Tough Times for SkillSelect

A tiny number of invitations

A tiny 100 invitations were issued in the April 2020 round, dropping to just 50 applications each for the Subclass 189 Skilled Independent and Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Family Sponsored) visa.

The minimum points score rose to 95 points for each subclass type, which is not surprising based on the very small number of invitations issued.

Pro-rata occupations:

Due to high levels of demand, certain occupations are issued invitations on a pro-rata basis. Places are first allocated to 189 EOIs, with remaining places issued to the 491 Family Sponsored EOIs.

The scores for the 11 April 2020 round pro-rata occupations were as follows:

Occupation ID Description Minimum Points Score Latest date of EOI
2211 Accountants 100 (SC189) 25/03/2020 8:33pm
2212 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers 95 (SC189) 16/01/2020 6:41pm
2334 Electronics Engineer 95 (SC189) 20/03/2020 8:36pm
2334 Electronics Engineer 95 (SC491) 18/03/2020 9:45pm
2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers 95 (SC189) 18/03/2020 10:04pm
2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers 105 (SC491) 19/11/2019 7:50pm
2339 Other Engineering Professionals 95 (SC189) 23/03/2020 12:45am
2339 Other Engineering Professionals 105 (SC491) 11/12/2019 5:17pm
2611 ICT Business and System Analysts 95 (SC189) 13/03/2020 4:10am
2611 ICT Business and System Analysts 105 (SC491) 02/04/2020 3:20pm
2613 Software and Applications Programmers 95 (SC189) 24/03/2020 3:15pm
2613 Software and Applications Programmers 95 (SC491) 10/04/2020 7:12pm
2631 Computer Network Professionals 95 (SC189) 21/03/2020 10:25am

Who received invitations in April?

The only occupation to receive invites in the double-digits were Software and Application Programmers on 18. Civil Engineering Professionals were next on 9, and then Accountants with a total of 8.

Life Scientists received 5 invitations this round, while Internal Medical Practitioners have finally made it to 5 invitations total since July 2019.

Our Advice

As per our earlier blog about the State Migration programs, there is still some availability for Subclass 190 and 491 State Nominated visas. We suggest that serious consideration is given to migrating to regional areas of Australia, and checking State or Territory requirements directly before you start the application process.

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