This Week’s Migration News

Migration Weekly

1. NSW 190 Invitations Out Again — Engineering/IT at Low Scores, Finance/Market/HR Continues at 75

2. Department Confirms: Expired Skills Assessment at Time of Invitation Can Be Renewed Within 60 Days

3. Queensland Reopens Priority Processing Window

4. Subclass 887 Grant Wave Reaches Applications Lodged in 2022

5. Weekly Grants, Invitations, Skills Assessments & Citizenship Processing Summary

1. NSW 190 Invitations Out Again — Engineering/IT at Low Scores, Finance/Market/HR Continues at 75

NSW 190 issued another round of invitations approximately 20 days after the previous round. Invitation numbers remain substantial. Accounting continues to sit high, with most requiring 100+5 points —however, multiple auditing applicants were invited at 85+5 points; several IT and engineering occupations received invitations at 80/85 points, with some invited even below 80 points.

Below is a summary of invitation outcomes from our clients.

Further internal data:

Building Inspector – 312113 65+5 pts DOE 30/1/2023

Electronics Engineer – 233411 80+5 pts DOE 11/06/2021

Additional external data for reference (EOI scores only):

internal auditor 75

ICT Support Engineer 100

ICT BA 85

Tele Engineer 85

Civil Engineer 80

Mining Engineer 85

Environment Engineer 85

Solicitor 80

Network Admin85

developer programmer 85

Research&development manager 85

QS 80

Nursing, Social Work, Secondary Teaching, Early Childhood EducationThese in-demand occupations continue to receive invitations from as low as 60/65 points.

Two key observations from this round of NSW 190:

① NSW’s preference for Marketing, Finance, HR, Design, and Copywriting occupations looks set to continue for the rest of this financial year.Financial Investment Advisers and Marketing Specialists have received invitations across multiple consecutive rounds, all at a bare score of 70 — an accessible opportunity for both onshore and offshore applicants. Lodging a NSW 190 EOI is well worth considering!

② This round also saw cases where applicants with higher scores, or earlier lodgement dates in the same occupation, were passed over for invitations.This is a recurring pattern with NSW — with fewer invitations than in the previous two rounds, the inconsistency is simply more visible. State nominations, including NSW’s, involve significant discretion on the part of the state government and a degree of opacity. They do not strictly rank by occupation, score, or work experience — a broader range of factors is considered. How exactly those factors are weighed is not publicly disclosed. Just because an occupation was invited this round does not guarantee it will be invited next round, and we have no insight into why it might not be.

For a more detailed analysis of this NSW 190 round, see:NSW 190 Invites Again! Finance/HR/Marketing Common Occupations at 75 Points! Multiple Auditing at Bare 85! Low-Score Invites for IT/Engineering?

NSW 190 remains one of the most accessible pathways this financial year — large quota, broad occupation coverage, and frequent invitation rounds. It may also be the state that invites the most offshore applicants. We recommend considering it once you have your skills assessment.

2. Department Confirms: Expired Skills Assessment at Time of Invitation Can Be Renewed Within 60 Days

The Department of Home Affairs website and the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) both confirmed this week:If your skills assessment has expired at the time you receive an invitation, but you can obtain a new valid assessment within the 60-day visa lodgement window, you may still lodge your visa application.

Firstly,this update primarily benefits Subclass 189 applicants.For state nominations — whether Subclass 190 or 491 — the overwhelming majority of state governments explicitly require a valid skills assessment at the time of lodgement. Furthermore, once a pre-invitation is issued, applicants typically have only 14 days to submit a complete application for formal nomination review, which must include a valid skills assessment.

Secondly, under the new policy, if you have an expired skills assessment you can still submit an EOI — provided you can obtain a new valid assessment within the 60-day window after receiving an invitation.

However, if you have no skills assessment at all, you still cannot lodge an EOI.Without a skills assessment, the EOI system cannot be completed. Some may consider fabricating information — but doing so constitutes providing false or misleading information. Case officers can view every amendment to your EOI, and if false or misleading information is subsequently confirmed, this is a serious offence

The essential first step for skilled migration to Australia remains obtaining a skills assessment. Currently,Skills assessment processing times:

① Accounting and auditing processing has partially recovered, especially at CA ANZ

② ACS remains relatively slow — chasing them is rarely effective unless your visa is about to expire

③ Engineers Australia offers a priority service with no quota cap — results generally within one month

④ VETASSESS priority slots are currently capped at 55 per day — many applicants miss out

Many applicants are currently awaiting their skills assessment. If you haven’t started yours yet, feel free to contact us to begin preparing.

3. Queensland Reopens Priority Processing Window

On Monday this week, Queensland again announced the opening of its priority processing application window. The eligible pool is broader than last time —both onshore and offshore applicants may apply,and applications may be submitted through a registered migration agent or directly by the applicant.However, this round again applies only to the skilled worker (local employment) stream.Applications must also be decision-ready — otherwise the priority application may not be accepted.

Although priority processing is unavailable for other streams, Queensland’s graduate pathway and small business 491 pathway will continue to be processed as normal.

The window for applying for priority processing in this round was 13 February to 12:00 pm on 17 February.Queensland skilled state nomination still holds substantial Subclass 190 and 491 quotas and is gradually gaining momentum — reform and increased activity could arrive in March.

4. Subclass 887 Grant Wave Reaches Applications Lodged in 2022

Subclass 887 continued to see large volumes of grants every day over the past week. Based on information from our clients and external data collected, here is a summary:

– Applications lodged in 2020, 2021, and even many from 2022 have already been granted

– These includemany single applicants, as well as applicants with partners and dependants.Generally, single applications are progressing more quickly, while those with partners or family members are also being progressively cleared.

–The majority received a direct grant; the only document requested was an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check.The AFP check is valid for one year. Whether it has expired or not, results are now delivered by email — so if you are waiting on your 887 and have not yet obtained your AFP check, now is a good time to act.

That said, some applicants who lodged in late 2020 and early 2021 have not yet received positive news.However, this 887 processing surge does not appear to be a one-off — the Department is clearly prioritising it, with an increasing number of case officers now involved.We hope everyone receives good news soon.

Other points-based skilled migration visas also saw numerous grants this week, with Subclass 190 leading the way — see the summary below.

5. Weekly Grants, Invitations, Skills Assessments & Citizenship Processing Summary

Recent Newstars grants and invitation summary: press and hold the link below to view — the page is continuously updated. Highly recommended to save and bookmark!

State Nomination Invitations / GTI Invitation Data

ACT State Nomination

None this week

VIC State Nomination

Formal Nomination

TAS State Nomination

10 Feb 2023 lodged 190 ROI, GREEN pass, 17 Feb 2023 invited to apply for Nomination, 70+5 pts (Accountant (General) – 221111)

6 Jan 2023 lodged 190 Nomination application, 16 Feb 2023 EOI invited, 75+5 pts (Accountant (General) – 221111)

NSW State Nomination

See above for the full pre-invitation summary

 

SA State Nomination

31 Jan 2023 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 invited, onshore accountant

QLD State Nomination

None this week

WA State Nomination

See above for pre-invitations

NT State Nomination

None this week

Business/Investment Migration Invitations

Lodged:10/02/2023    Invited: 13/02/2023, onshore,888C VIC State Nomination    

This Week’s Grants Progress and Analysis

Subclass 189 Skilled Independent

09 Sep 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted (onshore)

21 Oct 2022 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted, 65 pts, Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher – 241111 (onshore lodgement, onshore grant)

24 Oct 2022 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted, 85 pts, Secondary School Teacher – 241411 (onshore lodgement, onshore grant)

26 Oct 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted, 70 pts, Secondary School Teacher – 241411 (onshore lodgement, onshore grant)

25 Sep 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted, 80 pts, Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher – 241111 (onshore lodgement, onshore grant)

Subclass 190 State-Nominated Skilled Migration

26 Jan 2023 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted (Secondary School Teacher, onshore)

08 Jun 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted (Engineering Technologist, onshore)

07 Jun 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted (External Auditor, onshore)

10 Jun 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted (Actuary, onshore)

10 Dec 2021 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted (Graphic Designer, onshore)

7 Jun 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted (onshore lodgement, onshore grant, with spouse)

11 Feb 2022 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 granted

17 Feb 2022 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 granted

12 Aug 2021 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted, occupation: Architect, onshore

24 Jan 2022 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 granted, onshore Community Worker

1 Jun 2022 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted, 190 External Auditor onshore

31 May 2022 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted, 190 Graphic Designer onshore

3 Jun 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted, 190 Computer Network and Systems Engineer onshore

12 Oct 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted, 190 onshore

10 Dec 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted, 190 Rehabilitation Counsellor onshore

Subclass 491 (New Regional) / Subclass 489 (Legacy Regional) Nomination

9 Nov 2021 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted (onshore lodgement, onshore grant)

17 Nov 2021 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted, 491 onshore

17 Nov 2021 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted, 491 Journalists and Other Writers nec onshore

Subclass 887 Regional Permanent Residence Visa (Selected)

18 May 2021 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted

2 Aug 2021 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted

8 Jul 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted

14 Oct 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted

6 Dec 2021 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 granted

3 Aug 2021 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted, onshore

22 Feb 2022 lodged, 17 Feb 2023 granted, onshore

31 May 2021 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted, onshore

Employer Sponsorship 

None this week

Business/Investment Migration / GTI

None this week

Subclass 600 Visitor Visa

2022Year12Month20Lodged,2023Year02Month14Granted (offshore)

2023Year01Month19Lodged,2023Year02Month14Granted (onshore)

2023Year01Month27Lodged,2023Year02Month15Granted (onshore)

20 Jan 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted

23 Jan 2023 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted

2 Feb 2023 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted

18 Jan 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted, offshore

Subclass 500 Student Visa

2023Year02Month02Lodged,2023Year02Month14Granted (onshore)

2023Year02Month03Lodged,2023Year02Month16Granted (onshore)

1 Feb 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted

Subclass 485 Graduate Work Visa

2022Year07Month29Lodged,2023Year02Month13Granted (onshore)

16 Mar 2022 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted

17 Nov 2022 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted

6 Feb 2023 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted

10 Aug 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted (second visa)

16 Jun 2022 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 granted, offshore

14 Dec 2022 lodged, 16 Feb 2023 granted, offshore

Partner Migration

2022Year10Month04Lodged820/801, 2023Year02Month16Granted820

1 Jul 2022 lodged 820, 15 Feb 2023 granted

25 Apr 2020 lodged 801, 27 Feb 2021 820 granted, 16 Feb 2023 801 granted

4 Feb 2022 lodged 820/801, 16 Feb 2023 granted

Parent Migration / Visa

2022Year11Month07Lodged 870,2023Year02Month14Granted

10 Nov 2022 lodged 870, 15 Feb 2023 granted

23 Nov 2016 lodged 143, 12 Sep 2022 received request for further documents and AOS email, 14 Feb 2023 received Contributory fee payment invoice, 16 Feb 2023 granted

Subclass 408 Visa

2022Year02Month10Lodged,2023Year02Month14Granted

2022Year02Month08Lodged,2023Year02Month15Granted

8 Feb 2023 lodged, 15 Feb 2023 granted

9 Feb 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted

Subclass 155 Visa

14 Feb 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 granted

Citizenship Applications

None this week

This Week’s Skills Assessment Processing Progress

CPA Australia (Accounting)

None this week

CA ANZ (Accounting)

None this week

ACS (IT)

22 Nov 2022 lodged, 13 Feb 2023 completed

Engineers Australia (Engineering)

None this week

VETASSESS

VETASSESS Assessment     Marketing Specialist    Lodged: 31/01/2023   Result: 11/02/2023

VETASSESS Assessment    Insurance Agent   Lodged:04/10/2022   Result: 13/02/2023

VETASSESS Assessment    Marketing Specialist      Lodged: 19/01/2023, Result: 11/02/2013

ANMAC Assessment — Nursing

2023Year01Month12Lodged,2023Year02Month09Completed

13 Jan 2023 lodged, 14 Feb 2023 received result

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NSW 190 Invites Again! Finance/HR/Marketing at 75 Points!

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