SkillSelect and State Nomination Update - April 2017
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By Mark Webster
Friday, 07 April 2017
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More popular occupations filled or are almost full for the 2016-17 program year in the last SkillSelect invitation round.
There are also updates for South Australia and Western Australia state nomination criteria.
This article explains the most recent changes.
SkillSelect Update - March 2017
The results of the 29 March
SkillSelect round have been published.
The occupational group ICT Business and System Analysts is now full. Accountants and Software and Analyst Programmers are over 99% full, with most other pro-rata occupations likely to be filled by the end of April.
Once these occupations are full, no further invitations can be issued for the
Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa or
Skilled Regional (Provisional) Subclass 489 family sponsored stream until 1 July 2017 when the program re-opens.
This will most likely result in a backlog of EOIs in these occupations. Unless occupational ceilings are increased, we can expect minimum points or waiting times for invitations to increase when the program reopens.
New occupational ceilings are due to be published in July 2017, and will be important in understanding how many points will be required in pro rata occupations going forward.
| Occupation/Subclass | Points Required | Waiting Time | Invitations - 15 Mar | Running Total | Target | Places Remaining | % Filled |
| Accountants | 70 | 22 weeks | 196 | 2492 | 2500 | 8 | 99.7% |
| Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 70 | 13 weeks | 110 | 1375 | 1413 | 38 | 97.3% |
| ICT Business and System Analysts | 70 | Next round | 42 | 1482 | 1482 | 0 | 100.0% |
| Software and Applications Programmers | 65 | 3 weeks | 450 | 5648 | 5662 | 14 | 99.8% |
| Electronics Engineer | 60 | 15 weeks | 58 | 937 | 1000 | 63 | 93.7% |
| Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 65 | 19 weeks | 34 | 1501 | 1539 | 38 | 97.5% |
| Other Engineering Professionals | 65 | 12 weeks | 0 | 1018 | 1000 | 0 | 101.8% |
| Computer Network Professionals | 65 | 8 weeks | 0 | 1482 | 1426 | 0 | 103.9% |
State Nomination Update - South Australia
South Australia has announced that its high points scorer pathway will now requires 85 points, rather than 80 which was previously the case. The high points scorer pathway allows applicants to apply for SA state nomination if their occupation is on the Supplementary List or with "Special Conditions Apply" classification.
The high points scorer change will come into effect on
19 April 2017 - applications lodged prior to this date will not be affected, so please contact us if you would like assistance with applying prior to the cut-off date.
Certain occupations are no longer be eligible for the high points scorer or chain migration exemptions - this includes the following occupations:
- 221111 Accountant (General)
- 223111 Human Resource Adviser
- 225113 Marketing Specialist
- 225412 Sales Representative (Medical and Pharmaceutical Products)
- 242111 University Lecturer
- 242112 University Tutor
- 251511 Hospital Pharmacist
- 251513 Retail Pharmacist
This change came into effect on 5 April 2017. The chain migration exemption also allows applicants with relatives in South Australia to apply for SA state nomination in occupations which are on the Supplementary List or with "Special Conditions Apply" classification.
State Nomination Update - Western Australia
Western Australia suspended its state nomination program in March 2017 pending review of the WASMOL.
The WA program is now re-opened but is open only to certain medical practitioners and sonographers.
A revised list is due to be released in late May 2017.
Conclusion
The requirements for General Skilled Migration continue to change regularly. It is a good idea to have an immigration strategy which incorporates a number of pathways to allow flexibility when settings change.
It is also very important to get up-to-date advice so that you can take advantage of any opportunities which arise.
If you would like assistance with your application for skilled migration, please
book a consultation with one of our advisors. They will help you develop an
Immigration Roadmap which will allow you to successfully navigate the migration program and achieve your goal of Permanent Residence in Australia.
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