October Skillselect Brings Good News
Information on the October 2019 SkillSelect round is now available, showing a pleasing increase in invitations to
1500 places this round. As the 489 visa closed in September, there are no new invitations for this visa class.
The minimum score required for an invitation was 80 points, with the most recent EOI to receive an invitation lodged back at the start of June 2019. The majority of invitations, however, went to applicants with 85 points (922 invites), with a high number of applicants on 90 points and above (approximately 190 invites).
Pro-rata occupations:
Pro-rata occupations are classified as those for which there is more demand for places than there are places available. Competition for invitations is therefore quite fierce, and it is almost impossible to receive an invitation without a very high points score.
For the 11 October 2019 invitation round, the scores for pro-rata occupations were as follows:
| Occupation ID | Description | Minimum Points Score | Latest date of EOI |
| 2211 | Accountants | 90 | 06/09/2019 10:29am |
| 2212 | Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers | 85 | 12/04/2019 9:46am |
| 2334 | Electronics Engineer | 85 | 04/06/2019 12:07pm |
| 2335 | Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers | 80 | 11/12/2018 6:39pm |
| 2339 | Other Engineering Professionals | 80 | 03/04/2019 6:42pm |
| 2611 | ICT Business and System Analysts | 80 | 20/03/2019 6:34pm |
| 2613 | Software and Applications Programmers | 80 | 09/04/2019 8:56pm |
| 2631 | Computer Network Professionals | 80 | 20/05/2019 10:05am |
Which occupations received the most invitations?
After comparing the occupational ceiling numbers from the September round, we can see that the vast majority of invitations went to IT occupations; Software and Applications Programmers (leading again at 361 invites), ICT Business and Systems Analysts (107 invites), and Computer Network Professionals (106 invites). This totals
over one third of all invites sent.
Rounding out the top ten occupations are:
- Registered Nurses - 134 invitations
- Accountants - 114 invitations
- Civil Engineering Professionals - 98 invitations
- Architects and Landscape Architects - 94 invitations
- Electrical engineers - 82 invitations
- Telecommunications Engineering Professionals - 80 invitations; and
- Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers - 66 invitations
Our Advice
With the Regional Provisional visa introduction date rapidly approaching, migrants with an EOI of less than 85 points are encouraged to consider the new Subclass 491 visa with State or Family sponsorship.
It may also be worth looking at the Subclass 190 Skilled State Nominated visa, as usually only the minimum 65 points (including the 5 points for state sponsorship) are required.
As always, our Migration Advisors are available to assess your visa eligibility. They can also review lodged EOIs to see if there are ways to increase points, or alternative options available.
