1. SkillSelect Update
The Home Affairs announced the invitation round result of 11 October 2018. The results were as follows:
· There was a total of 4,350 invitations offered, which was 1850 invitations more than that in the previous month. It was probably a catch up for only 1,000 invitations in July 2018. Out of the 4350 invitations, 4340 were allocated to subclass 189 visa while the remaining ten were for subclass 489 EOI applicants.
· The minimum points to get an invitation remains at 70 points. The cut-off point has cleared up to Early September. That means if you get 70 marks, you probably have to wait 2 rounds to get invited.
· The allocation mix between non-prorata and protata is 40:60
The top 10 occupations to receive an invitation (non-prorata occupations) are as follows:
| Occupations | No. of EOI invitations |
1 | Registered Nurses | 317 |
2 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 236 |
3 | Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists | 198 |
4 | Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 145 |
5 | Electrical Engineers | 110 |
6 | Chemical and Materials Engineers | 106 |
7 | Other Medical Practitioners | 88 |
8 | Secondary School Teachers | 72 |
9 | Architects and Landscape Architects | 47 |
10 | Management Consultant | 42 |
10 | General Practitioners and Resident Medical officers | 42 |
For the pro-rata occupations, we are glad to see that the minimum points for Software and Applications Programmers 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 | Number of invitation in current round | Minimum points currently processed | Minimum points processed in previous round |
Software and Applications Programmers | 1011 | 70 | 75 |
Accountants | 522 | 80 | 80 |
Computer Network Professionals | 301 | 70 | 70 |
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 247 | 70 | 70 |
ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 204 | 75 | 75 |
Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 187 | 80 | 80 |
Other Engineering Professionals | 97 | 75 | 75 |
Electronics Engineers | 42 | 70 | 70 |
2. Estimated 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 7-8 months
Subclass 190 (state nomination) around 7-9 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 DHA has published the latest state/territory nomination statistics for the new program year as follows:
| Sep 2018 | Aug 2018 | Cumulative 2018/19 |
QLD | 148 | 109 | 330 |
NSW | 228 | 173 | 405 |
VIC | 284 | 292 | 1018 |
WA | 0 | 1 | 1 |
SA | 41 | 78 | 179 |
TAS | 33 | 132 | 187 |
ACT | 62 | 66 | 218 |
NT | 30 | 35 | 90 |
Total | 826 | 886 | 2428 |
State nomination requirement changes
Queensland (QLD)
QLD removed the following occupations from all the Queensland Skilled Occupation Lists (QSOLs):
Effective from 24/10/18:
o Civil Engineer (233211),
o Electrical Engineer (233311)
o Mechanical Engineer (233512)
Effective from 22/11/18:
o Finance Manager (132211)
o Registered Nurse (Aged Care) (254412)
o Registered Nurse (Critical Care and Emergency) (254415)
o Developer Programmer (261312)
o Software Engineer (261313)
If you have not received an invitation from QLD Government by today, your application is deemed to be unsuccessful.
Canberra/ACT
The ACT Government started a new skilled nomination system for subclass 190, called Canberra Matrix, on 29 Nov 2018.
The ACT Government will assess applications each month with a merit-based system as opposed to the previous first-in first-serve system. Under the new system, prospective migrants will gain points depending on how long they have lived in Canberra, if they have studied in Canberra and if their profession is considered in demand.
The estimated number of invitation available for the remaining 2018/19 program year will be 500.The ACT Government will practice run the program in Dec 2018, Jan and Feb 2019 before moving into a full operational run.
For details of the program and the latest ACT occupation list, please refer to http://www.canberrayourfuture.com.au/
Tasmania (TAS)
The TAS Government has sheded some lights on what occupations in TAS are in high demand and they are sought after by adding the following statements to the “Requirements” section of the 190 visa page.
“Regard is given to applicants who have skills in particular need in the Tasmanian economy including:
o Health and medical professions
o Construction industries
o Agricultural professions”
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.
We wish you have a safe and happy festive season.