July 2026), a 190 application breaks at a small, fixed set of points: no written invitation, a nomination withdrawn after lodgement, age 45 or over at the date of invitation, no competent English at that date, no suitable skills assessment at that date, a points score below the number printed on the invitation, or a health, character or accuracy problem that pulls in everyone listed on the form. The same page also states that the application charge is not refunded if the visa is refused. What follows is general information about how those criteria are built, not advice on any individual case — the rules shift with the migration program and with state nomination policy, so a specific situation has to be checked against the Department's current published requirements or with a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

What must already be true on the day the invitation arrives?

Most 190 criteria are frozen at the moment of invitation, not at lodgement. That single fact explains a large share of refusals, because applicants prepare for the day they apply rather than the day they are invited.

Criterion	Tested at	What breaks it
Age	Date of invitation	Being 45 or over when invited. Turning 45 after the invitation is fine; turning 45 between EOI and invitation means no invitation at all.
Competent English	Date of invitation	Test result not held, or held but outside its validity window on the invitation date.
Suitable skills assessment	Date of invitation	No assessment, or one that does not cover the nominated occupation.
Points	Invitation and assessment	Score below 65 keeps you from being invited; score below the number on the invitation fails at assessment.
Occupation	Nomination and assessment	Nominated occupation not on the relevant skilled occupation list for the 190 visa.
Nomination	Lodgement and until decision	Withdrawal by the nominating state or territory agency after you apply.

Note the asymmetry on age: the Department's page says you can still apply if you turn 45 after the invitation, but it will not process the application if you are 45 at the time of invitation, and you will not be invited if you cross 45 while the EOI sits in SkillSelect.

Which failures end the application before the merits are looked at?

Some problems are not "weaknesses" to be weighed — they make the application invalid outright. Two are stated directly on the official page: you can only apply if you are invited, and if the state or territory agency that nominates you withdraws the nomination after you have applied, your application becomes invalid.

The Department's PAM3 procedure advice adds a further layer of validity gates — holding a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C if you lodge onshore, the Section 48 bar for people in Australia without a substantive visa who have been refused or cancelled before, and unwaived "No Further Stay" conditions 8503 or 8534. PAM3 describes a failure at this stage as invalid and therefore not reviewable on the merits. The Section 48 bar and the "No Further Stay" conditions are policy requirements set out in PAM3 procedure advice rather than on the subclass 190 visa page.

Timing belongs in the same category. You have 60 calendar days from the invitation date to apply and the Department states it cannot extend this. An EOI can attract an invitation for up to two years, and if you do not apply after two invitations your EOI is removed from SkillSelect.

Where do points claims actually collapse?

The 190 is a points-tested visa. SkillSelect gives you an indicative score from your EOI claims, and 65 points is the floor for being invited — but the invitation itself states the score you must reach when the application is assessed, and that number can be higher than 65 depending on what you claimed.

The failure mode is rarely a dramatic miscalculation. It is a claim you cannot document: skilled employment that was not at the level or hours you asserted, a partner-skills claim with no assessment or English result behind it, an Australian study claim that does not meet the requirement, a qualification from a course that was not registered on CRICOS when you studied it on a student visa. The official page is blunt about the consequences: you must provide evidence supporting every claim, and the Department may make a decision without requesting more documents.

The Department's PAM3 procedure advice adds that the assessing officer recalculates the score independently and may accept a lower figure for an individual item than your EOI claimed; what matters is that the recalculated total does not fall below the invitation score. Its practical advice is to claim conservatively — only points you can evidence on paper.

How tightly is the skills assessment rule applied?

The official requirement is a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation at the time of invitation, obtained within the three years before the invitation date (or within a shorter validity period if the assessment states one), with a copy provided with the application.

The same page records one important qualification: following the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686, delegates will now accept a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation that was obtained within the 60-day invitation period, though the Minister reserves the right to argue in a court that Thapa was wrongly decided. If your assessment was based on an Australian qualification obtained while you held a student visa, the course must have been registered on CRICOS.

For medical and legal practitioners the Department accepts, instead of an assessing-authority letter, full/unconditional/general registration or conditional specialist registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, or admission to legal practice in the relevant state or territory. The Department's PAM3 procedure advice adds that professional association membership is not a substitute for an assessment, and that an assessment made for a Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) application is not the "full" assessment expected here.

Can health, character or a document problem sink the whole family?

Yes, and this is the part applicants most often underestimate. The official page requires the health requirement to be met by you and any family applying with you, and says family members who are not accompanying you might also need to meet it. The character requirement applies to you and family members aged 16 and over who apply with you, and also to non-accompanying family members. Separately, any debt owed to the Australian Government by you or a family member — including one who is not applying — must have been repaid or arrangements made to repay it.

On evidence: Australian police certificates must be complete disclosure National Police Certificates from the Australian Federal Police; standard disclosure certificates and state or territory police certificates are not accepted, and for immigration purposes the certificate is valid for 12 months from issue. Overseas police certificates are required for every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, and Forms 80 and 1221 must be completed.

The Migration Regulations 1994 frame these as Public Interest Criteria — PIC 4005 (health), PIC 4001 (character) and PIC 4020 (bogus documents or false and misleading information) — and PAM3 states that a failure by any one person on the application fails everyone ("one fail, all fail"), with a PIC 4020 finding carrying an application ban of three years or more. The Department's public page does not quantify that ban; it links to what happens when you cannot prove your identity or do not provide true information. PAM3 puts the PIC 4005 significant-cost threshold at approximately AUD 86,000 (raised from AUD 51,000 in April 2024).

Do partner and older children claims cause refusals on their own?

They do, mainly through dependency and genuineness. For a de facto partner, the official page requires either registration of the relationship with an Australian state or territory, or enough documents to prove at least 12 months of de facto relationship before you apply; married and de facto applicants alike must show a genuine and continuing relationship, using joint finances, joint accounts, joint leases or mortgages, and shared-address evidence.

For children over 18, the rule is narrow: they must be over 18 but not yet 23 and dependent on you or your partner, or over 23 and unable to earn a living because of physical or cognitive limitations and dependent on you or your partner. A child who turns 23 while the application is being processed and does not meet those requirements cannot satisfy the criteria. A child who turns 18 during processing must be shown to be dependent on you. Form 47a, financial dependency evidence, and — for a child who is or will turn 23 — a report from a qualified medical practitioner are all required by the official page.

What can undo an application after it is lodged?

Post-lodgement discipline matters more than most applicants expect. You must tell the Department as soon as possible if you made a mistake, using Form 1023. You must notify changes to contact details, passport, marital or de facto status, the birth of a child, or a decision to withdraw. The Department does not give status updates within standard processing times, and it is not obliged to ask you for more information before deciding.

Family can still be added after lodgement but before a decision, using Form 1436 — and those added members must meet the health and character requirements. If a second instalment applies, it is payable on invoice. Onshore applicants who were granted a Bridging visa A on application should not ask to have their current visa cancelled; if it is cancelled they stay unlawfully and the bridging visa ceases.

The checklist

#	Failure point	Pass condition
1	Invitation	Written invitation held; application lodged within 60 calendar days; no extension available.
2	Age	Under 45 at the date of invitation.
3	Nomination	State or territory nomination live at lodgement and not withdrawn during processing.
4	Skills assessment	Suitable assessment for the nominated occupation, obtained within 3 years before invitation (or the shorter stated period); an assessment obtained inside the 60-day invitation window is accepted per the official note on Thapa.
5	English	Competent English held at the date of invitation.
6	Occupation list	Nominated occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list for the 190 visa.
7	Points	Evidence for every EOI claim; recalculated score not below the invitation score (which may exceed 65).
8	Health	Applicant and accompanying family meet the health requirement; non-accompanying family may be asked to as well.
9	Character	Applicant and family 16+ meet the character requirement, including non-accompanying family; AFP complete-disclosure certificate valid 12 months; overseas certificates for any country with 12+ months in the last 10 years since turning 16.
10	Accuracy	All answers true and consistent across EOI, application and supporting documents; mistakes notified via Form 1023.
11	Partner claim	Marriage or 12 months of de facto (or registered relationship), plus genuine-and-continuing evidence.
12	Dependants over 18	Under 23 and dependent, or 23+ with a medical report on dependency due to loss of bodily or mental functions.
13	Government debt	Repaid, or arrangements made, for you and any family member — including those not applying.
14	491 / 494 holders	Subclass 491 or 494 held for at least 3 years at the time you apply.
15	Lodgement status onshore	Holding a substantive visa or Bridging visa A, B or C (plus any Section 48 or "No Further Stay" considerations — per the Department's PAM3 procedure advice).

What actually happens if the decision is refusal?

The official page sets out exactly what a refusal notice contains: the reasons for refusal, and whether you have a right to review of the decision. It also confirms the application charge is not refunded.

Two things are worth reading against that. First, the Department's PAM3 procedure advice describes the pre-refusal process: where an officer has doubts about relationship genuineness or work experience, a request for further information is normally issued, and a notice is sent where a key criterion looks unsatisfied — the applicant gets a chance to respond to adverse information before a refusal. Second, the same procedure advice describes merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (the successor to the AAT), with short lodgement windows — 21 days onshore and 70 days offshore — followed by judicial review limited to errors of law. The Department's public page only says you will be told whether a review right exists. Those windows run from the date you receive the refusal notice and are short.

Frequently asked questions

Is 65 points the score I need to be granted the visa?

Not necessarily. 65 points is the minimum estimated score for being invited through SkillSelect. Your invitation states the score you must achieve when the application is assessed, and the Department says that number may be higher than 65 depending on your EOI claims.

Can I get a skills assessment after the invitation arrives?

The Department's page now records that delegates will accept a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation obtained within the 60-day invitation period, following the Thapa decision, while the general rule remains that the assessment must have been obtained in the three years before the invitation date. Because the Minister reserves the right to argue Thapa was wrongly decided, treat an assessment obtained inside the invitation window as permitted rather than risk-free.

What happens if my state withdraws the nomination after I lodge?

Your application becomes invalid. The official page states this in unqualified terms: if the nominating state or territory agency withdraws the nomination after you have applied, the application is invalid. Nomination criteria differ between jurisdictions, so the commitment you made to that agency matters as much as the visa criteria.

Do I get my money back if the visa is refused?

No. The Department states that it will not refund the application charge if the application is refused. The same page refers to a first instalment payable before processing starts and a possible second instalment payable on invoice.

Can one family member's health or character problem refuse everyone?

The official page requires every accompanying family member to meet the health requirement and every family member aged 16 or over to meet the character requirement, and it extends the character requirement to non-accompanying family members too. The Migration Regulations 1994 and PAM3 describe this as a "one fail, all fail" structure, which matches how the official criteria are written.

Can I change my nominated occupation after lodging?

Do not plan on it. The occupation is tied to the invitation, the skills assessment and the state nomination, and the Department's PAM3 procedure advice states the nominated occupation is locked once you apply on the invitation. Changing it in practice means abandoning the invitation, updating the EOI and waiting for a new one.

How long does the whole process take?

The official page does not publish a processing time for this visa, and it says no status updates are given within standard processing times. Avoid planning around any figure that is not on the Department's current published processing-time page.