State-Nominated Migration

There are currently three main migration pathways open to overseas applicants:state-nominated migration,employer-sponsored migration, and business and investor migration.Employer-sponsored migration requires an Australian employer to offer both a job and sponsorship; business and investor migration requires commercial experience and substantial family assets.For most people, the most accessible option is state-nominated migration.

Each Australian state sets its own occupation list, points requirements, and specific criteria — such as work experience and English language ability — to select skilled talent that will benefit its development. This is what is known as state-nominated migration.

Currently, New South Wales, Canberra, and South Australia are open to overseas applicants, with more states expected to open when the new financial year begins on 1 July.

Once you have a skills assessment, meet the points threshold, and satisfy the relevant state criteria, you can submit an Expression of Interest and may receive an invitation.For detailed requirements, see our earlier article:[In-Depth] If you’re based overseas and considering skilled migration to Australia, read this…

For a one-on-one assessment and a preliminary points calculation, contact us:

For applicants who meet the basic eligibility criteria,the most critical step before lodging an application is obtaining askills assessment from the relevant Australian authority — required across all state nomination stream types, including the Small Business and MINT streams.Today we’ll provide a detailed overview ofskills assessments for the IT and engineering sectors. Other occupations will be covered in future articles in this series — or feel free to contact us directly.

IT skills assessments focus on two key factors: educational qualifications and work experience. Qualifications are evaluated based on the level and duration of your degree, and the relevance of course content,and are categorised into three tiers: Major, Minor, and Non-ICT.Work experience must satisfy the relevance requirements.

For applicants with overseas qualifications,the assessment is based on a combined evaluation of education and work experience, as detailed below:

Major:

Diploma, Advanced Diploma, or Associate qualificationmust include more than 50% ICT-related content

Undergraduate degree:

• 3-year programme: must include more than 33% ICT content

• 4-year programme: must include more than 25% ICT content

• 5-year programme: must include more than 20% ICT content

Postgraduate programmes that do not require an undergraduate IT degree for entry may be classified as Major in the following circumstances:

•A minimum of 3 semesters or at least 1.5 years of full-time study

•At least 2 semesters or 1 year of full-time equivalent ICT content

•Aminimum of 12 units or subjects (overseas degreesmay contain less units or subjects)

•50% ICT content for a 2 year Graduate Diploma or Masters qualification

• 33% ICT content for a 3 year Graduate Diploma or Masters qualification

Postgraduate programmes that do require an undergraduate IT degree for entry must include more than 33% ICT content.

Minor:

For bachelor’s-level qualifications and above, if ICT content falls below two-thirds of the Major threshold, the qualification will be classified as Minor.

Insufficient ICT Content:

Qualifications that do not meet the Minor threshold will be classified as Non-ICT.

Refer to the diagram below to determine whether your qualifications and work experience meet the skills assessment requirements.

You must satisfy both the qualification requirements and the corresponding minimum work experience period to successfully pass the skills assessment.Understanding the exact ICT content ratio of your course, and preparing detailed work experience documentation, are the most challenging aspects of the assessment.If you are unsure whether you will pass the skills assessment, or if a previous application was refused, please contact us — we can assist you in preparing and lodging your assessment.

Applicantsin Australia with an ITundergraduate or postgraduate degree have a clear advantage — they can take the onshore pathway, which requires only one year of a Professional Year programme or relevant work experience after graduation. Applicants with overseas backgrounds must follow the assessment process described above.

For engineers seeking recognition of overseas qualifications,almost all — with the exception of a small number of programmes accredited under the Washington Accord — must go through the qualifications plus CDR report pathway.

– In terms of qualifications, the assessing authority will assess whether your programme meets the basic requirements. The good news is thatmost engineering bachelor’s degrees from China — and even some vocational qualifications — have a strong chance of passing the qualifications assessment.

– A CDR (Competency Demonstration Report) is a written report based on your own experience.Supporting material can include assignments, capstone projects, theses, laboratory reports, or projects you were involved in during your studies or after graduation— a CDR consists of three written episodes.

The engineering skills assessment also has an English language requirement:IELTS 6.0 in each of the four bands, or PTE 50 in each of the four components.

As with the IT skills assessment,holders of Australian engineering qualificationsalso have an advantage — with the exception of a small number of non-accredited programmes, most cantake the accredited programme pathway with no CDR required.