VIC over-issuing invitations? NSW 491 nearly exhausted too! By the end of May, state nomination had issued 57,000+ places! Which states could still run another round?
Today the Department of Home Affairs published, on its official website, the 22-23 financial year results up to the actual usage of each state’s nomination quota at the end of May 2023. By this stage, state nomination has entered its final wind-down phase, so we are taking this opportunity to give everyonea recap of how each state’s nomination programme has fared this financial year.
Looking at usage rates——– Already wound down or in the final nomination-processing stage: NSW 190 and 491, VIC 190 and 491, SA 190 and 491 – May still have a little capacity left to issue invitations: ACT 190 and 491, NT 491, QLD 190 and 491, TAS 190 and 491, WA 190 and 491 – The most formal nominations (not pre-invitations) issued in the single month of May went to VIC 190, WA 190 and NSW 491 –QLD has the lowest usage rate for both 190 and 491, and we haven’t seen many formal nominations issued recently — it will most likely waste at least a few hundred places
Looking at the outcomes, aside from QLD, most states are unlikely to waste their quota. But in the early and middle parts of the year, different states faced different problems — it was their proactive, problem-solving attitude that led to quotas not going to waste at the end of the financial year. Let’s now recap and take stock ofhow committed each state has been this financial year NSW — Stung into actionCommitment: four stars Trajectory: NSW started the year on a very high horse — the second-largest 190 quota and the largest 491 quota, but with very high thresholds. For the first half of the year there were few takers, until it was jolted awake by 189 late last year.190 quickly dropped most of its thresholds and then issued invitations round after round, using up the quota almost entirely. 491 woke up later and only really gathered pace in March.So NSW used up both 190 and 491 in roughly half a financial year — once again demonstrating the strength and pulling power of Australia’s largest state. Credit also to NSW for its processing execution — invitations are no good unless they can also be processed in time. NSW had a genuinely strong second half. Invitations: –Accounting still needs 100 points or more; you might consider going through auditing at around 90+5; Engineering was generally 85-95, IT was generally 90-100. Overall the points competition in NSW is fairly fierce; very low scores are basically impossible — well, it is NSW after all–Plenty of opportunities for offshore applicants — 190 offshore applicants with long work experience but low points were favoured; and 491 was practically “reserved” for offshore applicants –Marketing, finance, management, organisation, project and graphic design, etc. — these once unpopular fields became the hot picks in NSW this year, with low points and frequent invitations Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Steady, much the same as this financial yearVIC — Nothing scarier than a top student working even harder than youCommitment: five stars Trajectory: As soon as the quotas were announced, VIC had the largest 190 allocation. From the start of the year until now, ROI invitations have been issued and processed frequently and regularly.The only wobble was in March/April this year, when a fast-track stream for priority occupations was suddenly added, which disrupted invitations and processing for regular occupations — but it soon got back on track.VIC’s commitment also showed in how it adjusted quotas during the year: it even moved 491 quota over to 190 — already the largest at 10,000+, jumping straight to 12,900. There really is nothing scarier than a top student working even harder. That is what produced another mini-surge of invitations from VIC at the end of the year. Invitations: – Social work, healthcare, teaching and nursing — 190 is basically handed to them –Accounting still needs around 90 points, Engineering is generally 80-90, and IT is generally 85 — the points competition isn’t as fierce as in NSW–Most occupations have slightly lower points than NSW, and most invitations went to 190, but there weren’t as many invitations for offshore applicants as in NSW. 491 struggled for a while, and later it was pretty much pot luck. Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Steady, much the same as this financial year
WA — When being the dark horse becomes the normCommitment: four stars Trajectory: WA was the first to announce its state nomination policy early, then lowered thresholds and added occupations later when it saw how fierce competition was. With a quota second only to NSW/VIC, it was long seen as a dark horse.The problem WA hit during the year was that processing couldn’t keep up with the thousands of invitations issued each month; processing speed gradually improved over the final few months, and the new financial year should be better. Invitations–491 and 190 points were very low across all occupations — a base score as low as 60-70 could secure 190, including hot fields like Accounting/Computing/Engineering, – Hardly any invitations for the usual offshore occupations; WA also insisted that applicants who didn’t graduate in the state relocate to WA before it would issue an invitation Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Requesting 10,000 places; invitations should be even better and processing faster. The key thing to watch is whether it will “compromise” on the 190 job-offer and relocate-before-invitation requirements. ACT — Bowing to realityCommitment: three stars Trajectory: Over the past few financial years ACT has been all about steady, solid progress — ample quota and diligent processing.But the first problem it hit this year was that the original 190 quota wasn’t enough; once it got the top-up it wanted, NSW and 189 both surged at the same time, and then it found it couldn’t use up the quota after all. The Matrix score was cut again and again, yet take-up stayed slow.So even the ever-steady ACT had to tweak its pre-application requirements and occupation lists: in the final quarter of the year it lowered the application thresholds for offshore applicants and made small adjustments to the requirements for onshore applicants. Invitations: – Matrix scores for most onshore occupations dropped a lot; apart from Accounting and IT, 60-80 points could get an invitation. IT also came down into a 70-90 range that many people can reach. Accounting is a bit harder — you might consider the small-business stream – After lowering the requirements, it still attracted many offshore applicants hunting for a bargain — especially for 491, where Matrix scores were even lower, with most occupations sitting at 50-60 points Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Steady; the points needed for an invitation should remain on the low side
QLD — All thunder, no rainCommitment: one star Trajectory: QLD has been lukewarm and lazy for several financial years. This year, with business and investor migration winding down early and the prompting of other states, it hinted in early 2023 that it wanted to lower its requirements, but we waited and waited and it never happened — it only opened a priority processing stream a few times, all aimed at the onshore work stream. Its final usage rate was the only one lagging behind. Invitations– Not much to analyse — most invitations went to STEM occupations in the onshore work stream, and Accounting opted for the small-business 491 Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Still no reform — what on earth is it waiting for?
TAS — Better late than neverCommitment: three stars Trajectory: TAS began brewing its new state nomination policy back at the end of last financial year, but it took half a financial year for the whole system to actually get up and running.Fortunately, in the second half invitations became regular and the bar was gradually relaxed, so onshore applicants who had waited a long time finally got what they wantedInvitations: – Points aren’t high, around 60-85. But onshore TAS isn’t really about points, and there’s little difference between occupations — it comes down to local work, income and various other attributes – Hardly any opportunities for offshore applicants Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Largely steady, with mostly minor adjustments SA — Quietly getting on with itCommitment: three stars Trajectory: It went through a period when the quota wasn’t enough, especially for 491. Every time the data came out, that’s when everyone realised SA had issued so many. Fortunately it got a top-up later in the year, and both 190 and 491 just about lasted to the end of the financial year Invitations: –Issued plenty of 491 to offshore applicants, with points that weren’t high — a great hidden pathway –Onshore isn’t really about points, with pathways such as long-term residence and high-achieving graduates; invitations are steady too, and having local SA work is still a real advantage Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: The policy could be simplified a little further NT — Small quota, but still giving it everythingCommitment: three stars Trajectory: NT has just 2,000 places in total across 190 and 491, but a small quota doesn’t mean it stopped caring. MINT remained very stable, though in May it suddenly raised its investment requirements, which caught people off guard. More surprisingly, in the second half of the year it also proactively widened the options for offshore applicants, working to use up its 1,400 491 places. The result of that effort was that by the end of May it had used 80%, so not much will go to waste. Invitations: – MINT stayed steady — not points-driven; 65 points is enough to get 190 – Besides MINT, 190 also went to local graduates, and a lot of 491 was issued to offshore applicants too, all at low points Our (unreliable) forecast for the new financial year: Both the quota and the policy should stay steady
State-nominated skilled migration in the 22-23 financial year had 62,416 places, , and by the end of May 92.6% had already been issued, that is, 57,777 places!So this has genuinely been a golden year for state nomination. Based on the grant quotas and what several state governments have hinted, the new 23-24 financial year will stay largely steady — so there is plenty to look forward to after 1 July!
Anyone wanting to get their skills assessment and application plan ready quickly can contact our consultants below and we’ll arrange it for you
Finally, here is the open/close timetable for each state nomination stream across the old and new financial years:
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