Western Australia issues 1,800 invitations! Plenty of priority occupations invited from as low as 80 points!
Western Australia had already flagged that invitations would go out in early December, and they arrived on Friday afternoon as promised! What’s more, the official report was released within an hour of the invitations being sent — very prompt. This is the second round of this financial year, and the first round since the full quota was received.
This round issued 1,800 invitations (header image). Compared with the first three rounds of the previous financial year — all tentative rounds of just a few hundred invitations — this financial year has come out swinging.
The first WA round only invited construction trades occupations, and with occupational restrictions in place, invitations went out to applicants within the state, interstate, and even offshore — so it wasn’t particularly informative.
This round invited WA-based applicants only, with a strong focus on General Sch2, issuing 1,134 invitations (667 Subclass 190, 467 Subclass 491), 378 Sch1 invitations, and 216 invitations via the Graduate HigherEdu stream (127 Subclass 190).
Invitation scores by occupation
The following are all EOI scores. The WA official report has never distinguished between Subclass 190 and Subclass 491, so they can only be read together.
1. General Stream Sch2 (Images 4-5)
Architect 80, Cafe and Restaurant Manager 80, Civil Engineer 95, Civil Engineering Draftsperson and Technician both 80, Conference and Event Organiser 80, Construction Project Manager 80, Early Childhood Teacher 80, Hotel Manager 80, Sales and Marketing Manager 80, Quantity Surveyor 80, TESOL 85, Secondary School Teacher 85.
Most invitations went out at 80-85 points, with some construction trades occupations invited at lower scores — for example, Cabinetmaker at 70 points and Bricklayer at 65 points.
2. Graduate HigherEdu Stream (Image 6)
Invitation scores in the graduate higher-education stream were actually higher, possibly because fewer invitations were issued and the range of occupations invited was broader — and most occupations required 85 points or more to receive an invitation.
3. General Stream Sch1 and local graduate VET — see Image X
WA is still a strong choice
Quite a few of the clients who took our advice and moved to WA have already been invited and received nominations. One thing to note: this year WA has added a new residential-evidence requirement — you must provide proof of residence for at least 3 months before invitation, and WA has made it clear that if you haven’t lived there for 3 months at the time of invitation, the nomination may be refused.
WA has also indicated that both the December and January rounds will invite priority occupations first. Non-priority occupations will still receive invitations this financial year, with the specific timing yet to be determined.
Some clients still ask: with a total quota of 3,400 and 1,800 invitations already issued, is the quota used up? It isn’t. Quota and invitations are not a one-to-one relationship — many people who receive invitations won’t accept them, for example applicants who have already been picked up by the Subclass 189 stream. So I’ll reiterate once again: if you’ve received a 189 invitation, please withdraw your duplicate EOI.
So applicants in priority occupations can still consider relocating to WA. For those still unsure about WA, I suggest flying over for a visit to experience it firsthand.
