Australian Visa Tracker

Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visasubclass 494

3.1 months

25% processed in

6.7 months

50% processed in

8.2 months

75% processed in

10.2 months

90% processed in

50% 203d90% 309d

Measured 4 Sept 2026 for the Labour Agreement stream.

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Processing time history

50% of applications90% of applications
View history as a table
Date50% processed90% processed
4 Sept 2026203d309d
3 Sept 2026203d309d
2 Sept 2026203d309d
1 Sept 2026203d309d
31 Aug 2026203d309d
30 Aug 2026203d309d
29 Aug 2026203d309d
28 Aug 2026203d309d
27 Aug 2026203d309d
26 Aug 2026203d309d
25 Aug 2026203d309d
24 Aug 2026203d309d
23 Aug 2026203d309d
22 Aug 2026203d309d
21 Aug 2026203d309d
20 Aug 2026203d309d
19 Aug 2026203d309d
18 Aug 2026203d309d
17 Aug 2026203d309d
16 Aug 2026203d309d
15 Aug 2026203d309d
14 Aug 2026203d309d
13 Aug 2026203d309d
12 Aug 2026203d309d
11 Aug 2026203d309d
10 Aug 2026203d309d
9 Aug 2026203d309d
8 Aug 2026203d309d
7 Aug 2026203d309d
6 Aug 2026203d309d
5 Aug 2026203d309d
4 Aug 2026203d309d
3 Aug 202689d302d
2 Aug 202689d302d
15 Feb 2026196d278d
27 Jan 2026219d354d
15 Dec 2025219d354d
4 Dec 2025210d367d
20 Nov 2025210d367d
14 Nov 2025210d367d
2 Nov 2025210d353d
18 Oct 2025210d353d
25 Sept 2025246d336d
12 Sept 2025246d336d
6 Sept 2025246d336d
25 Aug 2025246d336d
10 Aug 2025175d238d
5 Aug 2025175d238d
31 July 2025175d238d
30 July 2025175d238d
30 July 2025175d238d
28 July 2025203d262d
24 July 2025203d262d
23 July 2025203d262d
29 June 2025203d262d
9 June 2025193d237d
9 June 2025193d237d

Common questions

How long does the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494) take to process?

As of 4 Sept 2026, half of applications in the Labour Agreement stream are processed within 6.7 months, and 9 in 10 within 10.2 months, according to Department of Home Affairs figures.

Is the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa getting faster or slower?

The time to process 90% of applications is unchanged between 13 Aug 2026 and 4 Sept 2026.

What do the 50% and 90% figures mean?

They are percentiles of recently decided applications: 50% means half of applications were finalised within that time, and 90% means 9 in 10 were. An individual application can take more or less time.

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Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494) processing time | Australian Visa Tracker