Victoria (VIC)

Invitations do not consider EOI scores

Offshore invitations make up 30%

This financial year Victoria has been the biggest player in state nomination, overtaking NSW in both the number of places and the way its nomination policy is designed. Victoria has been generous from the very start of the financial year right through to now, having just last week issued ROI invitations, opened a fast track and relaxed the 491 pathway(for details, see: Latest Victorian ROI invitations: multiple accountants invited, lowest base score 85! Auditors, construction and overseas finance all land! Priority pathway opened, 491 threshold sharply lowered!)

The figures the state officials provided are still as at the end of February: 6,500 of the 190 and 1,500 of the 491 had been issued, with a 56% take-up rate for the 190 and 44% for the 491 — which can fairly be called plentiful.

Processing of Victorian nominations has slowed recently, and they said they are also working hard to recruit and train new staff.

How applicants are selected

The state officials stated clearly that they do not refer to EOI scores, nor do they rank applicants by EOI score.

Instead, they mainly assess applicants through the ROI application (Victoria’s submission system)

whether they have work in Victoria, work experience and income (for onshore applicants)

the applicant’s age and English level

whether there is a skilled partner (the partner’s language and skills assessment)

and so on

It is simply that applicants with stronger results on the above criteria usually have higher EOI scores, which is what creates the impression that “the state government is selecting high-scoring applicants.”And because Victoria looks mainly at the criteria rather than the score, you often see applicants in the same occupation invited at 90 points and others invited at 80 points.

Things in the EOI such as the NAATI 5-point bonus carry little weight in the state government’s selection, and no mention was made of the submission time having any effect.

Onshore applicants:

Work-related criteria still carry more weight, such as salary and employment, since the ultimate purpose of state-nominated skilled migration is to match the labour market. But note as well that the various criteria are assessed together — if income is high but the applicant is older with weaker language, they are still not considered competitive.

Offshore applicants:

The same as onshore: age, language level, work experience, and the partner’s language and skills assessment (whether they are a skilled partner).

The difference is that, because offshore applicants cannot enter their Victorian income in the ROI, income level is not one of the selection criteria.

Items in the EOI such as the NAATI community-language bonus carry no significance for the state government.

Last week Victoria announced that all applicants across the whole of Victoria, including Melbourne, can apply for the 491, and removed the requirement to be working in a regional Victorian role related to the nominated occupation.This time the state officials said that, even after relaxing the requirements, applicants already living in regional Victoria will still be given priority when applying for the 491.

Victoria issues 30% of invitations to offshore applicants

491 – the offshore pathway still prioritises healthcare and teaching occupations, but other occupations are accepted too

190 – the offshore pathway has no priority occupations either; all occupations can apply, and quite a few were invited in the previous rounds

Upcoming ROI invitations

The next round of invitations will come in the coming days, and they believe invitations can continue at least until May.

As the quota grows, more applicants can be nominated, and the Victorian team has also added more staff

They are working hard to train new staff, and processing speed will pick up going forward

Victoria is also a major destination for business and investor migration, but the state officials said at the outset that the state government has no further internal news either, and is waiting just as eagerly as everyone else for the reform outcomes to be announced.

That covers the main news on Victorian state nomination

Below is a summary of Victoria’s March ROI invitations

If you need advice on or wish to lodge a Victorian state nomination

feel free to contact the consultant below

Tasmania (TAS)

Plenty of places

Smooth processing

Hoping for more places