Invitations Issued By The Department Of Home Affairs
Skill Select results for the 11th October 2020 invitation round have been published by the Department of Home Affairs (the Department). They apply to the following points-based skilled visas:
- Subclass 189 Skilled – Independent visa; and
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Family Sponsored visa.
We provide a summary of these results in this article.
State And Territory Government Nominations
The number of nominations approved by State and Territory Governments for the following skilled visas have also been released:
- Subclass 190 Skilled – Nominated visa; and
- Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) State Nominated visa.
You will also find links to information on the number of invitations issued for the following business visas below:
- Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) visa (subclass 188); and
- Business Talent (Permanent) visa (subclass 132).
Department Of Home Affairs Update
The Department has issued the following statement:
The Government is closely monitoring migration and visa settings to ensure they are consistent with public health measures, are flexible and do not displace job opportunities for Australians, so that Australia can effectively respond to the immediate and subsequent impacts of COVID-19. As such, targeted invitation rounds have occurred since May 2020.*
Invitation Round Results
Total Invitations Issued
The total number of invitations issued in October 2020 is as follows.
| Visa subclass | July 2020 | August 2020 | September 2020 | October 2020 | November 2020 | December 2020 | January 2021 | February 2021 | March 2021 | April
2021 |
May
2021 |
Jun
2021 |
Total issued in 2020/21 |
| Skilled – Independent (subclass 189)
|
500 | 110 | 350 | 30 | 990 | ||||||||
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored*
|
100 | 90 | 150 | 80 | 420 | ||||||||
| Total
|
600 | 200 | 500 | 110 | 1,410 |
*The information in the above table for the subclass 491 visa is for the family-sponsored stream only. State Nominated invitations (including for the Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa) are issued separately by each State and Territory Government.
Invitations issued for the Subclass 189 visa in the October round have decreased compared with the previous month, falling from 350 invitations in September, to 30 being issued in the current round.
For the Subclass 491 visa – Family Sponsored stream, there was also a reduction in invitations issued for the month, with 80 granted in the current round compared with 150 in September 2020.
Points Score Cut-Off
Expression of Interest (EOI) applicants required the following minimum points scores to secure an invitation in the October 2020 round.
| Visa subclass | Minimum points score | Date of effect month (last invited applicant) |
| Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) | 65 | September 2020 |
| Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored
|
65 | April 2020 |
Please refer to our article on the New Skilled Regional Visas to be introduced to read about how EOI applicants are ranked under this process.
The highest ranked applicants are the first who are invited to apply for the relevant visa. Applicants with equal scores are invited in order of when they reached their points score (this is referred to as the date of effect). EOI’s submitted with earlier dates of effect are invited first.
Based on the latest data released, the minimum points score required to receive an invitation for the subclass 189 visa in the October 2020 round remained the same compared with the previous invitation round, at 65 points. The last invited applicant submitted an EOI in September 2020, which means EOI applicants who achieved a score of at least 65 points and who submitted their EOI by September 2020 were issued an invitation in this round, reflecting a wait time of approximately one month.
The minimum points score needed to secure an invitation for the subclass 491 visa decreased compared with the previous month, falling from 75 points in September, to 65 points in this round needed to secure an invitation. The results show that Subclass 491 visa EOI applicants who achieved a minimum points score of 65 and who submitted their EOI by April 2020 received an invitation in October. This represents a wait time of approximately six months.
As in the previous few months, information showing the number of invitations issued based on points score have again not been published this month (this data had been released in previous invitation rounds).
Invitations Issued For The Most In-Demand Occupations
The table below shows that no invitations were issued in October 2020 to applicants in occupations which had the highest demand for places. Invitations for these skilled occupations are pro-rated to ensure availability of invitations across the program year.
As in the previous month, all invitations issued in October appear to have been issued for only non-pro-rated occupations.
The following data has been published this month:
| Occupation (ANZSCO code) | Visa Subclass | Minimum points score required in the 11 Sep 2020 invitation round | Latest date of effect month | Invitations issued to 21 Oct 2020* | Occupation ceiling for the 2020/21 year (maximum number of invitations available) |
| Accountants (2211) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1,000 |
| Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers (2212) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 1,619 |
| Electronics Engineer (2334) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | Less than 20 | 1,000 |
| Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers (2335) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 48 | 2,682 |
| Other Engineering Professionals (2339) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | Less than 20 | 1,000 |
| ICT Business and System Analysts (2611) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 2,273 |
| Software and Applications Programmers (2613) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 8,405 |
| Computer Network Professionals (2631) | 189/491 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 2,245 |
*Please note these are total invitations issued across the subclass 189 and 491 Family Sponsored visas from 1 July 2020 to date. The Department does not release figures to show the break-up of invitations issued between these two visa subclasses. Occupation ceilings also do not apply to State and Territory Nominated, Employer Sponsored or Business Innovation and Investment visa subclasses.
You can find more information on occupation ceilings and invitations issued for each nominated occupation category (including for non-pro-rated occupations) up to 21 October 2020, at the following link:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/occupation-ceilings
State And Territory Government Nominations
Invitations issued by State and Territory Governments for the subclass 491 and 190 visa programmes in September 2020 are as follows.
| Visa subclass | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA | Total |
| Subclass 190 visa | 96 | 101 | 20 | <20 | 66 | 62 | 157 | 0 | 518 |
| Subclass 491 visa | 26 | 95 | <20 | <20 | 43 | 194 | <20 | 0 | 378 |
| Total | 122 | 196 | 34 | – | 109 | 256 | – | 0 | 896 |
Total invitations issued by State and Territory Governments from 1 July 2020 to 30 September 2020 is set out below:
| Visa subclass | ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA | Total |
| Subclass 190 visa | 128 | 102 | 61 | 16 | 66 | 94 | 157 | 0 | 624 |
| Subclass 491 visa (State Sponsored) | 34 | 95 | 24 | <20 | 43 | 210 | <20 | 0 | 412 |
| Total | 162 | 197 | 85 | – | 109 | 304 | – | 0 | 1,036 |
You can access the latest monthly and aggregate data for nominations issued for the Business Innovation and Investment (provisional) subclass 188 visa and the Business Talent (Permanent) subclass 132 visa at the following link:
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/invitation-rounds
More Information
Further Information About Skill Select
Please refer to our article on the Skillselect Invitation round August 2018 results for further information about the EOI process.
Also see the results of the previous invitation round in our article on the Skill Select Invitation Round – 11 September 2020.
Further Information About The Skilled Regional Visa Programme
To learn more about the subclass 491 visa (as well as the Subclass 191 Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa, to be introduced on 16 November 2022, and which will enable subclass 491 visa holders to qualify for permanent residence in Australia), please see the following articles:
New Skilled Regional Visas to be introduced
Skilled Regional Sponsored Visa
Further Regulations released for the new regional sponsored visas to commence from 16 November 2019
Applications for the new provisional regional sponsored visas are now open
For more information about the subclass 491 visa specifically, please see the following articles:
Further Information About The State Sponsored Visa Programme
For more information on the Subclass 190 visa, please see the following:
Subclass 190 State Sponsorship Visa
Roadmap for skilled applicants – which road should I take?
Further Information About The Skilled Independent Visa Programme
You can read more about the Subclass 189 visa (and other skilled visas) in our Roadmap for skilled applicants – which road should I take? article.
Sources/Links:
* https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/invitation-rounds
https://paxmigration.com.au/skillselect-invitation-round-july-2018/
https://paxmigration.com.au/skill-select-invitation-round-11-september-2020/
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/invitation-rounds
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skillselect/occupation-ceilings