Regional Areas in Australia: Full List & Is Your City Regional?

For skilled workers, regional pathways can offer advantages including lower points thresholds, additional occupations not available on metropolitan lists, and a structured pathway to permanent residency.

What is "regional Australia" under migration law?

For migration purposes, "regional Australia" is defined by Designated Regional Areas. These areas include all of Australia except Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. This means cities such as Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, and Wollongong are classified as regional for migration purposes, along with all rural and remote areas.

The specific postcodes that qualify as designated regional areas are set out in legislative instruments and can be verified on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Is my city regional? Australian cities at a glance

Below is a city-by-city summary for the most common questions we get. This is a high-level guide — a specific postcode within the metropolitan boundary of a non-regional city may still count differently in some programs. Always verify your exact suburb or workplace postcode against the current postcode list published on the Department of Home Affairs regional postcodes page before making a decision.

The rule of thumb: if you are not in metropolitan Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, you are almost certainly in a designated regional area for skilled-migration purposes — but the postcode boundaries around Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, and Greater Brisbane do not always match local intuition. The fringe suburbs at the edge of Greater Sydney (for example along the Central Coast boundary) and Greater Melbourne (Geelong corridor) can fall either side of the line. Always confirm your exact workplace postcode against the Department's published list before relying on a regional pathway.

Regional areas by state

The same three-category framework applies nationally, but what it means differs sharply by state — in five of the eight states and territories, the entire state is designated regional.

Regional areas in Victoria full guide →

Full list, postcodes and the Greater Melbourne boundary: regional areas in Victoria — Geelong (Category 2), every Category 3 centre and the growth-corridor suburbs that are not regional.

Everything in Victoria outside Greater Melbourne is designated regional. Geelong is a Category 2 major regional centre; Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Mildura, Warrnambool, the Latrobe Valley and the rest of regional Victoria are Category 3. The trap is Melbourne's growth corridor, where the postcode line runs between neighbours: Craigieburn, Tarneit, Melton, Sunbury and Cranbourne are inside Greater Melbourne and not regional, while Wollert (3750), Pakenham (3810), Bacchus Marsh and the Mornington Peninsula are on the regional list. Check the postcode, not the distance from the CBD.

Regional areas in NSW full guide →

Everything outside Greater Sydney is designated regional. Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Wollongong are Category 2 major regional centres; most of the Central Coast (2250–2258, 2260–2263) is Category 3, while 2259 is Category 2; Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Orange, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Albury and the rest of regional NSW are Category 3. The Central Coast's inclusion surprises many Sydney workers — it is regional despite its commuter relationship with the city.

Regional areas in Queensland full guide →

Everything outside Greater Brisbane is designated regional — but the boundary needs care: Logan, the Redlands and Brisbane proper are not regional, while Ipswich, Springfield, Redcliffe and most of Moreton Bay were added to the regional list on 5 March 2022 (Category 2, not applicable to visas granted before then). The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are Category 2; Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg and the rest of the state are Category 3, with several covered by DAMA agreements that relax standard requirements.

WA, SA, Tasmania, NT and the ACT WA → · SA → · Tasmania → · NT → · ACT →

The entire state or territory is designated regional in all five — including the capitals. Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra are Category 2 major regional centres, and Darwin is Category 3, which is why "is Perth regional?" has the answer most people don't expect: yes, with full access to the 491, 494, regional points and the 191. For state-nomination settings on top of the federal framework, see each state's nomination page.

Why regional migration exists

Australia's regional areas face persistent skills shortages across many industries. Employers in regional towns struggle to attract qualified workers, particularly in healthcare, aged care, hospitality, trades, agriculture, and education. The regional migration program exists to:

• Direct skilled migrants to areas where their skills are most needed
• Support regional economic development and population growth
• Reduce the concentration of migration in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane
• Provide employers in smaller communities with access to the skilled workers they need

Regional visa subclasses

Subclass 491 — Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)

A points-tested provisional visa for skilled workers who are nominated by a state or territory government, or sponsored by an eligible family member in a designated regional area. Valid for 5 years. The holder must live and work in a designated regional area. After 3 years of living and working regionally (and providing three years of ATO notices of assessment), the holder can apply for permanent residency via the Subclass 191 visa.

The 491 visa attracts 15 additional points in the points test, which can make the difference for applicants who fall short on the standard 189 or 190 pathways.

Subclass 494 — Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional)

An employer-sponsored provisional visa for skilled workers nominated by an employer in a designated regional area. Valid for 5 years. Like the 491, the holder must live and work in the regional area and can transition to the 191 visa after 3 years.

The 494 is the regional equivalent of the Subclass 482. For employers in regional areas who cannot find local workers, this visa offers a structured pathway to permanent residency for the worker, which can be a significant advantage in attracting candidates.

Read the full Subclass 494 guide →

Subclass 191 — Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional)

The permanent residency visa available to holders of the 491 or 494 who have lived and worked in a designated regional area for at least 3 years and provided ATO notices of assessment for three income years. This is the end-point of the regional pathway — once granted, there are no geographic restrictions on where the holder can live.

Read the full Subclass 191 guide →

Subclass 407 — Training Visa (regional and metropolitan)

The 407 Training Visa is available for structured workplace training across both regional and metropolitan Australia. While not exclusively a regional visa, many 407 applications come from regional employers seeking to train overseas workers in occupations with acute skills shortages.

Benefits of the regional pathway

• Lower points thresholds — the 491 attracts 15 bonus points, which can bring an applicant above the invitation threshold when the 189 or 190 are out of reach
• Broader occupation lists — some states offer additional occupations on their regional nominated occupation lists that are not available for metropolitan pathways
• Processing order — since 19 September 2026 Ministerial Direction 122 orders 491/494/191 applications by occupation sector and onshore/offshore lodgement, not by regional location.
• Pathway to permanent residency — both the 491 and 494 lead to the 191 permanent visa after 3 years
• Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) — some regional areas have DAMA agreements that offer further concessions on salary, age, and English language requirements

Challenges and considerations

• Geographic restriction — holders of the 491 and 494 must live and work in a designated regional area for the full 3-year qualifying period. Moving to Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane during this period can jeopardise the pathway to permanent residency.
• Income evidence for the 191 — you need ATO notices of assessment for three of the five income years on the provisional visa; there is no minimum dollar amount, but you must have lodged tax returns. Gaps in lodgement can delay the 191.
• Employment market — regional areas may have fewer employers and less diverse job markets. Workers should research the employment landscape in their target region before committing.
• Services and infrastructure — some regional areas have limited access to services, public transport, and amenities compared to capital cities. This is improving but remains a consideration for families.
• State nomination requirements vary — each state and territory sets its own criteria for 491 nomination, including occupation lists, work experience requirements, and English levels. These change frequently.

The transition from provisional to permanent residence

The Subclass 191 visa is available to holders of the 491 or 494 who have:

• Held the provisional visa for at least 3 years
• Lived and worked in a designated regional area for the qualifying period
• Provided ATO notices of assessment for three income years (no minimum amount currently applies)
• Complied with the conditions of their provisional visa

Once the 191 is granted, there are no further geographic restrictions. The holder can live and work anywhere in Australia as a permanent resident.

Common pitfalls

• Moving outside a designated regional area before completing the 3-year qualifying period
• Not lodging tax returns on the provisional visa — the 191 needs ATO notices of assessment for three income years
• Applying for state nomination without checking the state's current occupation list and requirements
• Underestimating the processing time for the 191 transition — apply well before the provisional visa expires
• Assuming all regional areas are equivalent — the employment market, lifestyle, and community support vary enormously between different regional centres

Further information

Government charges for the regional and skilled visas, from 1 July 2026: 491 visa fee · 494 visa fee · 190 visa fee · 189 visa fee.

For official information about regional visa pathways, visit the Department of Home Affairs website. For information about state and territory nomination programs, visit the relevant state migration authority.

In-demand regionally: studying aged care or childcare in regional Australia can open a study, graduate or employer-sponsored pathway where the shortages are deepest.

Is my city regional? — the most-asked places

One-page answers with postcode, category and what the status unlocks:

Wollongong · Perth · Newcastle · Adelaide · Gold Coast · Canberra · Brisbane (no) · Sunshine Coast · Geelong · Hobart · Darwin · Cairns · Townsville · Toowoomba · Central Coast · Wollert · Bundoora (no) · Melbourne (no) · Sydney (no) · Campbelltown (no) — or check any of 2552 places.

If you'd like to discuss regional migration pathways, please contact us or call 02 8188 1887. MARN 1576536.

After a regional visa: the 191 leads to permanent residence and then Australian citizenship; check the regional points with the points calculator.

Regional visas compared: 491 vs 494 and 186 vs 191; and the family-sponsored 491.