1. SkillSelect Update
The Department of Home Affairs (“Home Affairs”) published the invitation round result up to 11 March 2019. The total number of invitations remained at 1500, while 1490 invitations were allocated to subclass 189 and the remaining 10 were for subclass 489.
The table below shows the points distribution for subclass 189 for this invitation round:
It is worth noting that the minimum points to get an invitation further increased to 75 and reached its record high. The cut-off time was now up to 8 March 2019. The allocation mix between non-pro-rata occupation and pro-rata occupation was 42:58.
Implications:
The Morrison government intends to reduce the quota for subclass 189 in the next program year, we expected that the minimum points to receive an invitation will be remained at 75 points or even higher in the foreseeable future. EOI applicants with 70 points or below are encouraged to seek professional advice as soon as possible to increase your points or alternative pathways to increase the chance to get an invitation before it is too late.
The top ten occupations received an invitation (for non-pro rata allocation occupations only) were shown in the table:
| Occupations | Occupation ID | No. of EOI invitations |
1 | Registered Nurses | 2544 | 116 |
2 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2332 | 85 |
3 | Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists | 2621 | 62 |
4 | Other Medical Practitioners | 2539 | 48 |
5 | Architects and Landscape Architects | 2321 | 46 |
6 | Social Workers | 2725 | 45 |
7 | Medical Laboratory Scientists | 2346 | 24 |
7 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 2633 | 24 |
9 | Electrical Engineers | 2333 | 23 |
10 | Veterinarians | 2347 | 20 |
For the pro-rata occupations, the minimum point to get an invitation remained the same in the current rounds. Minimum points for Accountants and Auditors remained at 85 points and 80 points respectively, while the minimum points for other pro-rata occupations levelled at 75.
Pro-rata arrangement occupations | Occupation ID | Number of invitations in current rounds | Minimum points currently processed | Minimum points processed in previous round |
Software and Applications Programmers | 2613 | 349 | 75 | 75 |
Accountants | 2211 | 180 | 85 | 85 |
Computer Network Professionals | 2631 | 79 | 75 | 75 |
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 2335 | 85 | 75 | 75 |
ICT Business and Systems Analysts* | 2611 | 70 | 75 | 75 |
Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 2212 | 64 | 80 | 80 |
Other Engineering Professionals | 2339 | 34 | 75 | 75 |
Electronics Engineers | 2334 | 14 | 75 | 75 |
Processing time
According to the Home Affairs, the latest estimated visa application processing time for the following visas are as follows:
Subclass 189 (points-tested stream) around 6-7 months
Subclass 190 (state nomination) around 9-11 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.
2. State nomination update
State nomination statistics for subclasses 190 and 489
The Home Affairs has published the latest state/territory nomination statistics for the current program year as follows:
Subclass 190
Feb 2019 | Jan 2019 | Cumulative 2018/19 | |
QLD | 118 | 73 | 908 |
NSW | 479 | 197 | 2,042 |
VIC | 136 | 263 | 1,972 |
WA | 31 | 49 | 128 |
SA | 85 | 53 | 675 |
TAS | 38 | 64 | 415 |
ACT | 58 | 14 | 419 |
NT | 25 | 28 | 216 |
Total | 970 | 741 | 6,775 |
Subclass 489
| Feb 2019 | Jan 2019 | Cumulative 2018/19 |
QLD | 60 | 36 | 442 |
NSW | 103 | 110 | 1,318 |
VIC | 5 | 13 | 44 |
WA | 4 | 2 | 14 |
SA | 105 | 119 | 1,663 |
TAS | 64 | 132 | 768 |
ACT | 0 | 0 | 0 |
NT | 23 | 28 | 211 |
Total | 364 | 440 | 4,460 |
More States joined the Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) with the Home Affairs.
In late March and early April 2019, more regional area governments of various states joined the Northern Territory Government to enter into a five year DAMA agreement with the Federal Government. These regions and the DAMAs are:
- Adelaide Technology and Innovation Advancement Agreement (South Australia)– which focuses on Adelaide’s high-tech growth industries including defence, space, technology and advanced manufacturing industries.
- South Australian Regional Workforce Agreement – which focuses on the South Australia’s regional high growth industries including agribusiness, forestry, health and social services, tourism and hospitality, construction and mining.
- The Goldfields DAMA (Western Australia) – The Goldfields DAMA aims to attract skilled migrants to work and live in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Coolgardie, Kambalda, Leonora, Menzies, Kookynie and Ora Banda, allowing Goldfields employers to sponsor skilled overseas workers in specified industries that are currently experiencing critical skill and labour shortages.
- The Orana Region in New South Wales DAMA will cover Dubbo Regional Council and Mid-Western Regional Council along with the Local Government Areas of Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett, Warren and Warrumbungle – will assist a range of industries including agriculture, health, hospitality and construction, helping to drive economic growth and fill critical employment gaps.
- Victoria’s Great South Coast region DAMA will cover Warrnambool City Council – which focus on agriculture industry.
The city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder on the Goldfields (Western Australia)- It will assist a range of industries including mining, engineering, construction, childcare and health among others.
- These DAMAs will utilise the labour agreement stream of the Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482). Businesses will enter into a labour agreement with the Australian Government and workers will then be granted a subclass 482 visa.
To explore your visa options, please visit our website or complete a free online assessment and book for an initial assessment with our migration professional.
