Part 1: By end of May, 90%+ of state-nomination quotas used — who is still issuing?
Part 2: Final Subclass 189 round issues 7,000+! Points-based system tops 124,000!
Part 3: Tasmania going all-out on invitations and processing; NSW closes RDA stream to new applications
Part 4: From 1 July, blood tests replace urine tests in health checks; is visitor-visa processing for PR parents tightening?
Part 5: Weekly round-up of grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing
Part 1: By end of May, 90%+ of state-nomination quotas used — who is still issuing?This week the Department of Home Affairs released state-nomination quota usage to the end of May, with most states having used 85–90% or more:NSW:Subclass 190 has certainly used its entire quota,and Subclass 491 is also nearing the end, issuing 2,121 in a single month — a real push that scooped up plenty of offshore applicants.Victoria: issued some pre-invitations in May and early June, with actual usage reaching 99%. Based on the current pre-invitation trend,Victoria may exceed its quota; if you have received an ROI invitation but the quota is full, you may be able to use the new financial year’s quota.Canberra (ACT):both Subclass 190 and 491 are around 85%,and in this final month it is still issuing pre-invitations and approving formal nominations. Subclass 491 in particular is an opportunity for lower-scoring offshore applicants, with almost all occupations eligible.Tasmania:both Subclass 190 and 491 are at 90%,and this week it is doing everything it can to issue pre-invitations and process applications as quickly as possible.Western Australia: both Subclass 491 and 190 still have room. It usually issues pre-invitations at the start of each month, but June’s have not yet appeared. For more on the state-nomination picture and our analysis of this financial year, see:Is Victoria over-issuing invitations? NSW 491 almost exhausted too! By end of May, states have issued 57,000+ nomination places! Which states still have another round to come? State-nomination quotas for the new financial year, opening soon, will largely be maintained, with most states keeping policies stable and only minor tweaks. Get ready now so you can lodge as soon as it opens on 1 July — add our consultant below: Part 2: Final Subclass 189 round issues 7,000+! Points-based system tops 124,000!There is also an update on the final May round of Subclass 189:it has been confirmed that the 25 May round issued 7,353 Subclass 189 invitations,and 74 family-sponsored Subclass 491. As expected, these were all in shortage occupations such as medicine, teaching, nursing and social work. The publication of these official Subclass 189 figuresmore importantly tells us thatSubclass 189 grants for the 2022–23 financial year are locked in at 66,535,a multi-year high, at the very least. Adding the 57,777 state-nomination places actually used by the end of May,this means thatto dateAustralia’s points-based skilled migration this financial yearhas genuinely issued 124,312 invitations,and the final figure may well approach 130,458.And that does not even count the strong late finish from employer-sponsored Subclass 482 and 186! Subclass 189 actually has a larger grant quota for 2023–24, and we expect further rounds of releases that will hopefully invite more mainstream occupations. If you would like to discuss a strategy and prepare to lodge, add our consultant below. Part 3: Tasmania going all-out on invitations and processing; NSW to announce new-financial-year policy soon, and closes the Subclass 491 RDA stream to applicationsAmong the last one or two states still urgently issuing invitations and processing nominations, we have to mentionTasmania. Tasmania has accelerated even further as June begins:we had a client receive a pre-invitation on 2 June, lodge documents on 7 June, and obtain a formal Subclass 190 nomination on 9 June!This client had previously been through two rough state-nomination attempts on their own, and only came to us on 30 May — fast preparation, fast invitation. Persistence really does pay off!For a round-up of most Tasmanian invitations and processing, see:– TAS 190 ROI lodged 22 November 2022; TAS 190 pre-invitation received 12 May 2023; TAS 190 application lodged 29 May 2023; Subclass 190 invited 6 June 2023;Public Relations Professional – 225311, 65+5– TAS 190 ROI lodged 16 March 2023; TAS 190 pre-invitation received 12 May 2023; TAS 190 application lodged 29 May 2023; Subclass 190 invited 6 June 2023;Accountant (General) – 221111, 60+5– TAS 190 ROI lodged 30 May 2023; TAS 190 pre-invitation received 2 June 2023; TAS 190 application lodged 2 June 2023; Subclass 190 invited 8 June 2023;Accountant (General) – 221111, 70+5– TAS 190 ROI lodged 20 December 2022; TAS 190 pre-invitation received 12 May 2023; TAS 190 application lodged 29 May 2023; Subclass 190 invited 8 June 2023, Accountant (General) – 221111, 75+5As at 9 June,Tasmania still had 70 Subclass 190 places and 146 Subclass 491 places remaining, with a backlog of 44 Subclass 190 applications and 104 Subclass 491 applications.If you have already received a pre-invitation, get your documents lodged quickly! NSWalso had news this week:the Subclass 491 Pathway 1 RDA stream is now fully closed to new applications.Applications already lodged in RDA regions that still have quota will continue to be processed — this week we had a Far South Coast formal nomination approved for an offshore Quantity Surveyor on 70+15 points,and several other applications received requests for further documents.The Pathway 2 State stream remains open.This stream is open to occupations such as IT, engineering, finance and marketing, with lower point requirements. Unlike Pathway 1, it does not require a pre-invitation step first. The state government has also said the new financial year’s policy will be made available shortly.NSW Subclass 190 generally does not close to applications across financial years, and an EOI already lodged but not yet invited remains valid (a 2-year validity period); whether you ultimately receive an invitation will depend on conditions in the new financial year. Some adjustments to Subclass 491 cannot be ruled out.Get your skills assessment done and your English ready quickly, and you have a great chance of landing in NSW in the new financial year! Contact our consultant below right away: Part 4: From 1 July, blood tests replace urine tests in health checks; is visitor-visa processing for PR parents tightening?The Department of Home Affairs has suddenly announced that, from 1 July this year,visa applicants aged 15 and over who need a health examination will no longer undergo a urine test, but a blood test instead.This change takes effect from 1 July: as long as your existing case is not yet finalised, you will need a blood test when you go for your 501 health examination. This week we had an unexpected visitor-visa refusal for the parents of a PR holder: the applicants are the parents of a PR holder who entered Australia on a visitor visa last year.Having recently stayed in Australia for almost 12 months, they applied to renew their visitor visa onshore once more — and were refused.A year ago, people who had stayed continuously in Australia for 2–3 years during the pandemic began to be refused when they tried to renew their visitor visas after the borders reopened, being told clearly that the borders were open and flights resumed, and that the pandemic and caring for children could no longer count as special reasons for an onshore renewal. But in this case the applicants only entered after the pandemic and had stayed just 12 months, yet were still refused.In short, COVID could previously be relied on as “exceptional circumstances” under clause 600.215, but that no longer holds — at least this application suggests a shift is under way.For the full case, see:Attention! Onshore visitor-visa renewals for PR parents tightening again!? Stayed just 12 months — still refused!
So if you want to spare your parents the back-and-forth and avoid repeated renewals, consider the Subclass 870 visa, which allows a stay of 3 or 5 years at a time and can be renewed once more — giving a maximum of 10 years across two visas, without affecting any parent migration application.If you want to understand your parent-visa options, are worried about a refusal, or have already been refused and need a strategy, add our consultant below and we will arrange it for you:
Part 5: Weekly round-up of grants, invitations, skills assessments and citizenship processing
A round-up of Newstarsec’s recent grants and invitations across all categories:Press and hold below to view — the page is updated continuously, so we highly recommend saving and bookmarking it!
State-nomination invitations / GTI invitation dataACT state nominationThe following are formal nomination approvalsLodged 21 May 2023; ACT 190 invited 05 June 2023; Electrical EngineerLodged 21 May 2023; ACT 190 invited 06 June 2023; Conference and Event OrganiserLodged 19 May 2023; ACT 190 invited 07 June 2023; Quantity SurveyorLodged 22 May 2023; ACT 190 invited 08 June 2023; External AuditorLodged 22 May 2023; ACT 190 invited 09 June 2023; Network AnalystMatrix lodged early May ’23; matrix invited late May; formal nomination received 6 June ’23; EOI 65+5 points, matrix 60 points; offshore applicant; Conference and Event Organiser The following are matrix invitationsLodged 17 May 2023; invited 05 JUN 2023 on 70 points – Financial
Investment Adviser
Victoria state nomination
None this week
Tasmania state nominationSee the summary above NSW state nominationSubclass 491 RDA stream Lodged May 2023; formal nomination received early June 2023; 70+15 points, Quantity Surveyor Lodged: 05/06/2023 Approved: 08/06/2023 EOI 70 points, Property Manager South Australia state nominationNone this week Queensland state nominationQLD 190 ROI lodged 8 February 2023; QLD 190 pre-invitation received 17 April 2023; QLD 190 application lodged 26 April 2023; Subclass 190 invited 8 June 2023; Chemical Engineer – 233111, 85+5 Western Australia state nominationNone this week Northern Territory state nominationMINT programLodged: 17/03/2023 Approved: 05/06/2023 EOI 65 points, Internal AuditorLodged: 24/02/2023 Approved: 05/06/2023 EOI 70 points, Marketing SpecialistLodged: 07/03/2023 Approved: 05/06/2023 EOI 65 points, Marketing SpecialistLodged: 11/01/2023 Approved: 05/06/2023 EOI 65 points, Financial Investment Adviser This week’s grant progress and analysisSubclass 189 Skilled IndependentLodged 23 January 2023; granted 7 June 2023; nursing occupationLodged 18 January 2022; granted 7 June 2023 Subclass 190 State-Nominated SkilledLodged March 2023; granted June 2023Lodged March 2023; granted June 2023Lodged: 19/01/2023; granted: 07/06/2023; offshore; Private TutorVisa lodged 23 June 2022; granted 7 June 2023 Subclass 491 (new regional) / Subclass 489 (old regional) sponsored visasSubclass 491 lodged onshore 29 Mar 2022; granted 07 Jun 2023Subclass 491 lodged onshore 12 Oct 2022; granted 07 Jun 2023Visa lodged 4 August 2021; granted 7 June 2023; WA CopywriterLodged June 2022; Subclass 491 granted June 2023 (with partner) Lodged October 2019; Subclass 489 granted June 2023 (with child)Subclass 489 lodged: 20/04/2020; granted: 07/06/2023; offshore; Public Relations occupationSubclass 489 lodged 16 October 2019; granted 7 June 2023 Subclass 887/191 Regional permanent residence visasLodged November 2021; granted June 2023Lodged December 2022; granted June 2023 (with partner)Lodged March 2023; granted June 2023Lodged September 2021; granted June 2023 (with partner)Lodged June 2023; granted June 2023 (with partner) Employer-sponsoredNomination lodged 5 June 2023; approved 5 June 2023; Statistician
Business and investor migration / GTINone this week Subclass 600 visitor visaLodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged May 2023; granted June 2023 Lodged 26 May 2023; granted 8 June 2023; parents of an international studentLodged 26 April 2023; granted 7 June 2023; PR parents; three years; up to 12 months per stayLodged 22 May 2023; granted 8 June 2023; PR parents; three years; up to 12 months per stayLodged 19 May 2023; granted 7 June 2023; one year; up to 3 months per stayLodged 8 June 2023; granted 9 June 2023; one year; up to 12 months stay Lodged 22 May 2023; granted 8 June 2023; PR parents, one-year multiple-entry Subclass 500 student visaLodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged 18 May 2023; granted 9 June 2023Lodged 30 May 2023; granted 4 June 2023Lodged 31 May 2023; granted 8 June 2023 Subclass 485 Graduate Work visaLodged 24 April 2023; granted 7 June 2023; onshore existing TR; with de facto partnerSubclass 485 lodged onshore 03 May 2023; granted 06 Jun 2023Subclass 485 lodged onshore 08 Jun 2023; granted 08 Jun 2023Lodged April 2023; granted June 2023Lodged June 2023; granted June 2023Lodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged 25 May 2023; granted 6 June 2023Lodged 22 April 2023; granted 7 June 2023Lodged 26 April 2023; granted 7 June 2023 Partner migrationSubclass 801 lodged April 2022; Subclass 801 granted June 2023Subclass 801 lodged February 2022; Subclass 801 granted May 2023Subclass 820 lodged May 2020; Subclass 801 granted 7 June 2023 Parent migration/visas / child visasSubclass 143 lodged 22 December 2022; granted 9 June 023 Subclass 408 visaLodged May 2023; granted June 2023Lodged April 2023; granted May 2023 Subclass 155 visaLodged May 2023; granted May 2023This week’s skills-assessment progress
CA ANZ (accounting-related)
Lodged 3 April 2023; approved 7 June 2023; External Auditor
Lodged 7 April 2023; approved 7 June 2023; Accountant
Lodged 5 May 2023; approved 8 June 2023; Accountant
Engineers Australia (EA, engineering-related)
Lodged 23 April 2023; completed 6 June 2023 (expedited)
Lodged 1 April 2023; approved 5 June 2023; Engineering Technologist, CDR
VETASSESS
Lodged 25 May 2023; completed 5 June 2023 (expedited)
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