1. SkillSelect Update
The Department of Home Affairs (“Home Affairs”) announced the invitation round result of 11 December 2018. The results were as follows:
· The total number of invitations offered in this round decreased by 43% to 2500. Of which 2490 were allocated to subclass 189 visa while the remaining ten were for subclass 489 EOI applicants.
· The minimum points to get an invitation remained at 70 points. The cut-off time was now up to 22 November. That means if you score 70 points, you will probably get the EOI invitation within two rounds of invitation. However, we expect the backlog is accumulating and the waiting time for 70 pointers will be longer given that the reduction in number of EOI invitations issued.
· The allocation mix between non-prorata occupation and protata occupation is 40:60.
The top 10 occupations to receive an invitation (non-prorata occupations) are as follows:
| Occupations | Occupation ID | No. of EOI invitations |
1 | Registered Nurses | 2544 | 174 |
2 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2332 | 146 |
3 | Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists | 2621 | 126 |
4 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 2633 | 82 |
5 | Electrical Engineers | 2333 | 59 |
6 | Other Medical Practitioners | 2539 | 46 |
7 | Management Consultant | 2247 | 35 |
7 | Chemical and Materials Engineers | 2331 | 35 |
9 | Secondary School Teachers | 2414 | 33 |
10 | General Practitioners and Resident Medical officers | 2531 | 28 |
For the prorata occupations, we see that the minimum points for Electronics Engineers were lowered by 5 points while the points for others remain at previous level. Please refer to the table below for details:
Pro-rata arrangement occupations | Occupation ID | Number of invitation in current round | Minimum points currently processed | Minimum points processed in previous round |
Software and Applications Programmers | 2613 | 581 | 70 | 70 |
Accountants | 2211 | 300 | 80 | 80 |
Computer Network Professionals | 2631 | 173 | 70 | 70 |
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 2335 | 142 | 70 | 70 |
ICT Business and Systems Analysts* | 2611 | 117 | 75 | 75 |
Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 2212 | 107 | 80 | 80 |
Other Engineering Professionals | 2339 | 56 | 75 | 75 |
Electronics Engineers | 2334 | 24 | 75 | 75 |
2. Estimated processing time
According to the Home Affairs, the estimated visa application processing time as of 18 February 2019 for the following visas are as follows:
Subclass 189 (points-tested stream) around 5-8 months
Subclass 190 (state nomination) around 8-10 months
This is for indicative purpose only. Please bear in mind that processing times are impacted each month by changes in application volumes, seasonal peaks, complex cases, and incomplete applications.
3. State nomination updates
State nomination statistics for subclass 190
The latest state/territory nomination statistics published by the Home Affairs are as follows:
| Nov 2018 | Oct 2018 | Cumulative 2018/19 |
QLD | 166 | 135 | 631 |
NSW | 315 | 353 | 1,073 |
VIC | 110 | 223 | 1,351 |
WA | 18 | 0 | 19 |
SA | 162 | 103 | 444 |
TAS | 66 | 30 | 283 |
ACT | 36 | 60 | 314 |
NT | 30 | 24 | 144 |
Total | 903 | 928 | 4,259 |
- State nomination changes
Queensland (QLD)
QLD announced on 8 February 2019 to close all the business and skills visa with immediate effect. It will not issue further invitations from this date until the next financial year (1 July). However, QLD will continue to process the applications which have already been invited for state nomination prior to this date.
South Australia (SA)
· The SA Government has conducted mid-year review of its state occupation list. Several changes have been made since 11 February 2019. We highlight some of the major changes as follows:
· Occupations added to the state nominated occupation list (SNOL) until 30 June 2018 include:
Occupation | ANZSCO | Additional requirement | Assessing authority |
Metal Fitters and Machinists nec | 323299 | Competent English | TRA |
Locksmith | 323313 | Competent English | TRA |
Butcher or Smallgoods Maker | 351211 | Competent English | TRA |
· Occupations on the Supplement Skills List (SSL) with the restriction on offshore applicants lifted (i.e. High Points and Chain Migration pathways available again):
(1) Finance Manager (ANZSCO 132211)
(2) Primary School Teacher (ANZSCO 241213)
(3) Program or Project Administrator (ANZSCO 511112)
· For the full list of changes, please refer to
(https://migration.sa.gov.au/skilled-migrants/mid-year-update-to-the-immigration-sa-occupation-lists)
To explore your visa options, please visit our website or complete a free online assessment and book for an initial assessment with our professional migration professional.
