Does Higher Salary Increase Your Chance of 190/491 Nomination? (Based on Aussizz Group’s Last 12-month Dataset)

If you’re planning to apply for Victoria state nomination under Subclass 190 or Subclass 491, you’ve probably heard advice like:

• “You need a high salary for 190.”
• “491 is for lower-paid jobs.”

Sounds logical. But our data tells a more realistic story.

At Aussizz Group, we reviewed our own internal dataset of clients who were granted Subclass 190 and 491 in Victoria in the last 12 months, and ran a simple regression analysis to understand one thing:

Is the difference between 190 and 491 driven by salary-or by occupation?

Important note: This blog is based only on Aussizz Group’s internal dataset, not on the entire Victorian or Australian migration population, and not official government data. It’s intended to share useful patterns we observed in our granted cases.

Aussizz Group has helped 200,000+ applicants move closer to their Australian dreams, and we believe clearer information helps applicants plan better.

Salary Matters – But Not the Same Way for Every Occupation

Salary is one of the important factors Victoria considers while inviting applicants – but it does not work like a universal “minimum salary rule”.

Priority occupations were invited even with low or no salary

From our internal observations, occupations that were highly prioritised (such as):

• Construction trades
• Teaching
• Health
• Community / social services

…were invited even when applicants had no salary or lower salary levels, because the occupation priority itself carried significant weight.

In simple words:

If Victoria needs your occupation urgently, salary may not be the deciding factor.

What Actually Shapes Salary in Granted Cases? Occupation

If salary doesn’t separate 190 and 491 grants, then what does influence salary patterns?

Answer:

Occupation cluster.

We grouped professions into broad clusters (to keep patterns readable), such as:

• Business / Accounting
• ICT
• Engineering
• Health
• Education
• Trades

And we compared salary patterns across these groups.

For Many Other Occupations, Salary Became a Key “Strength Signal”

For occupations outside those priority groups, our internal dataset suggests invitations were influenced by multiple factors together, including:

• Salary
• Skilled partner (and their profile)
• English language strength
• Years of experience
• Education / qualification relevance
• Other nomination-alignment factors

And in those cases:

Applicants earning $100,000+ were often prioritised for VIC 190 – along with other strengths

Based on our dataset observations, salary above $100k was one of the factors that often aligned with stronger outcomes for 190 nomination, when paired with other competitive factors listed above.

Important: this does not mean “$100k guarantees 190”.

It means:

Salary was one of the signals used when Victoria was selecting among many eligible applicants.

The “Reference Salary” in Our Dataset: Business & Accounting

In the model, the reference group was Business/Accounting, with an average salary of about $96,090.

This is not a “required salary.”

It’s simply the average salary level in our dataset for that cluster, used as a comparison point.

Trades: The Clearest Pattern in Our Dataset

Trades salaries were noticeably lower compared to Business/Accounting

In our dataset, Trades had salaries around $68,360, $27,730 lower than the Business/Accounting baseline, and this was the strongest, clearest difference in the analysis.

What this does NOT mean:

• Trades can’t get nominated
• Trades can’t get 190
• Trades have weak outcomes

It only means:

Trades salary bands tend to be lower in our granted dataset, compared to Business/Accounting.

ICT: Higher Salary Trend, But Not a “Guarantee” Pattern

In our dataset, ICT showed a higher salary trend at $108,770 (about +$12,680 compared to Business baseline), but it wasn’t strong enough to say “this always happens.”

In plain English:

ICT looks higher, but we can’t confidently claim it’s always higher based on this dataset alone.

Health, Education, Engineering: Slightly Lower Trends (Not Strong Conclusions)

These clusters showed salaries trending lower than Business baseline:

• Health
• Education
• Engineering

So the fair takeaway is:

some clusters trend lower, but Trades is the clearest low-salary cluster in our data.

What This Means for Your VIC 190 / 491 Strategy (Without the Confusion)

Here’s the most useful, practical interpretation:

1) Your occupation influences your salary band more than your visa subclass

Salary patterns are occupation-driven, not visa-driven.

2) A “lower salary” doesn’t automatically mean “lower chance”

Migration outcomes depend on multiple factors, including:

• occupation demand and state priorities
• points score
• skills assessment outcome
• work experience relevance
• English score
• nomination criteria alignment

Salary can support your story, but it is not the only lever-and in our dataset, it didn’t separate 190 from 491.

A Realistic Way to Think About Salary in State Nomination

Salary can still matter, but usually in practical ways like:

• proving genuine employment
• showing stable skilled work
• supporting employability in Victoria

What You Can Say Confidently (Based on This Dataset)

If you want a clean, defensible summary:

• Among granted VIC 190 and 491 cases in our dataset, salary differences are driven more by occupation type than visa type.
• Trades sit in a noticeably lower salary band compared to Business/Accounting.
• ICT shows a higher salary tendency, but not strong enough to claim as a rule.
• There is no evidence that 190 requires higher salary than 491 in our dataset.

FAQs

Q1. Does VIC 190 require a higher salary than VIC 491?

Based on Aussizz Group’s internal dataset of granted cases in the last 12 months, no meaningful salary difference was found between 190 and 491 grants.

Q2. Is there a minimum salary requirement for Victoria 190?

Victoria nomination criteria change over time and depend on many factors. From our dataset analysis, salary alone did not separate 190 outcomes from 491 outcomes.

Q3. Which occupations have higher salaries in VIC grants (190/491)?

In our dataset, Business/Accounting formed the baseline (~$96,090), while ICT trended higher and Trades were significantly lower.

Q4. Do Trades have lower chances for 190 because salaries are lower?

A lower salary band does not automatically mean a lower chance. Our analysis only showed salary differences by occupation cluster, not visa outcome causation.

Q5. Does a higher salary increase the chance of getting 190 instead of 491?

Our current analysis did not show visa-type salary separation. To test “chance of 190 vs 491,” a different model would be needed (logistic regression).

Use Salary as a Support, Not a Shortcut

If you’re applying for Victoria 190 or 491, the biggest mistake is building your whole strategy around one assumption:

“Higher salary = 190.”

Our internal dataset suggests that’s not true.

The smarter approach is:

• align occupation + eligibility + nomination criteria
• strengthen genuine skilled employment
• build a complete and consistent case

Aussizz Group has helped 200,000+ applicants move towards their Australian dreams, and our goal is to keep guidance realistic, clear, and backed by what we actually see in outcomes.

Book a consultation with Aussizz Group to unlock your dream future in Australia!