State Nomination update 2022-2023 - Skilled Visa 491 and 190

Do you have a comment or a question for us?

Join the discussion below

In this article

1. Tasmania State Nomination
2. WA State Nomination
3. South Australia State Nomination
4. QLD State Nomination
5. NT State Nomination
6. NSW State Nomination
7. Victoria State Nomination
8. ACT State Nomination
9. Leave a comment or question

State and Territory Nomination Allocation for 2022-23 - Skilled Visa 491 and 190 Allocation

The interim allocations for the states have been released. The total number of 190 and 491 allocations is just under 50,000

There are massive allocation increases for New South Wales, Victoria, and WA due to last year’s trend of regional migration moving to other states.

The comparison table below shows a huge increase for 491 and 190 visas.

Overall, 190 visa allocations have been nearly doubled as many as last year with 30,000 places in total.

This is higher than 18,500 of 491 allocations in all states.

It shows that more permanent migration will be placed.

It is going to be a great year for every onshore student, and temporary visa holder with plenty of opportunities for 190/491 nominations across every state.

The allocation is even above the levels that are contained in the pre-election 2023 levels.

This is just an interim allocation and there will be more allocations later.

What should you do now?

So, everyone should be checking for their best occupation on the list, getting their skills assessed and their English tested.

Moreover, you should work out how many points you want to get for skilled visas 190 and 491.

So far, there has been all positive news for international students and skilled migrants.

There are more pathways and more opportunities for PR in Australia.

Tasmania State Nomination Update 2022-2023 - Skilled Visa 491 and 190 Tasmania

Interim nomination allocation received

Tasmania has received an interim skilled visa allocation of nomination places from the Australian Government for the 2022-23 program year.

The Department of Home Affairs has advised that this allocation will be revisited after the first quarter of 2022-23 and should not be taken as an indication of the full year’s quota.

Tasmania’s interim allocation includes: Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa: 2000 places Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa: 1350 places

This is equal to the whole year’s quota of Tasmania in 2021-2022 (2200 for 491 and 1100 for 190).

Moreover, it is clearly seen that the quotas for 190 visa permanent residency has been increased significantly

2022-23 Tasmania Skilled Migration program processing overview

The Tasmanian Skilled visa 491 and visa 190 Program will open progressively in phases over the coming weeks.

Phase 1: The initial phase will include successful candidates ‘held over’ from the 2021-22 year as well as the selection, invitation and nomination of candidates in the Overseas Skilled Occupation Profiles pathway.

Candidates currently residing overseas who are interested in Tasmanian nomination should ensure their Skillselect EOIs are up-to-date and reflect the profiles published on the Migration Tasmania website.

Phase 2: The second phase will open the program to high-priority ‘Gold Pass’ and ‘Green Pass’ applicants.

Phase 3: The final phase will open the program to registrations of interest from all eligible candidates.

Further details regarding each phase of the reopening of the Tasmanian Skilled Migration State Nomination Program will be provided in future updates.

Tasmania Nomination Process: Gateway system

You must first register your interest in the Migration Tasmania Gateway.

You cannot apply for nomination until you are invited by the gateway or the gateway gives a Gold Pass.

Registrations are valid for 6 months and only the most competitive applicants will be invited to lodge an application for nomination.

• Gold pass - you will be able to lodge an application for nomination immediately.
• Green pass – you are likely to be invited to apply for nomination in the next 6-8 weeks.
• Orange pass - you may be invited to apply for nomination within the next 6 months, depending upon the volume of interest we have received and how many of the priority attributes you have.
• Red pass - you do not meet the minimum nomination requirements and will not be able to apply for nomination.

To meet the “Gold” priority attribute, candidates must be working in one of the ‘gold list’ critical roles for atleast past 3 months.

Occupation groups in the ‘Gold List’ includes:

• 1332 Engineering Managers
• 2321 Architects and Landscape Architects
• 2331 Chemical and Materials Engineers
• 2332 Civil Engineering Professionals
• 2333 Electrical Engineers
• 2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers
• 2347 Veterinarians
• 2511 Nutrition Professionals
• 2512 Medical Imaging Professionals
• 2515 Pharmacists
• 2525 Physiotherapists
• 2531 General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers
• 2532 Anaesthetists
• 2544 Registered Nurses
• 2725 Social Workers
• 3122 Civil Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians and more

Tasmania State Nomination streams for 2022-2023

190 – skilled employment pathway

Requirements are:

• Occupation on TOSOL
• must have been working in Tasmania for 6 months immediately prior to your application in an occupation closely related to your nominated occupation.
• must be a genuine, ongoing need for your position within the business (including a minimum 12-month contract with at least 3 months remaining at the time you apply for nomination).
• For subcontractors - at least 12 months business activity in Tasmania**.**

190 skilled graduate pathway

Requirements are:

• Studied full time in Tasmania
• Lived in Tasmania for 2 calender years from course commencement
• course of study must be AQF 5(Diploma) or higher, or at least Certificate III related to an ANZSCO Major Group 3or Group 4 occupation

190 Established Resident pathway

The requirements are:

• must have been living in Tasmania for at least 3 years, and:
  • Currently be employed in Tasmania in an ANZSCO Skill Levels 1-3, including a cumulative 12 out of the last 24 months, OR
  • Currently be employed in Tasmania, including a cumulative 18 months in the last 3 years, in an ANZSCO Skill Level 4 or 5
  • Have operated a business for at least the last 2 years with taxable earnings equivalent to the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (currently $53 900)

491 Skilled employment pathway

The requirements are:

• For role classified as Skill Level 1 – 3:
  • must have been working in Tasmania for at least 6 months OR 3 months if the occupation is on TOSOL
  • There must be a genuine, ongoing need for your position within the business (including a minimum 12-month contract with at least 3 months remaining at the time you apply for nomination)
  • For contractors - at least 12 months business activity in Tasmania.
• For role classified at ANZSCO Skill Level 4 or 5:
  • must have been working in Tasmania for at least 6 months immediately prior to your application
  • employment must be ongoing, for at least 6 months beyond the application date.

491 Skilled Graduate pathway

The requirements are:

• Full time study from Tasmania
• must have lived in the state for at least one calendar year from the commencement of your course and for the duration of your studies.
• Your course of study must be AQF 5 (Diploma) or higher, or at least Certificate III related to an ANZSCO Major Group 3 or Group 4 occupation, and be listed on CRICOS with a duration of at least 40 weeks.

491 Established Resident pathway

The requirements are:

• must have been living in Tasmania for at least 2 years, and
  • a role equivalent to ANZSCO Skill Level 1-3, including a cumulative 6 months experience at the same level in the last 12 months, OR
  • a role equivalent to ANZSCO Skill Level 4 or 5, with a cumulative 12 months experience at the same level or higher in the last 18 months

491 Business Operator pathway

The requirements are:

• must demonstrate that you have established and operated a business (solely owned or co-owned with spouse) in Tasmania for at least 12 months
• Your business must have provided a personal taxable income to you of at least 85 percent of the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (i.e. currently $45 815)

Subcontracting business owners are not eligible for consideration in this pathway.

Nominations for Overseas Candidates

There are two different pathways for overseas applicants.

1. Job offer pathway
2. OSOP invitation only pathway

To be able to apply for job offer pathway, candidate need a job offer from a well-established Tasmanian business directly related to skills assessment.

If you do not have a job offer from Tasmania, you might be eligible under OSOP pathway.

Please note that this is an invitation only pathway. Candidate can apply through this pathway only if they have been contacted by Migration Tasmania in writing through Skillselect to register on the Migration Tasmania Gateway.

Without Migration Tasmania’ invitation, you will not be able to register your interest.

OSOP list has around 65 occupations including  Accountants, ICT professionals, Registered nurses, Engineers, Café restaurant Managers, Hotel Motel managers, Chefs, Cooks, bakers, plumbers, electricians and many more.

2021-22 Program Year processing

Migration Tasmania continues to process applications lodged in 2021-22 and will record nominations in Skillselect for successful applicants after the 2022-23 program year quota is received.

All applications lodged in the 2021-22 year will be processed against the 2021-22 year nomination criteria.

Tasmania Skilled Occupation List

Overseas Skilled Occupation list

Tasmania Onshore Skilled Occupation List

Gold List - Critical Roles List

Migration agents and lawyers comments on Tasmania State Nomination 2022-23

The candidates who may be most benefitted by these changes might be the Tasmanian graduates and Tasmanian PhD holders.

Candidates who have not been working in any of the skilled occupations or candidates doing part-time job or people working as subcontractors might be eligible for state nomination.

Also, options might be available for candidates who have been residing in Tasmania from last 2 to 3 years. This is similar to Migration SA’s long term resident option from last program year.

Migration SA had work experience requirements too whereas Tasmania has not mentioned anything about the work experience requirements for long term residents yet. It will be interesting to see if they might have any work experience requirements too

More options might be available for overseas candidates who either have a job offer to work inTasmania or have skills needed by Tasmanian businesses.

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) WA - WA State Nomination 2022-2023

 Latest update for WA State Nomination - Simple requirement as received more allocations for 491 and 190 visas

The WA Government and WA residents have received good news on allocation number.

The government has decided to make changes to its migration program by expanding more occupation eligible for skilled visa 491 and visa 190;

New occupations have been added to the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List Schedule 1 (WASMOL Schedule 1) and the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List Schedule 2 (WASMOL Schedule 2).

The list of newly available occupations can be found on the WA State Nomination – combined occupation list below.

The WA Government has also waived the $200 application fee and has made changes to the requirements for new applicants as of 1 July 2022, including:

• Removal of the requirement to demonstrate sufficient funds for WA State nomination.
• Reduction in the English requirements for applicants at the Manager and Professional occupation level to the “competent” level of English.
• Changes to the document requirements for the WASMOL Schedule 1&2 and the Graduate Occupation lists based on the visa the applicant is being nominated for, as explained below

The next round of invitations to apply for WA State nomination will occur in the third week of September 2022.

Western Australia’s skilled migration program is the earliest program to notify skilled migrants about its state nomination requirement for the program year 2022-23.

To start with positive news, overseas applicants are now eligible for WA State Nomination visa 491 and visa 190. However, the invitation to apply for WA state nomination will be assessed by the ranking system.

The first priority will be given to applicants who are currently residing in WA, then to those residing in Australia and last one is for those residing overseas.

The 2022-23 program year for Western Australia state nomination will also have a new expanded skilled occupation list called Graudate occupation list which is available for over 300 occupations.

The state is currently waiting confirmation of allocation from the Department of Home Affair to commences the skilled migration program 2022-23. Once there is any update, please check this page for the latest news.

WA State Nomination Migration Program Process and Requirements

There are 2 main streams for Western Australia state sponsorship program :

• General Stream with Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 (WASMOL)
• Graduate Stream

Schedule 1 - WA Visa 491 and 190 Further Nomination Requirement

Work experience onshore an

Another Work experience requirement WA Schedule 1 State Nomination is to have a contract of employment (FULL-TIME ROLE) for at least 12 months in the nominated occupation in Western Australia.

English requirement is competent to all level of skills.

English exemption applies to candidates who hold a passport from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

A contract of employment is applicable for 190 visa and NOT applicable for 491 visa applications.

Your contract of employment must be full-time and have at least 6 months from the time of your application.

Further assessment will take place

• Appropriate salary will be paid for the specified occupation, based on market salary rates
• Genuine employer and operating in the location specified;
• As the employee, you will bear no financial risk and be provided with the relevant tools and equipment to successfully undertake the tasks required.

Schedule 2 - WA Visa 491 and 190 Nomination Requirement

You must have a contract of employment for full time employment for at least 12 months in the nominated or closely related occupation in Western Australia.

English requirement and exemption are similar to Schedule 1.

English Language Competent Table for Major occupation groups 3-8 -Must meet the English in a single test

Western Australia state nomination requirements - Graduate Stream

 To be received an invitation to apply for visa 491 or visa 190 in Western Australia, the candidate must:

• have gained a Certificate III or higher qualification in Western Australia, including a requirement to have completed at least two years of full time study in Western Australia at a Western Australian university, higher education provider, TAFE, registered training provider or English language provider;
• demonstrate: o at least six months of paid Australian work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation over the past five years.
• Applicants must enter work experience evidence in their SkillSelect Expression of Interest; or a contract of employment for full time employment in Western Australia for at least six months in the nominated (or closely related) occupation.
• English requirement and exemption: same as above

Western Australia Skilled Occupation List - Schedule 1, Schedule 2 and Graduate

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) SA - SA State Nomination 2022-2023

South Australia has announced its skilled migration program requirement for the skilled visas 491 and 190 on Thursday 25 August 2022.

Overall, there are just a few changes in nomination requirement comparing to the last financial year.

Offshore applications are welcome to apply now with certain requirement.

There are total 6 nomination streams for 491 visa and 190 visa in South Australia for skilled migrants:

1. South Australian Graduates

If you are an international graduate, who has studied in South Australia, you may be eligible for state nomination as a skilled migrant faster than other candidates.

There is also a concession for High Performing Graudate in South Australia for 491/190 nomination without work experience requirement.

Eligibility guidelines

To be an SA Graduate you must

• Complete your qualification at a South Australian higher education provider (CRICOS)
• Check your occupation in South Australia Skilled Occupation List if your skill meet the level required
• Minimum of 50% of your qualification must have been completed in SA
• Must have resided in SA for at least 1 year during your study

Work experience in SA

• Currrently working in related or closely related occupation.
• Related or closely related occupations are defined, under South Australian nomination, as being in the same ANZSCO Sub Major group, meaning the same first 2 digits.
• Skilled work experience must be post course completion
• meet the minimum work experience requirement for your occupation specified in the Occupation list. Each occupation has different requirement.

Type of Contract may affect your 491 or 190 nomination

It may be a case to be considered if you are working part time or full time in South Australia.

You must be working:

• 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight for subclass 491 visa nomination
• 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight for subclass 190 visa nomination
• If you are a South Australian graduate and didn’t continously live and work in SA, you must be working at least 30 hours per week for the minimum working period.

2. Working in South Australia

• Have an occupation in SA Skilled Occupation List
• Be currently working in related or closely related occupation at least 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight unless specified higher.
• English: Competent or higher

Other requirements are skill assessment, minimum 65 EOI points are specified in each occupation.

3. Outer Regional South Australia

Skilled migrants who contribute hugely to Regional of South Australia may benefit from certain exemption in work experience. Working holiday maker visa holders may also apply under this pathway.

To be eligible, you must:

• Currently LIVE and WORK in Outer Regional South Australia
• Have been working for the past SIX Months in Outer Regional South Australia in ANY job (does not need to be related)
• Have worked at least 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight
• If you are a working holiday maker visa holder, your specified work experience can count towards this work experience requirement

To be eligible for 190 visa nomination, you must be working in a high skilled position (level 1 or 2) OR receiving a high salary (at least $65,000).

You also need to provide a recommendation letter from your employer saying that why you should be considered

Employer Criteria:

• Be a business in Outer Regional SA
• Be an existing business for at least 12 months and have a premise located and operating in Outer Regional South Australia for the past 12 months
• Be a business of good standing and there must be no adverse information about the business

4. Long Term Residents

You must have resided continuously in South Australia for the past 5 years to be eligible for the long term residents stream.

You can work any occupation from skilled level 1 to 3 and Skill level 4 carer and Aide occupation for the past 6 months and for total of 12 months over the past 3 years.

It can be cumulative and inclusive of the six months requirement outlined above.

However, you must not be working in your nominated occupation or closely related occupation to apply for this stream.

There are certain requirements for 491 and 190 nomination:

• SA 491 nomination: 20 hours per week or 40 hours per fortnight
• SA 190 nomination: 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight - working in skill level 1 position with at least 80,000 AUD in greater Adelaide or 65,000 AUD in regional SA.

5. Highly skilled and talented

There is higher requirement for highly skilled and talented however, they do not need to be residing in South Australia to lodge an ROI.

It is encouraging applicants who can contribute to the state’s critical priority sectors including:

• Hi-Tech / Digital
• Green Energy / Hydrogen
• Defence, Space and Cyber Security
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Agribusiness
• Creative Industries
• Health and Life Sciences

English Proficient is the mimum for this nomination stream.

A high base salary threshold commensurate with the expectations of the highly skilled and talented stream (at least 80,000 per annum) and working full time (at least 30 hours per week or 60 hours per fortnight) are required.

6. Offshore

If you are seeking to move to South Australia, the first step is to use SkillSelect to make an expression of interest (EOI), and select South Australia as your first preferred State or Territory to move to in Australia.

South Australia will be assessing candidates on merit by the following factors, within their nominated occupation:

1. Years and field of skilled employment
2. English language ability
3. EOI points

Offshore applicants can also seek nomination from highly skilled and talented stream above if you are working in critical sectors

Have demonstrated extensive experience, working in senior or executive level roles in highly skilled jobs, in:

• ​​​​​​​Internationally renowned organisations, or
• Multinational companies with a presence in South Australia, or
• Have demonstrated specialised experience or niche skills that are highly desired in one of South Australia’s critical priority sectors

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) QLD - QLD State Nomination 2022-2023

Queensland has opened its State Nomination for 2022-2023 financial year on 16 August 2022. It has received the Interim allocation of 4,200 (3,000 for 190 and 1,200 for 491).

Onshore applicants can access the full Federal Skilled Occupation List while offshore applicants can only access the 2022–23 QLD Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) below.

There are minimum EOI points requirement – 80 for the 190 visa (except for Trades, which is 75) and 65 for the 491 visa.

There is also minimum English requirement – Proficient English (except for Trades, which is Competent).

Four streams are now available to get the state nomination.

1. Graduates of a Queensland university

This pathway is for high-performing graduates, who have graduated from a Queensland university in a PhD or Doctorate, Master’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree – and are currently onshore in Queensland.

If you are a PhD or Master graduate (in the STEM field) you may be eligible for a 190 visa, if you are a Master graduate in other fields or a Bachelor graduate, then you need GPA 5.5 and will be eligible for 491 only.

There is no job required for a PhD graduate, but Master and Bachelor graduates need to be employed full-time (35 hours per week) in the nominated or closely related occupation.

2. Skilled workers living in Queensland

If you have been living in Queensland and undertaking full-time post-qualification employment over the past 6 months in your nominated occupation immediately prior to submitting your EOI you will be eligible for the 190 visa.  Instead, if you have 3 months’ work experience, you will be eligible for a 491 visa.

Both 190 and 491 visa applicants need to have a further 12 months full-time ongoing employment.

So, if you are a bachelor graduate and currently working in Queensland, you may be eligible to apply for 190 via this stream.

3. Skilled workers living offshore

You need to have an occupation on the Queensland Skilled Occupation List (QSOL) and have a minimum of 3-years of post-study work experience.

4. Small business owners in regional Queensland

You will need to purchase an existing business in regional Queensland for a minimum of $100,000 or have been operating a PROFITABLE start-up for a minimum of 2 years with a turnover of $200,000.

You need to own 100% of the business and run the business for 6 months, you also need to employ at least one Australian resident for 20 hours per week.

There are also some additional requirements for your business:

• No vendor financing
• No share transfer (must have a contract of business sale)
• Cannot purchase business from family member
• Cannot relocate or sell a business before receiving approval from MQ
• Cannot purchase a business previously owned by a 491-SBO applicant
• Commission agents or leasing agents of franchises (such as petrol stations), and home-based businesses (including those with virtual offices) will not be considered
• Applicants must operate their business for at least 3 years in a regional area (and may be subject to monitoring) after the grant of the visa.

If you meet the minimum Queensland criteria, you can put in an Express and Interest. However, Invitations will go to the highest points per occupation, and this is likely to vary for each occupation. Other requirements may be considered where there are a large number of EOIs for a particular occupation on the same points – eg. regional location, years of work experience. EOIs will remain in our queue based on the points when they were originally lodged.

If you want to increase your points, it is advised that you make another Express of Interest. As Migration Queensland database and SkillSelect are not linked, Migration Queensland does not know when you have made changes to your EOI which may increase your points. You will remain in its queue in the order of the points you had when you first lodged your EOI.

Qld Skilled Occupation List 2022-23

QLD has published their skilled occupation list for 2022-2023 program year. Many more occupations have made available for QLD state nomination and there are a lot of positive news regarding QLD nomination requirements.

Before submitting an EOI or State nomination, you must ensure that your occupation is included in Qld skilled occupation list 2022.

Having a positive and valid skill assessment for your nominated occupation is compulsory for QLD state nomination program.

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) NT - NT State Nomination 2022-2023

The Northern Territory (NT) has now received an interim allocation of nominations under the general skilled migration program.

MigrationNT continues to receive and assess onshore nomination applications under the existing eligibility criteria.

You should lodge your application ASAP after meeting the eligibility criteria. You may not be assessed prior to visa expiry dates.

Offshore applications remain closed. A date for the reopening of this program and eligibility criteria will be announced in the near future.

Commitment to the NT

It is important to read this carefully before accepting a nomination from Australia’s NT government. As accepting the nomination or apply for a skilled visa, that means you are agreeing to the following conditions:

• live and work in the NT in your skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation for at least three years from visa grant
• let the NT Government know the status of your visa application - you need to do this when your visa is granted and when you arrive
• regularly provide your current contact details to the NT Government
• participate in surveys conducted by the NT Government.

A declaration form will be required to complete to show your obligation to the NT Government.

MigrationNT considers a number of factors in assessing commitment to the NT, including:

• length of residency in the NT
• previous travel to the NT
• connections to the NT (for example, close family members being long-term residents of the NT).

NT state nomination requirement

Eligible NT Graduates

International student graduates who have studied in the NT will be eligible for a subclass 190 nomination if you have met the following criteria before applying for nomination:

• successfully completed one or more qualifications after studying in the NT, at an NT-based institution for two years in a single tertiary course or a set of nested tertiary courses, and
• lived in the NT for a period of at least six continuous months immediately after the date of completion* of your last qualification, while holding a visa that has no work limitations (graduates will be required to apply for a subclass 485 Temporary Graduate visa to enable this); the time spent on a bridging visa associated with a subclass 485 visa application can be counted in the six month period, and
• demonstrated genuine and sustained efforts to obtain employment** from an NT employer in your nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.

If you do not meet one of the requirement above, you may only be eligible for 491 visa.

Other NT residents

An NT resident applicant includes those on temporary visas with work rights, currently residing in the NT.

NT resident applicants will be eligible for a subclass 190 nomination if you:

• demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least two consecutive years immediately prior to application
• demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
• demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation continuously for at least two years immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.

NT resident applicants will be considered for a subclass 491 nomination if you meet the following requirements:

• applicants who started living in the NT prior to 1 July 2020, must:
  • demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to application
  • demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
  • demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.
• applicants who start living in the NT on or after 1 July 2020, must:
  • demonstrate that you have been residing in the NT for at least 12 consecutive months
  • demonstrate that none of your migrating dependants are residing in another part of Australia, and
  • demonstrate full-time employment in the NT in an eligible occupation for at least six consecutive months immediately prior to applying for NT nomination and demonstrate that the employment is available for at least a further 12 months.

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) NSW - NSW State Nomination 2022-2023

NSW State Nomination program has announced their skilled visa 491 and 190 requirement. Offshore applicants will be able to apply for NSW State Nomination . The NSW nomination for skilled nominated visa 190 remains by invitation only.

Please note: Skilled Migration NSW has not been open yet. They will open it shortly for the 2022-23 financial year.

 NSW is always the most popular states with its simple requirement, however the competitiveness is extremely high for certain occupations. NSW Government also recommends that applicants should explore other migration pathways while waiting to be invited by NSW

NSW state nomination requirement and key changes

- SkillSelect EOI : your EOI must be for Skilled Nominated Visa 190 and NSW only for state.

- Residency requirement: This program has increased the residency requirement from 3 months to 6 months of residing in NSW

- Offshore candidate: Offshore applicants will be considered in ALL OCCUPATIONS within unit groups identified on the NSW Skilled Nominated Skills List that are eligible for the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190).

- Minimum experience and Scores: Each unit group will have a minimum number of years of skilled work experience and minimum point score to be eligible for NSW nomination. These minimum numbers will be identified on the NSW Skilled Nominated Skills List.

Minimum numbers are informed by the number of places available in each unit group for the financial year and the number of EOIs submitted in SkillSelect.

NSW Skilled Occupation Lists

NSW has published its skilled occupation list for visa 190 and visa 491.

There is new minimum point scores and years of work experience requirements for this program year.

Each unit group will have different minimum points and year of work experience required.

For example: Accountant needs 110 points and 3 years of work experience for 190 visa

Great news for trades occupations, Teachers, and Social professionals like Social Work or community work.

NSW only requires those unit groups 65 or 70 points and no work experience.

Skilled Migration Program (Visa 491,190) - Victoria State Nomination 2022-2023

The skilled migration program of Victoria is still close for new applications. State Nomination Victoria has announced that they have to wait for the allocation to be confirmed before updating their nomination requirement.

It is expected that this program year 2022-23 will see an expanded eligibility criteria across both skilled migration visa 190 and visa 491 and also open for offshore applicants.

Victoria is known to be the strictest state during covid-19 with only 500 allocations for 491 visa and 3500 for 190 visa. However, the eligible occupations for Victoria State Nomination was limited to STEMM skills.

We hope that they will publish the new policy soon and Work Visa Lawyers will update the requirements here.

Skilled Migration Program 2022-23 in Victoria is finally open on 11/8/2022

Open to applicants living in Victoria and overseas, the program provides skilled migrants with a pathway to permanent residency in Victoria. The skills that successful applicants bring to Victoria benefits employers and the broader Victorian economy.

The program provides two visa pathways.

The Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) is a permanent visa for skilled migrants to live and work anywhere in Victoria. The Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491) is for skilled migrants to live and work in regional Victoria and provides a pathway to permanent residency through thePermanent Residence (Skilled Regional) visa (subclass 191).

As with previous years, applicants will first need to submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) and then be selected on competitive merit to apply for visa nomination.

Before submitting a ROI, applicants should ensure that they meet all eligibility requirements:

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)

ROIs will be assessed until May 2023.

Victoria State nomination - What happens to existing ROIs Submission in 2021-2022?

The 2021-22 program was highly competitive with over 15,000 Registrations of Interest submitted.

Applicants who were not selected to apply are encouraged to submit a new Victoria Registration of Interest for the 2022-23 program.

VICTORIA SKILLED VISA NOMINATION REQUIREMENT + CHANGES

Victoria is open for nominations from candidates living and working in Victoria and for offshore candidates.

Applicants will first need to submit a Registration of Interest (ROI) and then be selected on competitive merit to apply for visa nomination. ROIs will be selected from August 2022 to May 2023.

All occupations on the DoHA’s Skilled Occupation List are now eligible, and applicants are no longer required to be using STEMM skills and working in a target sector to apply.

The ROIs will be selected based on following factors:

• Age,
• English language level,
• Years of experience in your nominated occupation,
• Education and occupation skill level,
• Partner’s skill (if applicable),
• Salary – onshore candidates only.

The following occupation groups will also be prioritised:

• Healthcare and social services
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Advanced manufacturing, digital and innovation economy
• Chef, cook, accommodation and hospitality managers – for the 491 visa
• Early childhood, secondary and special education teachers.

Salary – for onshore candidates only:

You can only include earnings from skilled employment in Victoria, or regional Victoria for subclass 491 visa applicants. Skilled employment includes any role that is at skill levels 1,2 or 3 in the relevant ANZSCO classification.

Skilled employment does not have to be in your nominated occupation, but your earnings must be from skilled employment.

Candidates who may benefit with these changes include:

• Candidates living and working in Victoria in one of the priority occupations
• Candidates working in occupation/s at skill level 1,2,or 3 with high earnings.

Visa 190 Victoria State Nomination Requirement

There is no specific requirement for visa 190 except from the basic eligibility criteria.

However, in the process of claiming annual earnings, you must support all your claims of earnings with documents in your applications

All annual earnings that you claimed must be from a skilled employment that includes any role that is at skill level 1,2, or 3.

Visa 491 Victoria State Nomination Requirement

Provided that you have met basic eligibility criteria for 491 visa, you may need to meet other requirements such as:

Work Experience

Applicants must be living and working in regional Victoria by the time they receive the visa nomination

Another interesting part of working in Regional Victoria and the definition of the skilled employment for 491 visa Victoria.

Skilled employment includes any role that is at skill levels 1,2,or 3 in the relevant ANZSCO Classsification. It does not need to be closely related or at the same skill level of your nominated occupation.

For example: if your nominated occupation is Civil Engineering, and you are working as a Mechanical engineer technician, your employment is considered as skilled employment. However, if you are working as a Waitor or Waitress, you are not considered as working in skilled employment and do not meet the requirement.

This has been supported heavily from the state. Their Visa 491 requirement is getting so simple to meet, which is made similar to South Australia Working in regional stream.

As a consequence, with the:

• Existing ROIs at 15,000 applicants
• All occupations are eligible which attracts existing Victoria residents who are working there to lodge ROIs
• Requirements for 491 are made simple

This will lead to a highly competitive skilled migration program in Victoria even though they receive more quotas than last program years.

Onshore and offshore applicants can now apply

In addition to applicants living in Victoria, we will also be selecting applicants living outside Australia for the subclass 190 visa in all eligible occupations.

For the subclass 491 visa in addition to applicants living in Victoria, applicants living offshore can apply, noting we are currently prioritising health occupations for subclass 491 visa nomination.

More eligible occupations

Victoria no longer requires applicants to be using STEMM skills and working in a target sector to apply.

That means now all occupations on the relevant Department of Home Affairs Occupation List are now eligible to apply for Victoria State Nomination.

Plus the 15,000 existing ROIs from target sectors and STEMM applicants, this will make Victoria extremely competitive.

We are awaiting for the official allocation for Victoria skilled migration program 22-23.

ACT State Nomination Update 2022-2023 - Skilled Visa 491 and 190 ACT

Why was state nomination skilled visa 190 and 491 in 2022-23 shut for a month?

So, let’s look at recent history for some references.

This is not without precedent.

In June 2020, we made a video about the state nominations being closed ‘indefinitely’.  This was because no allocations were given by the Federal Government.

At the time the video causes a lot of controversies, but it turned out to be accurate. At the time, this was when the Covid 19 pandemic was really taking off.  So, there was a good reason for the Federal government holding back allocations.   They wanted to slow the spread of Covid, and the borders were closed anyway.

In 2020, the states received an interim allocation from 3 September 2020.

Why did we need allocation?

Many people have their visas expiring in Australia Or skills assessment or English tests.  Even worse, some people need to apply for a visa before they turn 45 and are no longer eligible.

Covid has been tough to them and I am sure this late opening date for skilled visa 491 and 190 would cause them a lot of disspointment.

But 2022 is very different.

We will make another video soon where we will provide our view of “When will the State Sponsorships 2022-2023 open?”