South Australia State Nomination: 30 Q&As | Can a High EOI Score Get Accountants 190? Do IT Grads Have Better Local Job Chances? Are Interstate Engineering Graduates Invited? What’s the Best Pathway for Nursing/Social Work?

South Australia’s current nursing policy is very favourable

–3+ months of full-time nursing work gives a chance at Subclass 190;

–An IELTS score of four 8s can waive the work experience requirement, but 491 only. 

–Care worker & support worker roles count as relevant work.

–High-achieving graduates can waive the work experience requirement to apply for 491/190 (GPA 5-5.99, 491 only; GPA 6 and above, 190/491)

But if you’re already in Victoria, we’d still recommend continuing to pursue state nomination in that state — just note that Victoria’s nursing category still has no NEC category.

How long do you need to have lived in South Australia for the Talent and Innovation stream?

It splits into two categories:

Employment stream: no residency requirement, but you need a South Australia work contract, or your employer’s head office must be planning to relocate to or set up a branch or office in South Australia. There are exemptions for personal income and company turnover under certain conditions.

Independent Talent stream: there is a residency requirement, but no specific length is set (based on the documents you’ll need for state nomination — lease agreement, South Australian bank account, bills, etc. — at least 3 months is a safer bet).

Is the Talent and Innovation stream new this financial year, or did the stream already exist last financial year?

It has been in place since 8 February last financial year, and there were already several successful Subclass 491 invitation cases by the end of last financial year.

For the South Australia graduate ‘high performing’ pathway, is ranking based on GPA, or EOI, or is it more important what’s written in the two-page skill summary statement about your contribution to South Australia?

It’s ranked by GPA score — for most fields no work experience is required: a GPA of 6 or above gives a chance at 190, while 5-5.99 only qualifies for 491. (If you have both work experience and a high GPA, your application will certainly be more competitive.)

It isn’t ranked by EOI score, but the statement needs to demonstrate an outstanding contribution to South Australia, particularly to its nine priority growth areas (for example, tourism, international education, high-tech, food and wine, defence, creative industries, etc., including supply-chain services for these industries).

How long does the programme need to be to qualify as a South Australia graduate? Is 46 weeks enough?

Yes — completing a CRICOS-registered programme of 46 weeks or more (one year) is enough to qualify as a South Australia graduate.

Does the 35 hours a week required for Subclass 190 have to come from a single job? For example, can a nurse combine two jobs to reach 35 hours a week for 190? And how long do you need to work 35 hours a week before you qualify for 190?

Yes, two jobs can be combined to reach 35 hours. Last financial year, South Australia nursing graduates in full-time work generally had a chance at 190 after 3+ months.

Do South Australia graduates have to graduate within 2 years?

There’s no such requirement for South Australia graduates; high-achieving South Australia graduates need to apply within two years of graduating.

 What does it mean when the state government says you can only be invited for one of 491 or 190? If I’m invited for 491 but decline it, does that mean I can’t submit a state nomination application again?

It’s one nomination per financial year. If it doesn’t work out this financial year, you can submit again next financial year.

If continuous residency is broken for a year in the middle, does it no longer count? Can it be accumulated?

The South Australian government has no specific rule on this, so it’s worth trying. We can also email the state government to ask how this is applied in practice.

For accounting, would a South Australia high-achieving graduate with a GPA of 6.1, or the Independent Talent stream with an EOI score of 100, likely be given priority?

At the moment it looks like Independent Talent with an EOI score of 100 is given priority. The accounting high-achieving graduate pathway is temporarily closed.

If a South Australia nursing graduate’s GPA doesn’t reach 6, does that mean they can only go for 491, with no work experience required either?

Based on the state government’s policy interpretation:

GPA 5-5.99 with no work experience, 491 only;

GPA 6 and above, no work experience, a chance at 190 or 491;

3+ months of full-time nursing work, a chance at 190.

Last financial year we had a successful 190 invitation case for a high-achieving nursing graduate with just 1 month of full-time work.

Does completing a one-year Diploma also count as a South Australia graduate?

Yes, it does.

What are the requirements for engineering applicants applying for 190, and do graduates from other states have a chance?

Based on last financial year’s case experience, graduates from other states who complete a year or more of relevant full-time work in South Australia have a chance at 190.

Does accounting have a chance of being invited under the Talent and Innovation stream?

There were 491 invitations last financial year.

If a graduate from another state finds IT work in South Australia, how should they plan their pathway? What are the requirements?

Generally speaking, 24 months of work in Greater Adelaide (12 months in a regional area) gives a chance at 190;

12 months of work in Greater Adelaide (6 months in a regional area) gives a chance at 491;

In addition, South Australian residency plus a high EOI score (80-95) means you could try the innovative Independent Talent stream;

If your IT contract shows an annual salary of $80,000 (exemptions apply for regional areas or start-ups) and your employer has a turnover of AUD 4 million (exemptions apply for regional or newly established businesses), you could try the innovative Employment stream. 

Can self-employed applicants pursue the High Performing pathway within the Talent and Innovation project? 

Under the general state nomination policy, self-employed applicants can apply through the small business stream — we already have quite a few successful cases.

For a property valuer graduate, is South Australia 190 an option? How does it compare to the 482+186 employer-sponsored pathway?

Last year we had a graduate in this field from another state who, after a year of relevant work in South Australia, successfully received a 190 invitation.

My bachelor’s degree was in engineering, from a university in China. My master’s was in finance and accounting. If I apply for 190 through engineering, would I still count as a South Australia graduate?

If your master’s was completed in South Australia, you’d still count as a South Australia graduate even applying through engineering, and would enjoy the South Australia graduate benefits. However, because the two fields aren’t in the same area, you wouldn’t qualify for the South Australia high-achieving graduate pathway.

Can a Residential Leasing Consultant apply for South Australia state nomination?

If the job content and duties match those of a real estate agent, there’s a chance of applying for South Australia state nomination, but currently this occupation only has 491 available.

Is there a migration pathway for a pharmacy technician? I’m not a South Australia graduate, but I have relevant work experience overseas, and I’m currently doing relevant work at a hospital — coming up to 6 months, but not full-time.

Pharmacy Technician is on South Australia’s occupation list — 12 months of work gives a chance at 190, and 6 months of work gives a chance at 491.