Medical Focus for September Round

The September SkillSelect round saw a total of 500 invitations issued, with 350 Subclass 189 Skilled Independent invitations, and 150 Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional (Family Sponsored) visa invitations.

Only a minimum score of 65 points for a 189 was required, with 75 points for the 491 (Family Sponsored). However, invitations are still being targeted to 'priority skills' occupations needed to assist with Australia's COVID response and economic recovery.

Emphasis on Health

The vast majority of invitations went to Medical Laboratory Scientists, jumping from less than 20 in total up to 240 this round (over 221 invites). This was followed by:

• Registered Nurses, who received 141 of the total;
• Other Medical Practitioners, with 49 invites;
• Internal Medicine Specialists, with approximately 36 invites; and
• Psychologists, with approximately 9 invites.

Pro-rata Occupations

Again, none of the pro-rata occupations such as Accountants, Electronics Engineers, or Software and Applications Programmers received invitations this round.

Alternative Options

We recommend that migrants look at alternative visa options, such as State Nomination or Employer sponsored visas. As per the Budget, Immigration is focusing on applicants who are already in Australia, especially those in regional Australia.