Australia’s National Innovation Visa 2026: The $1.5M Investor Route Is Gone

By Olami, AbroadPilot · Reviewed September 2026 · Sources: Australian Department of Home Affairs

If you’ve been researching an Australian investor or business visa and keep seeing “Business Innovation and Investment Program” or “Global Talent visa,” that advice is out of date. We checked directly against the Department of Home Affairs’s own visa pages, and both were closed to new applicants and replaced entirely by a single new visa on 6 December 2024.

What actually changed

• The old Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP) — which required an AUD 1.5 million to AUD 5 million investment depending on stream — closed to new applicants.
• The old Global Talent visa also closed.
• Both were replaced by the National Innovation Visa (subclass 858), effective 6 December 2024.
• The National Innovation Visa requires no minimum financial investment at all. It’s an invitation-only, merit-based permanent visa.

In practice: if your plan was “invest AUD 1.5M+ to get an Australian business visa,” that specific route no longer exists. The replacement runs on a completely different logic — achievement and sector fit, not capital.

How the National Innovation Visa actually works

It’s a permanent visa, but you can’t just apply — you need an invitation, issued after submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI). Eligible categories include global researchers, entrepreneurs, innovative investors, athletes, and creatives — but “innovative investor” here means proven track record and sector relevance, not a fixed capital threshold to clear.

The 4-tier priority system (Ministerial Direction No. 120)

Invitations are issued in a strict priority order set out in Ministerial Direction No. 120:

• Priority 1 — Exceptional candidates: recipients of top-of-field global awards.
• Priority 2 — Candidates nominated via Form 1000 by an expert government agency.
• Priority 3 — Tier One sectors: Critical Technologies, Renewables and low-emission technology, Health Industries.
• Priority 4 — Tier Two sectors: Agri-food and AgTech, Defence Capabilities and Space, Education, Financial Services and FinTech, Infrastructure and Transport, Resources.

Applicants in higher-priority tiers and sectors are worked through first. If you don’t fall into any of the listed sectors or award categories, realistically expect a longer wait for an invitation, if one comes at all.

What this means practically

• This is not a route for someone who simply has money to invest and no other qualifying profile — that door closed with BIIP.
• It’s a strong option if you have a genuine record in one of the Tier One/Two sectors above, a notable award, or backing from a relevant Australian government agency.
• Because it’s invitation-only, there’s no guaranteed timeline — submitting an EOI doesn’t guarantee you’re invited to apply.

Official sources

Checked directly against the government source as of September 2026:

• Department of Home Affairs — National Innovation visa (subclass 858) — overview, eligibility categories, EOI process
• Department of Home Affairs — National Innovation visa priorities — the full 4-tier priority order under Ministerial Direction No. 120

Visa policy changes without notice. Re-check the live pages above before making any decision based on this article. This is not immigration advice; a registered migration agent should review your specific case.