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.