Western Australia's May 2026 SNMP Trades Round: Invitation Data, Points Thresholds and What the Queue Looks Like Now

WA Migration Services issued 209 invitations in its May 2026 trades round. This is the complete occupation-by-occupation breakdown; points floors, submission dates, stream splits and what the figures tell us about where the program sits heading into its final month.

Western Australia ran a dedicated trades invitation round on 3 May 2026, issuing invitations exclusively to priority building and construction occupations. The round produced 167 invitations under General stream WASMOL Schedule 2 (subclass 190), 37 under the Graduate stream: Vocational Education and Training (subclass 190), and 5 under the Graduate stream: Higher Education (subclass 190). Schedule 1 issued nothing. No subclass 491 invitations went out across any stream.

That 491 figure is worth flagging before anything else. The 2025-26 year has issued close to 3,000 Schedule 2 subclass 491 invitations since October, but April and May have both come up empty for 491. Whether that's an annual allocation ceiling, a deliberate shift toward permanent pathways, or something specific to trades rounds isn't stated publicly. For anyone whose strategy leans heavily on the 491 provisional pathway, the trend across the last two months is worth watching as the 2025-26 program year's final month approaches.

How the Last Invited EOI Data Works

Currently residing in Western Australia

1. Currently residing offshore or in another Australian state or territory

2. Occupations in priority WA industry sectors - building and construction; healthcare and social assistance; hospitality and tourism; education and training

3. Occupations in all other WA industry sectors

4. Highest EOI points score

5. Oldest EOI submission date

Read more about WA ranking system and WA streams: https://www.newstedglobal.com/western-australia-skilled-migration-program

A 65-point last invited EOI doesn't mean everyone holding 65 points received an invitation. It means the weakest profile that cleared the cut happened to hold 65 points. An offshore applicant with 80 points may still have missed out if WA's resident pool at higher scores was large enough to absorb the entire allocation before the ranking reached tier two.

General Stream: WASMOL Schedule 2

167 subclass 190 invitations were issued. Every last invited EOI recorded a state of residence of Western Australia.

Occupation	ANZSCO	Last EOI Points	Last Submission Date
Airconditioning and Mechanical Services Plumber	334112	65	28/04/2026
Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic	342111	75	26/03/2026
Bricklayer	331111	65	07/05/2026
Cabinetmaker	394111	70	28/04/2026
Carpenter	331212	65	10/05/2026
Drainer	334113	70	14/05/2026
Electrician (General)	341111	65	16/05/2026
Fibrous Plasterer	333211	65	11/03/2026
Painting Trades Worker	332211	65	08/05/2026
Plumber (General)	334111	70	10/03/2026
Roof Plumber	334115	75	08/05/2026
Solid Plasterer	333212	70	23/04/2026
Wall and Floor Tiler	333411	70	30/04/2026

7 of 13 occupations cleared all the way down to 65 points; the minimum score to lodge an EOI which means WA exhausted its higher-scoring resident pool and worked down to minimum-eligible applicants for those trades. For Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic and Roof Plumber, the floor sat at 75, reflecting a deeper resident queue relative to the places on offer. Fibrous Plasterer and Plumber General show last EOI dates of 11 and 10 March respectively; roughly 7 weeks before the round ran. An EOI lodged months ago and not yet invited isn't necessarily a dead end; it may simply be waiting for a round where its occupation, points tier and residency status align with what WA is working through.

Graduate Stream: Higher Education

Occupation	ANZSCO	Last EOI Points	Last Submission Date
Carpenter	331212	75	18/03/2026
Solid Plasterer	333212	70	23/04/2026

Graduate Stream: Vocational Education and Training

37 subclass 190 invitations, three occupations:

Occupation	ANZSCO	Last EOI Points	Last Submission Date
Bricklayer	331111	65	07/05/2026
Carpenter	331212	65	22/04/2026
Wall and Floor Tiler	333411	70	30/04/2026

The Employment Contract Exemption

Schedule 2 subclass 190 applicants normally need a full-time WA employment contract for at least six months from application date; employer-drafted, signed by both parties, minimum 35 hours per week, no casual arrangements.

Building and construction trade occupations are exempt from this requirement. WA Migration Services explicitly carves out applicants invited through a building and construction industry sector occupation. Every occupation invited in the May trades round falls within that classification, which means no applicant in this round needed a signed employment contract to proceed with their state nomination application.

The exemption exists because WA understands how construction work is actually structured; project-based, subcontract-heavy, not typically organised around six-month full-time employment offers. It's not a detail that appears prominently in most commentary on the SNMP, but it materially changes the application requirements for tradespeople compared to every other General stream occupation.

2025-26 Program Year: Where Things Stand

Through May, the program has issued 8,162 invitations:

Stream	Subclass 190	Subclass 491	Total
General Stream: Schedule 1	706	383	1,089
General Stream: Schedule 2	2,735	2,966	5,701
Graduate Stream: Higher Education	649	332	981
Graduate: VET	248	146	394
Total	4,338	3,827	8,162

The full 2024-25 year closed at 11,562. June is the last month of the 2025-26 year. Historically it hasn't been a high-volume round, but the gap between current totals and the prior year's final figure suggests the programme has run at a lower overall pace in 2025-26.

The May round's exclusive focus on building and construction trades; no non-priority sector occupations, no non-trades invitations - signals that WA is pointing whatever allocation remains toward the workforce gaps it considers most pressing as the year wraps up.

Reach out before the next invitation date to allow time for any profile improvements or, to explore new pathway. To start a conversation, just say "Hi" (sms/WhatsApp: +61410478759)

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