Which occupations are most in demand in Australia right now?

Construction and building trades. In recent subclass 189 rounds, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, glaziers, plasterers, stonemasons and tilers were invited at the 65-point minimum — the lowest score in the round. Health and education sit around 75 to 85, engineering and science around 85 to 95, and medical specialists at the top. Being on the list is not the same as being invited at a low score.

Which occupations are most in demand in Canada right now?

Judged by cut-off rather than by list, physicians with Canadian experience have been invited at scores near 200, French-speaking candidates at around 400, and senior managers at roughly 410. Healthcare, trades and transport have sat in the 470s. The Canadian Experience Class has been around 516, and the Provincial Nominee Program near 760 because those candidates already hold a 600-point nomination.

Are STEM occupations still being invited in Canada?

The STEM category was renewed for 2026, but no STEM-specific round has been held this year. The education category is in the same position. A category existing does not mean invitations are flowing from it, which is precisely why an occupation list is a poor guide to demand on its own.

How often are invitation rounds held?

Australia has moved to roughly quarterly subclass 189 rounds, with large batches — 10,000 invitations in a single round is now normal, rather than small monthly rounds. Canada draws far more frequently, typically several times a month across different categories, with 58 rounds and about 131,700 invitations issued in 2026 through the end of September.

Are the Australian points by occupation official?

No. The Department of Home Affairs publishes the round date, the number of invitations and the minimum points score for the round. It does not publish a points table per occupation for each round. The occupation-level figures here are compiled from applicant-reported data and should be treated as a strong indication, never as a departmental figure.

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PR Invitation Rounds

Which occupations are actually being invited, and at what score. Australia's SkillSelect rounds and Canada's Express Entry draws, side by side, with the honest caveats about what each government does and does not publish.

Australia · latest round

10,000 invitations

189 Skilled Independent · minimum 65 points

4 June 2026

Canada · latest round

CRS 518

Canadian Experience Class · 2,000 invitations

29 September 2026

Last updated 30 September 2026. Rounds are published by the Department of Home Affairs and IRCC; confirm against them before acting on anything here.

Australia

Subclass 189 invitations now arrive in large quarterly batches rather than small monthly rounds — ten thousand at a time. Eligible occupations for 189 sit on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List; the Core Skills Occupation List governs the employer-sponsored Skills in Demand visa instead, which is a common and costly mix-up.

Recent SkillSelect invitation rounds
Date	Subclass	Invitations	Minimum points
4 June 2026	189 Skilled Independent	10,000	65
13 November 2025	189 Skilled Independent	10,000	65
13 November 2025	491 Family Sponsored	300	Not published
1 August 2025	189 Skilled Independent	6,887	65

Indicative points needed, by occupation group

Recent subclass 189 rounds. Lower is better — these are the scores at which invitations were reported.

Construction and building trades65 points

Health, education and social work75 points

Engineering, science and architecture85 points

ICT, specialist engineering and management95 points

Medical specialists100 points

Compiled from applicant-reported data, not published by the Department of Home Affairs. The Department publishes the round minimum only. Treat these as a strong indication of relative competitiveness between fields rather than a threshold to plan against.

Who was invited, and at what score

The gap between the bottom and the top of this list is thirty-five points — the difference between being invited in your first round and waiting years.

Construction and building trades

65 points

Electrician (General)
Plumber (General)
Carpenter
Carpenter and Joiner
Joiner
Bricklayer
Stonemason
Glazier
Gasfitter
Solid Plasterer
Fibrous Plasterer
Wall and Floor Tiler
Airconditioning and Mechanical Services Plumber

Health, education and social work

75 points

Registered Nurse (several specialisms)
Midwife
Physiotherapist
General Practitioner
Secondary School Teacher
Social Worker
Painting Trades Worker

Engineering, science and architecture

85 points

Civil Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Structural Engineer
Architect
Environmental Scientist
Engineering Manager

ICT, specialist engineering and management

95 points

Software Engineer
Electronics Engineer
Telecommunications Engineer
Microbiologist
Marine Biologist
Accountant (General)

Medical specialists

100 points

Urologist
Other registered medical specialisms

Canada

58 rounds and about 131,715 invitations so far in 2026, and not one of them a general all-program draw. Every invitation has come through a category or a program, which means your CRS score only matters relative to the door you can actually walk through.

CRS cut-off by draw category, 2026

Typical cut-off across this year's rounds. Lower is a less competitive door, not an easier visa.

Physicians196

French-language proficiency400

Senior managers409

Transport occupations470

Healthcare and social services471

Trade occupations477

Canadian Experience Class516

Provincial Nominee Program759

Averages of the 2026 rounds held in each category, from IRCC's published round results. The Provincial Nominee Program sits highest because a nomination adds 600 points to the candidate's own score — it is the least competitive route, not the most.

Recent Express Entry rounds of invitations
Date	Category	Invitations	CRS cut-off
29 September 2026	Canadian Experience Class	2,000	518
28 September 2026	Provincial Nominee Program	733	725
16 September 2026	Senior managers	250	389
15 September 2026	Canadian Experience Class	2,000	519
14 September 2026	Provincial Nominee Program	576	734
4 September 2026	Healthcare and social services	3,500	475
3 September 2026	Physicians	229	198
19 August 2026	French-language proficiency	5,000	382
18 August 2026	Canadian Experience Class	1,000	523
7 August 2026	Transport occupations	300	470
2 April 2026	Trade occupations	3,000	477
18 March 2026	French-language proficiency	4,000	393
5 March 2026	Senior managers	250	429
20 February 2026	Healthcare and social services	4,000	467
19 February 2026	Physicians	391	169

The 2026 categories

Occupation-based categories require at least a year of full-time experience in a single eligible occupation within the last three years — raised from six months.

Physicians

~196

Medical doctors with Canadian work experience

General practitioners
Family physicians
Specialist physicians

Canadian experience required

French-language proficiency

~400

Any occupation, with NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities

No occupation restriction — the French result is the qualification

Senior managers

~409

Senior management with Canadian work experience

Financial, communications and business services
Health, education and social services
Trade, broadcasting and other services
Construction, transportation, production and utilities

Canadian experience required

Transport occupations

~470

Transport trades and operations

Aircraft mechanics
Pilots
Truck and bus mechanics
Transport operators

Healthcare and social services

~471

Front-line health and social care

Registered nurses
Nurse aides and personal support workers
Pharmacists
Physiotherapists
Social workers
Dentists

Trade occupations

~477

Skilled construction and industrial trades

Electricians
Plumbers
Welders
Carpenters
Machinists
Heavy equipment operators

STEM occupations

No 2026 draw

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Software engineers
Data scientists
Cybersecurity analysts
Engineers
IT managers

Education occupations

No 2026 draw

Teaching and education support

Teachers
Early childhood educators
Teaching assistants

Researchers

No 2026 draw

Academic and applied research, with Canadian work experience

Research roles across academic and applied fields

Canadian experience required

Skilled military recruits

No 2026 draw

Candidates with a Canadian Armed Forces job offer

Canadian Armed Forces positions only

Canadian Experience Class

~516

Any eligible occupation, with at least a year of skilled Canadian work experience

Open to all eligible occupations

Canadian experience required

Provincial Nominee Program

~759

Candidates already nominated by a province or territory

Set by each province's own streams and criteria

A category on the list is not the same as invitations

STEM occupations, Education occupations, Researchers, Skilled military recruits were all announced for 2026, and none has been drawn from this year. If your plan depends on one of them, it depends on a round that has not happened.

How to read any of this

A low cut-off means less competition, not an easier visa. Physicians are invited at CRS 200 because there are very few of them in the pool and every one is wanted — not because the bar is low. You still need the qualification, the licensing and the Canadian experience the category requires.

Cut-offs describe the past. They tell you where the last round landed, not where the next one will, and both governments change programs without notice. The useful signal is the direction and the gap between fields, not the exact number.

Your occupation code decides more than your score does. In both systems the single most expensive mistake is being assessed under the wrong occupation — an ANZSCO code that does not match your duties, or a NOC that puts you outside the category you were counting on.

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Where does your occupation actually sit?

Send us your occupation and score and we will tell you which rounds you are realistically in range for, and what would move you into range for the next one.

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