Australian Skilled Migration Points Test: How the 65-Point Minimum Actually Works

It applies to points-tested pathways including:

• subclass 189 Points-tested
• subclass 190
• subclass 491

The points categories include:

• age
• English
• overseas skilled employment
• Australian skilled employment
• Professional Year
• educational qualifications
• specialist educational qualifications
• Australian study
• credentialled community language
• study in designated regional Australia
• partner qualifications
• state or territory nomination
• designated regional nomination or sponsorship

You can only receive the points available under the applicable rules.

• age 18 to under 25 --- 25 points
• age 25 to under 33 --- 30 points
• age 33 to under 40 --- 25 points
• age 40 to under 45 --- 15 points

Applicants who have reached 45 are outside the standard age range for
these points-tested visas.

Age is assessed at invitation, so an upcoming birthday can affect both
your score and eligibility.

• Competent English --- 0 points
• Proficient English --- 10 points
• Superior English --- 20 points

Competent English can satisfy the basic English requirement without
adding points.

A higher qualifying English result can therefore make a significant
difference to an EOI score.

The English result must satisfy the Home Affairs requirements that apply
at the relevant time.

• less than 3 years --- 0 points
• at least 3 but less than 5 years --- 5 points
• at least 5 but less than 8 years --- 10 points
• at least 8 years --- 15 points

The employment must satisfy the points-test requirements relating to the
nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.

Simply having worked for the required number of years does not
automatically make every period count.

• less than 1 year --- 0 points
• at least 1 but less than 3 years --- 5 points
• at least 3 but less than 5 years --- 10 points
• at least 5 but less than 8 years --- 15 points
• at least 8 years --- 20 points

The work needs to satisfy the migration-law definition relevant to the
points test.

Schedule 6D contains a specific aggregation rule.

If the overseas and Australian employment points would add up to more
than 20, the combined employment score is capped at 20 points.

For example, a person cannot receive 15 overseas employment points plus
20 Australian employment points for a total of 35 employment points.

The maximum combined skilled-employment contribution is 20.

• recognised doctorate --- 20 points
• at least a recognised bachelor degree --- 15 points
• Australian diploma --- 10 points
• Australian trade qualification --- 10 points
• qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing
  authority as suitable for the occupation --- 10 points

The highest qualification does not always translate automatically into
points without considering whether it meets the recognised-standard
requirements.

The current rules cover specified Australian master's degrees by
research or doctoral degrees involving at least two academic years of
study in a field of education specified by legislative instrument.

This is separate from the ordinary qualification points.

A master's degree does not automatically receive specialist-education
points simply because it is postgraduate study.

The Australian study requirement has its own criteria concerning
eligible Australian study.

The points should not be claimed merely because you completed any course
in Australia.

The current test requires, among other things:

• meeting the Australian study requirement
• studying at a campus in a designated regional area
• living in a designated regional area while undertaking the study
• the relevant study not being distance education

Regional study points are different from the 15 points available for 491
nomination or sponsorship.

The qualification or accreditation must be from the body and at the
standard specified for the points test.

Applicants should check that their credential meets the current
migration requirement rather than assuming any language certificate
qualifies.

Schedule 6D requires it to have been completed in the nominated skilled
occupation or a closely related skilled occupation for a period
totalling at least 12 months within the 48 months immediately before
invitation.

The program must satisfy the applicable migration requirements.

Skilled partner --- 10 points

You can receive 10 points where your spouse or de facto partner is
also an applicant for the same visa subclass and satisfies the
applicable requirements, including:

• under 45 at invitation
• Competent English
• eligible nominated skilled occupation
• suitable skills assessment that is not a subclass 485 assessment

Single applicant or Australian citizen/permanent resident partner --- 10 points

You can receive 10 points if:

• you do not have a spouse or de facto partner, or
• your spouse or de facto partner is an Australian citizen or
  permanent resident

Partner with Competent English --- 5 points

You can receive 5 points where your spouse or de facto partner is an
applicant for the same visa subclass, is not an Australian citizen or
permanent resident and has Competent English.

The partner categories are alternatives. They are not added together.

Those points form part of the total points score.

But receiving the extra five points does not mean every EOI with 65
points will be nominated.

Each state and territory applies its own nomination criteria and
priorities.

Eligible-relative sponsorship for the family-sponsored 491 pathway can
also provide the 15-point regional nomination or sponsorship
component.

The 491 therefore provides a larger points boost than the 190.

But the 491 is a provisional regional visa with its own conditions and
later permanent-residence pathway.

The additional points should not be considered in isolation from those
consequences.

An invitation score is the score at which a particular EOI is
actually selected.

Those are not the same thing.

For departmental SkillSelect rounds, higher-ranked EOIs can be invited
ahead of lower-ranked EOIs.

For state nomination, jurisdictions can select candidates using their
own criteria and priorities in addition to the federal visa
requirements.

A previous invitation result is therefore not a guaranteed future
cut-off.

The EOI is not the visa application.

If invited, you need to provide documents supporting the claims made in
the EOI.

Home Affairs' points-table guidance states that applicants must satisfy
the relevant points-test criteria at invitation and provide documents
supporting all EOI claims.

The number displayed in SkillSelect should therefore be treated as a
claim that needs evidence.

Examples can include:

• employment that does not qualify as skilled employment
• an English result that does not meet the claimed level
• a qualification that does not attract the expected points
• partner circumstances that changed
• an invalid or unsuitable skills assessment
• incorrect regional study claims

Do not increase an EOI score based on points you expect to qualify for
later.

Your points may increase or decrease because of:

• age
• English
• work experience
• qualifications
• partner circumstances
• state nomination
• other points-test factors

The EOI should remain accurate while it is active.

Moving from one age bracket to another can reduce your points.

For example, the maximum 30 age points apply from age 25 to under 33. At
33, the age score drops to 25.

At 40, it drops to 15.

An EOI should therefore be reviewed where a birthday changes the
applicable age category.

It establishes occupational suitability for the relevant pathway.

Separate points can arise from qualifications, employment and other
Schedule 6D categories.

The skills assessment and the points calculation should not be treated
as the same decision.

• age 30 --- 30 points
• Superior English --- 20 points
• recognised bachelor degree --- 15 points
• Australian study requirement --- 5 points

That produces 70 points before considering employment, partner
factors or nomination.

If the applicant then receives subclass 190 nomination, the score
becomes 75.

If the relevant pathway were subclass 491 nomination instead, the 15
nomination points would produce 85.

This example only demonstrates the arithmetic. It does not mean the
applicant is guaranteed nomination, invitation or visa grant.

• age at expected invitation
• English level
• overseas skilled employment
• Australian skilled employment
• 20-point combined employment cap
• highest qualifying educational credential
• specialist education
• Australian study
• regional study
• credentialled community language
• Professional Year
• partner category
• 190 nomination points where applicable
• 491 nomination or sponsorship points where applicable
• suitable skills assessment
• evidence supporting every claim

The aim is not simply to reach 65.

It is to have an accurate, supportable and competitive points profile
for the pathway you are pursuing.