On 1 July 2018 the minimum points required for the Subclass 189 Skilled Independent, Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated, and Subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) increased from 60 to 65. In addition the Department of Home Affairs are now issuing invitations for these visas once a month instead of every two weeks.
Below is a summary of the invitation round issued on 11 September 2018:
Total number of invitations issued:
- Subclass 189 – 2490
- Subclass 489 (Family Steam) – 10
Subclass 189 invitations issued by point score:
- 100 points – 5
- 95 points – 5
- 90 points – 5
- 80 points – 545
- 75 points – 1,202
- 70 points - 605
Subclass 489 invitations issued by point score:
- 90 points – 5
- 80 points – 5
- 70 points - <5
Due to high levels of demand, the following occupations have higher points score requirements:
Occupation | Minimum point score | Date of effect (invitations issued up to) |
Accountants | 80 | 25/05/2018 9:59am |
Auditors, Company Secretaries, Corporate Treasurers | 80 | 1/05/2018 10:54am |
Electronics Engineer | 70 | 15/11/2017 10:32am |
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 70 | 18/01/2018 9:55pm |
Other Engineering Professionals | 70 | 3/07/2018 6:37pm |
ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 75 | 28/05/2018 6:25pm |
Software Applications and Programmers | 75 | 20/08/2018 3:13pm |
Computer Network Professionals | 70 | 17/01/2018 11:36am |
For the subclass 489 visa, this visa is still quite competitive with invitations being issued to those who scored more than 80 points and had submitted an Expression of Interest on or before 11:22am on 10 July 2018.
For the subclass 189 visa, invitations are being issued to those who scored more than 70 points and had submitted an Expression of Interest on or before 5:55pm on 21 June 2018.
We will provide an update on the October invitation round as soon as the statistics are available.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.