As the only state to have issued a round of pre-invitations for state nomination this financial year, Canberra has attracted considerable attention from applicants overseas.

For those offshore looking to pursue Canberra state nomination

Step 1 Meet the federal requirements

There are three key points.

– English of 4 x 6 (or the PTE equivalent)

–An EOI score of 65 points (for Subclass 190 you reach 60 on your own; for Subclass 491 you reach 50 on your own)

– A relevant skills assessment for your nominated occupation

Step 2 Meet the Canberra state-nomination prerequisites

There are four key points.

Applying for Subclass 491 —

– Your nominated occupation is on the Canberra list and you hold a corresponding skills assessment

–One year of work experience in your nominated occupation

–English of 4 x 6 (or the PTE equivalent) — the same as the federal requirement, so meeting the federal requirement satisfies this one as well

– You must not hold any Australian visa other than a visitor visa

Applying for Subclass 190 —

– Your nominated occupation is on the Canberra list and you hold a corresponding skills assessment

–Three years of work experience in your nominated occupation

–English of 4 x 7 (or the PTE equivalent)

– You must not hold any Australian visa other than a visitor visa

Step 3 A Matrix score high enough to be invited

Steps 1 and 2 are hard requirements that the applicant must meet or work towards, whereas the score in Step 3 fluctuates。

A common disadvantage for offshore applicants is a relatively low score, and most people are drawn to Subclass 491 precisely because the score is comparatively within reach. For Canberra state nomination, an EOI score of 65 points guarantees an invitation, so it all comes down to the Matrix score。

Could the Matrix score suddenly “shoot up” as well?

No one can predict the future, but the historical data offers some clues.

We have picked out the Matrix invitation scores for 7 occupations popular with offshore applicants, from last financial year through to the first round of this financial year.

Advertising and Marketing Professionals

Graphic / Web Designers or Illustrators

Project or Contract Administrators

Financial Investment Advisers / Managers

Software and Applications Programmers

Conference and Event Organisers

University Lecturers and Tutors

Overall trend —

– The Subclass 491 invitation scores across all occupationsare relatively stable

– And stable at a relatively low level — in most cases 50-70 points is enough to be invited

– And after Canberra lowered its offshore prerequisites last April and a greater volume of applications flowed in, the scores still did not rise sharply

– For the offshore Subclass 190, the prerequisites are higher, so at times no one lodges and consequently no one is invited

Why the Canberra Subclass 491 Matrix score stays consistently low

– The state government issues Matrix invitations frequently, maintaining one to two rounds a month

–Each round issues a few hundred invitations, and the state government has confirmed that Subclass 491 is primarily intended for offshore applicants

–Offshore applicants are not placed in the same pool as onshore applicants(unlike NSW and Victoria)

– In terms of lodgement process and documentation, Canberra is the most complex state-nomination program, which to some extent affects how readily Matrix invitations are taken up

– After all, Canberra is not as widely renowned as NSW / Victoria / Queensland

So, if this financial year’s state-nomination allocation can hold at last year’s level, the Canberra offshore Subclass 491 Matrix invitation scores are unlikely to swing dramatically.

If you would like an assessment to find out whether you meet the Canberra state-nomination requirements and how you score on the Matrix, add our client adviser below:

This financial year’s state-nomination allocation

has yet to be announced, leaving everyone on tenterhooks.

That said, last financial year Canberra state nomination was the signal flare that the allocations had landed:

→ On 9 August 2022, applicants who had previously been notified of a formal Canberra nomination were able, through the system, to proceed to the next step of lodging their visa. The takeaway is that only once the state government has received its allocation can it link that formal nomination to the federal system, allowing applicants to move on to lodging their visa.

→ The next day the state government confirmed it had received its transitional allocation (last financial year, because the new government was set to adjust allocations in October, state-nomination places were first issued as a transitional version)

→ Only afterwards did the individual state governments confirm, one by one, that they had received their allocations.

Here’s hoping this year’s comes through soon too!

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Data speaks: Canberra’s Subclass 491 is one of the most stable offshore pathways! A look at popular offshore occupations — Marketing, Project Management, Financial Advisers, Event Organisers and more

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