SkillSelect Update April 2016

By Jing Qian Wednesday, 04 May 2016

Results for the most recent invitation round on 27 April 2016 have been published.

In this article, we analyse the insights to be gained from the April invitation rounds, and also highlight some of the changes we are expecting from 1 July 2016.

Other Engineering Professionals - Occupational Ceiling Reached

The ceiling has been reached for the Other Engineering Professionals occupational group (ANZSCO 4-digit group 2339). As a result, no further invitations will be issued in this occupation until 1 July 2016.

The most common engineering specialisations such as Civil Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers and Electronics Engineers are all still open.

Invitations Issued for Skilled Independent Subclass 189 Visas

The total number of invitations issued for Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa in April was 2200.

This is down from a high of 4,800 in January 2016 and 3,200 in February 2016 and is more in line with the number of invitations being issued from July to December 2015.

The minimum score required for applicants to receive a 189 invitation remains at 60 points for non-pro-rata occupations, and the waiting time is around 2 weeks. For pro-rata occupations, the minimum score required for a 189 invitation is currently as follows:

ANZSCO Group	Occupation	Points Required
2211	Accountants	70
2611	ICT Business and System Analysts	70
2613	Software and Applications Programmers	65

We expect invitation numbers for 189 to stay at around 2,200 until July, and as a result, no change in minimum points scores and possible increases in waiting times.

Invitations by Occupation

Acacia has done an analysis of the main occupations receiving SkillSelect invitations. The chart below shows that 5 occupational groups make up more than 50% of the invitations issued.

This high level of concentration is most likely a result of skills assessment settings. Accountants, Engineers and Registered Nurses in general require no work experience to pass skills assessment. Recent IT graduates can qualify for skills assessment on completion of either 1 year of work experience or a professional year.

SOL occupations assessed by VETASSESS and TRA require work experience in the occupation, and the requirements are far more difficult to determine in advance. Medical and allied health occupations in general require completion of an accredited Australian bachelor degree of 4 or more years' duration, or a complicated and expensive examination process for a positive skills assessment.

Changes Expected from 1 July 2016

We expect the following changes from 1 July 2016 will impact applicants for General Skilled Migration.

The Skilled Occupations List is currently under review. This would normally be changed and come into effect from 1 July 2016 and would affect applicants for Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visas, as well as Graduate Work Stream Subclass 485 applicants. At this stage, we do not expect any major changes, but you can view the list of "flagged" occupations which are being considered for change here: Department of Education and Training: Flagged Occupations on the SOL for 2015 - 2016

State and Territory governments will start releasing their new State Migration Plans from 1 July also. This would affect eligibility for state nomination. The most eagerly anticipated updates will be for South Australia, ACT and NSW, though WA might well make some changes as well.

Conclusion

Settings for the General Skilled Migration program are constantly changing, and it is important that you have a strategy to give yourself the best possible chance of success.

Our immigration advisors are expert in developing a personalised Immigration Roadmap for you which outlines your visa pathways, identifying the most favourable ones as well as backup strategies just in case of changes. If you would like advice on your situation, please book a consultation with one of our immigration advisors.

References

SkillSelect: Results of Invitation Round of 27 April 2016