Within the Skilled Independent Visas the number of places available for each occupation in any year is subject to a maximum Quota/Ceiling. Once the individual Occupation Quota/Ceiling has been reached no further invitations for the visa subclasses 189 and 489 (family sponsored) will be issued for that occupation during that migration year (July to June). Please note that the Quota/Ceiling is not the number of people in these occupations that will be invited to apply for a visa, these are just the maximum number that could be invited in any particular occupation, assuming they meet the eligibility criteria. The number of actual visa places available in any Migration Yearnumber of actual visa places available in any Migration Year is significantly lower than the cumulative of the occupation quota/ceiling.
Whilst meeting the required selection criteria and obtaining a score of 65 points may enable you to submit an Expression of Interest this does not automatically result in an invitation to apply. The Expression of Interest is a competitive system with certain applications being provided priority processing. The amount of time it takes before you are invited to apply depends upon a number of factors and your circumstances. Different strategies might be considered to increase your likelihood of selection for invite from the EOI pool of interested applicants. EOI submissions can potentially remain in the pool for a period of up to 2 years. There is no guarantee that you will be invited if there is high competition and people in the EOI pool with higher scores.
Due to high demand for some occupations the Dept. of Home Affairs issue invitations for the following occupation groups on a Pro Rata basis across the year. Priority is provided to individuals with higher points scores and where the same score to those who submitted the EOI earliest. In these occupations consideration should be given to your application strategy.
- 2211 Accountants (this occupation also considered visa granted in the other skilled visas)
- 2212 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers
- 2334 Electronics Engineers
- 2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers
- 2339 Other Engineering Professionals
- 2611 ICT Business and System Analysts
- 2613 Software and Applications Programmers
- 2631 Computer Network Professionals
The table below shows the Quota's or Occupation Ceilings for the Skilled Independent Visas, and the maximum number of invitations that can be issued for each occupation for the 2019-20 Migration Programme Year (July to June). Occupation ceiling values do not represent the number of visas that will be issued, these are a maximum figure that may be granted (must not be exceeded) based on a percentage of local 'stock' figures (the number of people employed in Australia) for each occupation as determined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Latest update reflects details provided by the Dept of Home Affairs following the 11th July 2019 round of 189 visa invitations. The quotas will reset for the Migration Year commencing 1st July 2020.