January SkillSelect Round Results
Conducted on 21 January, the first invitation round for 2021 had some interesting outcomes. The combined total of 363 invitations is
three times the amount issued in October 2020, with 200 of those issued for a Subclass 189 Skilled Independent visa and 163 for the Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Family Sponsored) visa.
The minimum points score was again 65 points for both visa options. The most recently lodged EOI for a 491 was from November 2020, while the most recent EOI for a 189 visa was from April 2020. In the October round, the most recent 189 EOI date was September 2020, indicating it is not possible to base an assumption of when an invitation may be issued based on lodgement date.
Pro-Rata Occupations
After languishing without invitation for the last few rounds, one of the pro-rata occupations finally received invites:
| Occupation ID | Description | Minimum Points Score | Latest date of EOI |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 95 (SC189) | 10/2020 |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 70 (SC491) | 09/2020 |
Accountants, Auditors, ICT Business and System Analysts, Software and Applications Programmers, and Computer Network Professionals
have not received an invitation since April 2020, while Electronics Engineers have not received an invite since July 2020.
Who Did Receive Invitations?
According to the Occupation Ceiling table, there were:
- 127 Registered Nurses;
- 58 Other Medical Practitioners;
- 40 Internal Medicine Specialists;
- 33 Psychiatrists - first invitations since June 2020;
- 24 Other Natural and Physical Science Professionals - first invitations since March 2020; and
- 17 Psychologists
The balance invitations were sent to Construction Managers, Mining Engineers, Other Engineering Professionals, Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists, and Medical Laboratory Scientists.
Applicants to Note
The next invitation round is due to be held in April 2021. Applicants who are already in Australia may need to look at other visa options to remain here, such as State/Territory Nomination or sponsorship from an Australian employer.
Applicants who are offshore and not in the targeted occupations are likely to be waiting for some time before there are options to migrate to Australia.
