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Major changes to Victoria’s Subclass 190 allocation this financial year
Victoria has announced its Subclass 190 allocation for this financial year, with a dramatic fall from 2,700 last year to just 900 this year! That’s a cut of two-thirds! (Lead image)
Victoria also opened its ROI application portal today. The state is fully implementing the VPT points system this year, and all ROIs submitted in previous years are now invalid and must be resubmitted. The portal is open, so anyone planning to apply can submit a new ROI! However, the new system still does not actually tell you your VPT score when you submit.
Let me reiterate that Victoria is using a two-track system this financial year.
Priority occupations: health, social assistance, education and construction applicants will be selected by VPT score within their respective sectors and specialisations.
Applicants in other fields will enter a single general pool and compete on their VPT scores.
I previously surveyed your scores. Based on the information collected so far and the sharp reduction in Subclass 190 places this year, competition for non-priority occupations is likely to be extremely intense. A score of 700 or more may be needed to have an advantage.
For priority occupations, some applicants who were previously in the pool may already have received Subclass 189 invitations. Early childhood teachers also face an additional prerequisite of one year’s work experience. I therefore expect applicants with 600 points or more to retain a relatively strong chance of an invitation. However, we will need to wait for a few Victorian invitation rounds to see how this plays out. Victoria mentioned at an earlier information session that the first round would take place next month.
Western Australia state nomination update: a small allocation adjustment and a new defence industry stream
Media reports in Western Australia last week also mentioned that the state had secured a total of 4,700 state nomination places, including a separate allocation of 1,500 places for the new defence industry stream (Figures 3–4).
The remaining 3,200 places in the regular allocation will mainly target priority sectors such as construction and health. Compared with last year’s regular allocation of 3,400, this is a small reduction of 200 places.
WA has not yet published the detailed allocation on its website, but alongside its existing general stream and graduate stream, it has now launched
a defence industry stream. I have not yet seen the detailed rules, particularly the occupations covered and the requirements. If this stream issues invitations to applicants in fields such as engineering without too many prerequisites, WA’s allocation will effectively have increased. If the requirements are so extensive that most people cannot access it, that would effectively amount to a cut (Figure 2).
Other states at a glance: the NT’s allocation rises, while other states’ policies are yet to be announced
It is already late October. Among the states and territories, the NT, which was the first to announce its allocation, reported a total of 1,850 places, up by 200 from 1,650 in the previous financial year. Its Subclass 190 allocation is unchanged, while its Subclass 491 allocation has increased to 1,000.
Yet Victoria has announced such a severe cut to its Subclass 190 allocation, while its Subclass 491 allocation has not even been announced—is it still negotiating with the federal government? The overall environment looks likely to remain very tight this year. I expect the situation in other states, particularly New South Wales, will also be far from encouraging.
Whatever happens, let’s keep hoping the states and territories will bring us some good news in their upcoming announcements!
