The four most popular states in business migration (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia) all have their own nomination criteria and we have compiled their respective literature in a single table to organise the information in a clearer format.

The following information is here for quick reference purposes and is current as of 12 January 2022. Blank areas are either implied, omitted or addressed in other sections so please refer to the information in context.

All states have a preference to investments and businesses in their target sectors, and innovation (through product or process) demonstrated to contribute to their own economies. Target sectors differ from state to state with all states appearing to prioritise advanced technologies and unique and competitive business models. The likelihood of proposed activity going ahead will be important to demonstrate intent and commitment to the nominating state, therefore business proposal must fit within the migrant’s capacity and background to carry it out.

Business migration teams have a dedicated team to manage and process these applications with some states providing information and direction on government services and programs relevant to the proposed business.

Charterdoc supports and assists business migrants and their migration agents to formulate a suitable 188A business proposal that satisfies the relevant state criteria while being realistic and practicable to carry out.

	New South Wales	Victoria	Queensland	SA
Links	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA
Priority is given to	Applicants with 15 points for business experience or points for business innovation qualifications	–	–	–
Basic requirements	Points test a minimum score of 65	Score at least 65 points	–	–
	–	Meet the Home Affairs requirements including minimum financial requirements	Meet Home Affairs immigration eligibility criteria	Meet Home Affairs immigration eligibility criteria
	–	Be committed to meet the requirements for permanent residence	Demonstrate a genuine commitment to QLD	Intend to live in South Australia, agree to register arrival in SA
	Must be under 50 years of age	Must be under 55 years of age	–	Must be under 55
	–	Vocational English	–
	Bachelor degree holder or Australian equivalent or 3 years of business experience in a NSW target sector (or 5 years in a non-target sector)	STEMM qualification or an MBA or relevant business history in a target sector	–	–
	Business proposal	Innovative business proposal	Business proposal	Business proposal
	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA
Net business assets and personal assets	At least A$1.75M in Sydney and at least a$1.25M in Regional NSW	–	At least A$1.25M ready to be transferred to QLD after visa grant	–
Investment	Permanent visa (subclass 888) will be refused if the business investment is not made as follows	–	Must invest in one or two qualifying business(es) in QLD after visa grant	Must invest in a business as follows
	–	–	–	A$300K if under 55 years old and A$600K if 55 or older
	A$500K if in Sydney	–	At least A$400K if in Greater Brisbane and Gold Coast region	Property development in Adelaide: A$1.5M if under 55 years of age (A$2M if 55 years or older)
	A$300K if in regional NSW	–	At least A$300K if in regional QLD	Property development in regional SA: A$1.2M if under 55 years of age (A$1.5M if 55 years or older)
	–	–	–	Export (purchase value): A$750K – A$1.25M if under 55 years of age (A$1.5M – A$2.5M if 55 years or older)
	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA
Business plan requirements and notes	Provide a business proposal that clearly describes how your business will contribute to the NSW economy and create new jobs	Business proposal must show innovation and job creation. BP must demonstrate that the business will contribute to innovation in Victoria through innovations in either product or process.	–	Proposal must meet SA nomination ‘benefit to state requirements’ and must provide detailed information on the viability and economic impact of the proposal to SA.
	Must create a minimum of two new full-time equivalent jobs	Must employ at least 2 full-time eligible employees	–	Must create at least 2 full-time eligible employees
	If purchasing an existing business, must show growth in the business since taking over. Either an increase in annual turnover of at least 10% or an increase in business assets of at least 25%.	–	–	–
	–	Export activity must provide a direct contribution to Victoria. Parallel exporting is not accepted. Evidence of authorisation and acknowledgement between exporter (business migrant) and trademark owner must accompany application.	Export business must develop international markets for QLD products	–
	–	–	General importing business will not be accepted unless they are highly innovative, advanced in tech or currently unavailable in QLD.	Import businesses will require substantial justification to demonstrate the benefit to state.
	–	–	Property development business will not be accepted.	Approval for a proposed business undertaking property development is still at the discretion of the manager of business migration. A private investor property development is not accepted.
		Businesses will not be accepted include: property development, gift stores, convenience stores and cafes or restaurants.		SA will manage the demand levels for certain businesses including cafes, restaurants, convenience stores, service stations and retail stores.
	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA
Exemptions		Waiver of the age requirement in limited circumstances for those with an exceptional and innovative business proposal for Victoria	–	Applicants over 55 years must demonstrate that the proposal will be of exceptional economic benefit to SA by meeting higher investment threshold
	–	Alternative evidence for vocational English	–	–
	Exemptions from job creation and business growth requirement if business has implemented innovative and unique practices or is located in Regional NSW and trades primarily in a Regional NSW target sector	Exempt from creating job creation requirement if eligible business’ turnover is at least A$1 million per year for the 2 years before applying for PR	–	–
	–	–	–	Applicants with between 55 and 65 points can apply for exceptional circumstances for the additional 10 points with priority given to investment proposals to be undertaken in SA.