FAQ - State Nomination

What is a State Nomination?

The various states & territories produce lists of occupations in demand in their area.

Providing you have a skills assessment in one of these occupations you can apply to be nominated by the state government and if successful apply for a skilled sponsored or a skilled regional sponsored visa.

Apart from faster processing of the application, you would only need 100 points to meet the pass mark for these visas and would also gain 10 points for the state nomination.

What are the Criteria for State Nomination?

The criteria for state nomination vary widely for each state. In general, the following would be required:
- Positive skills assessment in an occupation on the state list
- Sufficient funds to settle in the state (can be between $20,000 - $40,000 in funds depending on family composition)
- Sufficient English language ability to find work in the state (often at a higher level than the level required by the Department of Immigration)
- Some states require a job offer in the state
- Some states require work experience in the occupation or for the applicant to meet the recent work experience requirement (12 of the last 24 months of skilled employment)
- The ACT has a quota for certain occupations and will not nominate in the occupation once the quota is met

What is the processing time for State Nomination?

This varies by state. However, due to the high number of applications received since announcement of the changes, processing times are now getting much longer. Some states and territories are giving an indicative processing time of 2-3 months.

I am an International Student - are there any special rules which apply to me when applying for state nomination?

Many states have introduced special requirements for international students. These include the following:
- Limited occupations for state nomination: eg Victoria only has a few occupations available for state nomination, and assessment of nominations in trade occupations has been suspended
- Job offer requirement: some states require a job offer for students who studied outside the state (eg Tasmania)
- Residence in state or territory: ACT and WA require students to show that they are resident in the area before finalizing the state nomination
- Study in state or territory: NT will in general nominate students who have studied in the NT for a skilled regional sponsored visa
- Work Experience: SA requires applicants, with only few exceptions, to show that they have worked in skilled employment for at least 12 of the last 24 months

What is "Off List" Nomination?

Each state and territory has been allocated 500 places for "off list" nominations. This allows states and territories, at their discretion, to nominate applicants even if they do not have an occupation on the list published by the state or territory. Possibly the most significant factor in considering such off list nominations is situations where the applicant has a job offer in the state or territory.