Skilled Independent visa

The minimum scores for proficient English must be met in each English test component (listening, reading, speaking and writing), not as an overall score.

For the points test, 'employed' means working in an occupation for pay for at least 20 hours a week.

In deciding whether an overseas bachelor or doctoral qualification is of a recognised standard, the Minister must consider the assessing authority’s recognition at invitation, recognition by a body specified in an instrument, the length of study and any other relevant matter.

For the points test an Australian bachelor's degree must require at least three years of full-time study (or the part-time equivalent).

A specialist educational qualification means a masters degree by research or a doctoral degree from an Australian institution that included at least two academic years of study in a specified field.

The Australian study requirement needs one or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications from registered courses completed in at least 16 calendar months and 2 academic years, taught entirely in English, while holding a visa that allowed study in Australia.

A designated regional area means either a designated city or major regional centre or a regional centre or other regional area, each defined by postcode in a ministerial instrument.

The only body specified for community language points is NAATI, and the credential must be paraprofessional accreditation or above, certified provisional or above, or a NAATI community language credential.

For the points test, being employed means working in an occupation for pay for at least 20 hours a week.

These three visas use ANZSCO 2013-based lists (MLTSSL, STSOL, ROL); the Core Skills Occupation List and ANZSCO 2022 apply to the 186 and 482 programs, not to the 189, 190 or 491.

LIN 19/051 section 10AA(2) fixes the assessing authority for split occupations: VETASSESS for a non-medical physicist and ACPSEM for a medical physicist, TRA for a trades vocational education teacher and VETASSESS for a non-trades one, and ACS for an information and organisation professional (nec) who is a data scientist.

For visa applications made after the May 2022 amendment, LIN 19/051 section 15 also accepts certain earlier assessing authorities when the skills assessment was applied for before 6 May 2022, such as the Australian Institute of Management for several manager occupations and the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists for medical laboratory occupations.

Re-checked in October 2026: the assessing authority VETASSESS states that assessments for most occupations are based on ANZSCO 2013 as referenced in the legislation, and only the Core Skills stream of the 482 and the Direct Entry stream of the 186 align with ANZSCO 2022 and the CSOL.

Under regulation 2.26B only a body approved by the Skills Assessment Minister for the occupation and countries can be specified by the Immigration Minister as the relevant assessing authority, and the approval can carry conditions that the two ministers agree.

ACS counts as skilled employment for points only the relevant work done after the Skill Level Requirement Met Date shown in the outcome letter, and the experience used to satisfy the suitability criteria is not counted, for example 2 of 4 post-degree years leaving 2 years.

VETASSESS counts only paid work of at least 20 hours a week at the occupation's skill level and excludes the qualifying period used to meet the assessment criteria from the years it advises for points, with Group B needing five years and Groups C, D and F three years of earlier relevant work plus one highly relevant year.

Australian work counts as skilled employment only if the person held a substantive visa, a Bridging A visa or a Bridging B visa that allowed work during that period, and complied with its conditions.

For regional study points the applicant must also have lived in a designated regional area during the course, and none of the study can have been by distance education.

The partner's skills assessment for the 10-point item must come from the relevant assessing authority for the occupation they nominated and must not have been issued for a Subclass 485 visa.

At the time of invitation the applicant must hold a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for the nominated skilled occupation, and the assessment must not have been made for a Subclass 485 visa.

The applicant must nominate the skilled occupation named in the invitation, and that occupation must have been on the Minister's list at the time of invitation.

At the time of invitation the applicant must hold a suitable skills assessment for the nominated occupation from the relevant assessing authority, and the assessment must not be an assessment made for a Subclass 485 visa.

If the skills assessment relied on a qualification gained in Australia while on a student visa, that qualification must have come from a registered (CRICOS) course.

For the 189 visa, the occupation the applicant nominates must be named in the invitation itself and must be a skilled occupation the Minister specified by legislative instrument as of the invitation, and the applicant declares a suitable skills assessment for it.

An applicant may be inside or outside Australia when the visa is granted, but not in immigration clearance, and the second instalment of the charge must be paid before grant where it applies.

An applicant lodging in Australia must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging A, B or C visa at the time of applying.

Anyone who holds, or last held, a 491 or 494 visa must have held it for at least 3 years at the time of applying for a 189 or 190 visa, unless a specified exception applies.

A secondary applicant outside Australia at grant may be given condition 8515, which bars marrying or entering a de facto relationship before first entering Australia, and first entry must happen by the date the Minister sets.

ACS accepts employment that is consistently paid for at least 20 hours a week, started after age 18 and performed at the skill level of the nominated ANZSCO occupation, and it needs a signed employment reference letter on company letterhead for each employer, or invoices with bank statements or tax records for self-employment.

Overseas skilled employment earns 5 points for at least 36 months in the 10 years before invitation, in the nominated occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.

Overseas skilled employment earns 10 points for at least 60 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas skilled employment earns 15 points for at least 96 months (8 years) within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 5 points for at least 12 months in the 10 years before invitation, in the nominated or a closely related occupation.

Australian skilled employment earns 10 points for at least 36 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 15 points for at least 60 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled employment earns 20 points for at least 96 months (8 years) within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas and Australian employment points are combined and capped: if together they exceed 20 points, only 20 points are given for employment experience in total.

A professional year earns 5 points if completed in Australia in the nominated or a closely related occupation, over at least 12 months, within the 48 months before invitation.

A doctorate from an Australian institution, or an overseas doctorate of a recognised standard, earns 20 points.

At least a bachelor degree from an Australian institution, or an overseas bachelor-level qualification of a recognised standard, earns 15 points.

An Australian diploma or an Australian trade qualification earns 10 points.

Any other qualification or award that the assessing authority for the nominated occupation recognises as suitable for that occupation earns 10 points.

A specialist educational qualification (an Australian research masters or doctorate in a specified field) earns 10 points.

Meeting the Australian study requirement earns 5 points.

Studying in a designated regional area adds 5 points when the Australian study requirement is met and the campus is in a designated regional area.

A credentialled community language qualification earns 5 points.

A partner who is also an applicant for the same subclass and is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident gives 10 points when the partner was under 45 at invitation, has a skills assessment (not for a Subclass 485 visa) in an occupation on the Minister's specified list, and has competent English.

If the partner is an applicant for the same visa subclass, is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and only has competent English, the applicant gets 5 points.

Applicants with no spouse or de facto partner, or whose partner is an Australian permanent resident or citizen, get 10 points.

To be invited for the Subclass 189, 190 or 491 visa, an EOI must meet or exceed the points threshold of 65.

The planning level for the Skilled Independent category rises from 16,900 places in 2025-26 to 21,090 in 2026-27.

The applicant must have at least competent English at the time of invitation.

When the application is assessed, the points score must be at least the score stated in the invitation and at least the qualifying score set for the points system.

The pool mark and the pass mark for the Subclass 189, 190 and 491 points test are both 65 points for applications made on or after 16 November 2019.

The primary applicant must not have turned 45 at the time of the invitation to apply.

Age points at the time of invitation are 25 for an applicant aged 18 or over but under 25, 30 for 25 to under 33, 25 for 33 to under 40, 15 for 40 to under 45, and none from age 45.

English points are 20 for superior English and 10 for proficient English; competent English earns no points.

Overseas skilled work in the nominated or a closely related occupation scores 5 points for at least 36 months, 10 for 60 months and 15 for 96 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Australian skilled work in the nominated or a closely related occupation scores 5 points for 12 months, 10 for 36 months, 15 for 60 months and 20 for 96 months within the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas and Australian employment points combined are capped at 20 points.

Completing an Australian professional year of at least 12 months in the nominated or a closely related occupation within the 48 months before invitation earns 5 points.

Education points are 20 for a doctorate and 15 for at least a bachelor degree (Australian, or overseas of a recognised standard).

An Australian diploma, an Australian trade qualification, or a qualification recognised by the assessing authority as suitable for the occupation each earn 10 points.

A specialist education qualification, meaning an Australian research masters or doctorate with at least 2 academic years in a specified field, earns 10 points.

Meeting the Australian study requirement earns 5 points, and a credentialled community language qualification earns another 5.

Study in a designated regional area earns 5 more points when the applicant met the Australian study requirement, the campus was in a designated regional area, they lived in such an area while studying and none of the study was by distance education.

Partner points: 10 if the partner applies for the same subclass, is under 45, is not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, nominated a listed skilled occupation, holds a suitable skills assessment and has competent English; 10 if the applicant is single or the partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident; and 5 if the partner applies for the same subclass, is not a citizen or permanent resident and has competent English.

For IELTS, competent English needs at least 6 in each of the four components, proficient 7 and superior 8.

To be invited for a 189, 190 or 491 visa an applicant needs to meet or exceed the points threshold of 65.

The Skilled Independent category planning level was cut from 30,375 in 2023-24 to 16,900 for both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Program outcomes matched planning levels: Skilled Independent 32,100 in 2022-23, 30,375 in 2023-24 and 16,900 in 2024-25; State/Territory Nominated 31,000, 30,400 and 33,000; Skilled Regional 33,944, 32,300 and 32,948, with the 2025-26 planning levels at 16,900, 33,000 and 33,000.

The skills assessment must still be valid when the invitation is issued: if it states a validity period that period must not have ended, and in any case no more than 3 years may have passed since the assessment date.

The 189 visa is a permanent visa, and its travel facility allows the holder to travel to and enter Australia for 5 years from the date of grant.

For an invited applicant, the English test counted as competent English must have been taken in the 3 years immediately before the date of the invitation.

ACS says an application needing no extra documents takes 4 to 6 weeks, treats any applicant with a visa deadline under 12 weeks away as priority at no charge, and does not require an English test for the skills assessment.

An ACS suitable assessment outcome letter is valid for 2 years, which is shorter than the ceiling Home Affairs sets on how old an assessment may be when the invitation is issued.

VETASSESS gives about 7 weeks for a migration skills assessment of a professional occupation, 10 business days for priority processing once eligibility is confirmed (not offered for trades), and varying times for trade occupations set by the TRA program.

A suitable VETASSESS full skills assessment is usually valid for three years from the issue date, can be renewed online only before it expires, and once expired needs a new application at the full fee.

Engineers Australia says a standard migration skills assessment generally takes 15 weeks just to be assigned to an assessor, and that its outcome letter stays valid indefinitely with Engineers Australia while Home Affairs sets the visa validity.

Engineers Australia offers a paid fast-track option for a migration skills assessment under which an application can be assigned to an assessor within 20 business days, which does not promise when the outcome arrives.

ACS charges AUD 625 for the Qualification Only pathway and the Recognition of Prior Learning pathway, AUD 1,136 for Post Australian Study and AUD 1,498 for General Skills, with Level 1 and Level 2 appeals at AUD 516 and AUD 620.

VETASSESS charges AUD 1,260.60 (AUD 1,146.00 for non-residents without GST) for a full skills assessment of a professional occupation, an extra AUD 949.30 for priority processing, and AUD 357.50 for qualification-only points test advice.

Engineers Australia's migration skills assessment fees for the 2026 to 2027 period (GST-inclusive) are AUD 555.50 for a Washington/Sydney/Dublin Accord qualification, AUD 346.50 for an Australian accredited qualification and AUD 1,034 for a standard competency demonstration report, with a fast-track option at AUD 396.

Under LIN 23/002 Trades Recognition Australia charges AUD 795 for a Migration Skills Assessment, AUD 450 for Migration Points Advice, AUD 1,120 for a TSS documentary evidence assessment, AUD 2,000 (Pathway 1) or AUD 900 (Pathway 2) for the TSS technical interview and AUD 2,200 for the practical assessment, with internal review at AUD 610 for a Migration Skills Assessment.

An EOI can be updated at any time before an invitation is received, and should be updated when work experience, qualifications, English or skills assessments change.

A person can only be granted a 189, 190 or 491 visa if the Minister has invited them in writing to apply for that visa.

Points are given for only one qualification in each Part of Schedule 6D, namely the one that carries the most points.

The Immigration Minister specifies by legislative instrument which person or body is the relevant assessing authority for an occupation and for applicants from given countries.

Applicants cannot lodge a 189, 190 or 491 application directly; they first submit an expression of interest in SkillSelect and must be invited.

Submitting an EOI does not require uploading documents, only personal information, work experience and qualification details.

Reaching 65 points does not guarantee an invitation to apply for a skilled visa.

An EOI can be updated at any time before an invitation is received if the applicant’s circumstances change.

If the main applicant does not reach the points threshold but the partner might, the partner can submit an EOI as the primary applicant and include the main applicant as a family member.

Under Ministerial Direction 122, in force from 19 September 2026, provisional and permanent skilled applications (including the 189, 190, 191 and 491) are processed first for construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors or law enforcement and defence interests, then applicants in Australia at lodgement, then primary applicants outside Australia not combined with another application, then all others.

Citizens of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States who hold a valid passport of that country are treated as having competent English without a test, but this shortcut does not give proficient or superior points.

Only specified professional year programs count: those run by the Australian Computer Society (IT), the Australian accounting bodies (CA ANZ, CPA Australia, Institute of Public Accountants) and Engineers Australia.

The specified fields for specialist education are 21 fields across natural and physical sciences, information technology, and engineering and related technologies.

Home Affairs uses the 2022 version of ANZSCO for the 186 and Skills in Demand 482 (including the Core Skills Occupation List) and the 2013 version for the other skilled visas, whose lists (MLTSSL, STSOL, ROL) still use older codes.

Citizens of Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States who hold a valid passport from that country are treated as having competent English without a test.

For 189 invitations, and for 491 invitations to people not nominated by a state or territory, only occupations on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List are eligible.

The Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List in the March 2026 compilation of LIN 19/051 contains 212 numbered occupations.

The occupations for the 189, 190 and 491 visas are specified in legislative instrument LIN 19/051, which also names the assessing authority for each occupation.

The instrument lists the Australian Computer Society as the assessing authority for ICT occupations such as developer programmer (261312) and software engineer (261313).

Section 8 of LIN 19/051 (compilation of 28 March 2026) lists 212 occupations as the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, the only list usable for a 189 invitation or a family-sponsored 491, and each of them is also usable for the 190 and the state-nominated 491.

Section 11 of LIN 19/051 names 37 assessing-authority abbreviations in full, from the architects council AACA and Engineers Australia to TRA for trades and VETASSESS for general professional and para-professional occupations.

In the section 10AA table of LIN 19/051 each of the 504 skilled occupations has a named relevant assessing authority; VETASSESS covers about 242 of them, TRA 93, the Medical Board 34, Engineers Australia 30, ACS 23 and ANMAC 20, and some occupations list alternative authorities.

In LIN 19/051 each authority is tied to named occupations: for example VETASSESS covers 242 of the 504 skilled occupations, TRA 93, the Medical Board of Australia 34, Engineers Australia 30, ACS 23 and ANMAC 20, while 37 other bodies cover between one and seven occupations each.

Sources disagree: Home Affairs skilled occupation list page names Community Work Australia Limited as the assessing authority for community worker occupations, while the LIN 19/051 compilation of 28 March 2026 still names ACWA (Australian Community Workers Association Inc)

Institution of Surveyors NSW (ISNSW) became the skills assessing authority for Surveyors after the Geospatial Council of Australia went into liquidation on 21 August 2025; the amendment applies to visa applications made on or after 8 October 2025.

Ministerial Direction 121 (temporary skilled visas) and Ministerial Direction 122 (provisional and permanent skilled visas) took effect on 19 September 2026 and replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.

The 2026-27 Budget sets the permanent Migration Program planning level at 185,000 places, with 132,240 places allocated to the Skill stream.

The 2026-27 Budget announced that the permanent migration points test will be reformed, with details such as start date not stated in the paper.

The budget says the reformed points test will be optimised to select migrants who are better educated, higher skilled and younger overall.

The March 2026 amendment of LIN 19/051 (LIN 26/027, effective 28 March 2026) changed the surveyor's authority and added the data-scientist split, and it applies to assessments made on or after 8 October 2025 except surveyor assessments dated on or before 21 August 2025.

In his 17 September 2026 National Press Club speech the Home Affairs Minister said the points test has been redone with Treasury for the permanent skilled program and will let chosen skills such as the housing trades earn the same points as a university qualification on implementation, but gave no start date or new point values.

The Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 raise the first instalment of the visa application charge by 25 percent from 1 July 2026 for most visas in Schedule 1, with Pacific-regional and Timor-Leste concessions kept.