New Skilled Points Test

On 1 July 2011 the Government introduced a New Points Test for Skilled visas.

The new skilled test has been reduced to 65 points. You need to obtain a score of 65 points before you will be eligible for a Skilled visa.

The new points test places greater weight on the following skills:

• more realistic age ranges;
• greater employment in a skilled occupation in Australia and overseas;
• higher qualifications obtained in Australia and overseas;
• greater proficiency in English

The points test will apply to the following visas:

• Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 487 visa
• Skilled Independent Subclass 885 visa
• Skilled Sponsored Subclass 886 visa
• Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 visa
• Skilled Independent Subclass 175 visa
• Skilled Sponsored Subclass 176 visa

Points will no longer be given for an occupation, however you will still be required to nominate an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List.

You may be eligible to apply for one of the visas listed above if you:

• are under 50 years of age;
• completed Australian studies or provided evidence of skilled employment;
• nominated an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List as the time of lodging your application
• have competent English

Member of your family may be able to sponsor you on a Skilled Sponsored Subclass 176 visa or Skilled Sponsored Subclass 886 visa, however no points will be awarded.

You will receive points if you apply for a Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 475 visa or Skilled Regional Sponsored Subclass 487 visa and you are sponsored to live and work in a designated area by family member or a State/Territory government under a state migration plan.

If you are the holder of one of those provisional or temporary visas you may be eligible for a Skilled Regional (Residence) Subclass 887 visa.

State /Territory nomination/designated area sponsorship

Community language

5 points can be claimed if you meet the requirements for speaking a community language if you are accredited at the para-professional level or higher by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) as either a translator or interpreter.

Age ranges

If you are between 45 and 49 years of age, you will be able to apply for a visa, but you will not be awarded any points for age.

Partner skills

5 points can be awarded if your spouse for satisfies certain criteria.

To be awarded points for your partner’s skills, your partner will need to satisfy the following criteria:

1. be included on your application
2. be less than 50 years old at the time of application
3. not be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
4. nominate an occupation on the same Skilled Occupation List (SOL) as you (the primary applicant) and be assessed by the relevant assessing authority
5. employed in a skilled occupation for at least 12 months in the last 24 months before lodging the visa application or completed an Australian qualification
6. possess competent English

Completion of a Professional Year

5 points can be awarded if you completed an approved Professional Year in your nominated or closely related occupation

Australian qualification

5 points can also be claimed if you have studied in Australia for 2 years and obtained an Australian qualification. The course must have been closely related to the applicant’s nominated skilled occupation.

Overseas skilled employment in your nominated occupation or closely related occupation.

Study in a regional area

5 points can be awarded for if you have studied in regional Australia.

English language standard

The English language requirement is competent English.

Competent English is the equivalent of 6 in each of the four components of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test or other language test nominated by the Minister for Immigration.

No points are awarded for competent English.

Applicants who hold a passport from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America or Ireland will be deemed to meet the standard of competent English.

To be awarded points for proficient or superior English, youwill need to complete an English language test. This includes passport holders from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America or Ireland. You will be required to complete the test before the visa application is lodged.

English language

The English language requirement is competent English.

Competent English is the equivalent of 6 in each of the four components of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test or other language test nominated by the Minister for Immigration.

No points are awarded for competent English.

Applicants who hold a passport from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America or Ireland will be deemed to meet the standard of competent English.

To be awarded points for proficient or superior English, youwill need to complete an English language test. This includes passport holders from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America or Ireland. You will be required to complete the test before the visa application is lodged.

Australian skilled employment in your nominated occupation or closely related occupation

Your employment must have been undertaken in the last 10 years.

You will be awarded for employment in a skilled occupation taken in in Australia or overseas.

Your experience must have been in your nominated occupation or a closely related occupation.

Changes to skilled migration: Skill Select

Skill Select commenced 1 July 2012, changing the application process for skilled migration visas. Should you wish to apply for any of the visas listed below, you will first need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI).

Skills Select applies to the following visas:

• Skilled – Independent (Permanent)
• Skilled – Nominated (Permanent)
• Skilled – Regional Nominated or Sponsored (Provisional)
• Business Talent (Permanent)
• Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)

You can also express interest in the following visa programs on your EOI to be contacted by an employer.

• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS)
• Regional Sponsored Scheme (RSMS)
• Temporary Business (Long Stay)

You may express interest in multiple skilled migration visas in one EOI.

The Expression of Interest (EOI)

An EOI is not a visa application; rather it is you indicating your interest in skilled migration to the Department of Immigration. Once you lodge an EOI you must wait for the Department to invite you to lodge a visa application.

An EOI will generally include the following information:

• basic personal information
• nominated occupation
• work experience
• study and education
• level of English skills
• details of a Skills Assessment, related to your nominated occupation

Points Test

For both points based skilled migration and the business innovation and investment visa programs, you will be ranked according to the appropriate points test after lodging your EOI. However, meeting the points test pass mark does not guarantee that you will be invited to apply for a visa.

Nominated Occupation

To submit an EOI for a visa that requires applicants to specify a nominated occupation, it will first be necessary to establish that your occupation is a skill which Australia needs. You can do this by checking the Skilled Occupation Lists. You must provide details of a Skills Assessment relating to your nominated occupation in your EOI.