Starting today and over the next four days, the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) will bring together the various state governments to brief us on the latest situation with state nomination across the states.

On day one, 28 March, the states invited were Queensland and Canberra (ACT)

Queensland— the “reform and open the floodgates” talk has been trailed for over a month now, but the state government is still tight-lipped about it, so our guess is…

Canberra (ACT) — reform of the ACT state nomination is coming soon, including expanding the occupation list and lowering the application threshold.

Canberra ACT

Lowering the application threshold

Adding more occupations

Coming soon!

The state nomination program manager made it clear that Canberra will soon ease its basic eligibility requirements, including language requirements and so on, and will also add occupations to the occupation list. The Matrix bonus-point items won’t change much. The state official made clear this will happen soon, because it will be within this financial year. Once finalised, it will be published on the official website as soon as possible, so keep a close eye on the ACT state nomination government website.

When it comes to eligibility requirements — beyond language and work — many people are concerned about whether you must still be based in Canberra to apply. In the Q&A session, someone also asked whether local residence requirements will be relaxed next financial year?The state official, by way of comparison, said he could not comment on the next financial year, but the gist of his remarks was that the state government is not discussing directly inviting applicants from other states — Canberra still places a great deal of weight on local commitment.

Invitation trends for the rest of this financial year

–The Matrix invitation cut-off score is expected to keep dropping

— there are now quite a few Matrix scores below 65 because there are no applicants to select for that occupation, or it is an occupation in short supply.

Our editor looked at the latest Matrix invitation round of 15 March, and a large number of offshore 491 applicants were invited with a Matrix score below 65.You could say that for offshore Canberra 491 applications, you get an invitation simply by submitting — for example:

Finance Managers 60 points

Café and Restaurant Managers 60 points

Conference and Event Organisers 50 points

Financial Investment Advisers and Managers 50 points

Other information and organisation professionals 55 points

Most engineering occupations are below 65 points

Most computing occupations are below 65 points

At present, Canberra’s offshore 491 requires three years of work experience related to the nominated occupation, and this threshold may well be lowered soon! But three years of work experience is a threshold within reach for many offshore applicants. The state official also made clear that they will step up invitations to offshore applicants in the period ahead.

But remember, your EOI score still has to meet 65 points — for 491 applicants, that means scoring at least 50 points on your own.

As at 25 March 2023, 1,241 491 nominations and 975 190 nominations had been issued

— the number of nominations approved each month is expected to rise from 230 in the second half of 2022 to 600 a month by May. The refusal rate is 17%, or 12% where an agent lodges the application. Nomination processing time after a Matrix invitation is currently about 10 working days.

So you see — there are plenty of opportunities! As for when the new requirements will be announced, based on our many years of dealing with the ACT state government, once the authorities have said it out loud, it’s certainly coming soon.

Get in touch with us quickly for an early assessment!

Queensland’s promised “floodgates”

where are you?

Quota usage

— as at now, 2,500 nominations have been issued, that is 491 + 190 quota combined, and the usage rate at the end of March is 50%. At the end of February it was under 40%, so they have made an effort.

— of the quota issued, 60% went to the 190, so 1,200 remain; 40% to the 491, so 1,200 remain

— 491 SBO accounts for 10% of the total quota; local graduates account for 10% of the total quota, which means most of the quota has gone to local workers’ pathways. This is also the pathway the state government has been encouraging as a processing priority these past couple of months.

— 80% of nominations go to onshore applicants and only 20% offshore. During the briefing, the state official made a point of mentioning that Queensland has a great many interstate migrants — read into that what you will.

Queensland’s Top 10 skilled migration occupations

–Software engineers, ICT BAs, civil/mechanical engineers, QS, programmers, cooks/chefs, restaurant/café managers

–Accounting is also in the Top 10 occupations, but most go through the SBO pathway

Queensland’s “regional areas” are very appealing

The state official made a point of noting that, compared with other states, Queensland’s regional areas are “not really regional”, including the Gold Coast and parts of Brisbane (a 30-minute drive from the city centre, with convenient public transport)

A few reminders: if you have already been invited through another channel, please proactively notify the state government so you don’t waste a quota place.

By the way, from 3 April to 10 April, Queensland will once again open applications for priority processing — still limited to the local workers’ pathway, so please take note: it must be a decision-ready case, with all documents fully prepared.

If you have a job in the local area related to your nominated occupation, Queensland still has a place reserved for you! If you need help, please add the customer service contact below.

Business and investor migration

— a total of 235 nominations this financial year, all now issued. Some applications cannot proceed for lack of quota.

–84% are 188A

— most applicants come from Asia, and the proportion of Chinese applicants this financial year has risen from 33% to 38%

— the investment industry type with the highest proportion has shifted from export to retail, with retail accounting for 31% this financial year

Queensland is a major player in business and investor migration, so the migration reforms ahead — and the recent talk of abolishing business and investor migration — will naturally affect the direction of Queensland’s entire state nomination program down the track:

The state government said they believe business and investor migration has value.

For example, this year, even though only 235 nominations were issued due to quota limits, they have already generated $448M for Queensland and provided 457 full-time and 193 part-time jobs.

They have also lodged a submission arguing that business and investor migration should not be abolished.

The briefings continue tomorrow, with the Victorian and Tasmanian state governments! We will keep bringing you the latest news, so stay tuned to our official account or our customer service WeChat Moments!

More from our archive

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ACT to lower application requirements and broaden the occupation list — soon! Queensland’s quota is already 50% used: can we still expect the “great reform floodgates” this financial year?

Australian migration fully recovers, with net overseas migration hitting a record high

Those who hurried to lodge late last year are seeing their PR journeys “bear fruit” step by step

Offshore engineering / advertising / design / finance and more are getting fast-tracked invitations — this NSW pathway has suddenly taken off!

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