Australia
SkillSelect and state nomination
Australia scores you first and invites later. Sixty-five points lets you submit an expression of interest; the number that actually gets invited is considerably higher and depends on your occupation.
- Typical timeline
- 8–14 months from invitation
- Government cost
- AUD 4,770 government fee for a single applicant
How Australia actually selects people
Australia's skilled programme works on invitation, not application. You submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect, you are scored against a points test, and the Department of Home Affairs invites from the top down.
Before any of that, one step decides whether the rest is possible: skills assessment. Your occupation must appear on the relevant list, and the assessing authority for that occupation — a different body for engineers, accountants, nurses and trades — must confirm your qualifications and experience meet Australian standards. This is the step most people underestimate, and it is the step that takes longest.
The three routes, and how they differ
- Skilled Independent is permanent residence with no sponsor and no obligation to live anywhere in particular. It is the most competitive of the three, because nothing is asked of you in return.
- Skilled Nominated requires a state or territory to nominate you. That adds points and widens the occupation list, in exchange for a commitment to that state.
- Skilled Work Regional is a provisional visa leading to permanent residence, with the largest points loading and the smallest applicant pool.
Nomination is worth taking seriously. Each state publishes its own list and its own priorities, and they diverge sharply — an occupation closed in one state can be actively sought in another.
Where it goes wrong
Points are assessed at the date of invitation, not the date you submitted. A birthday that moves you into a lower age bracket, or a language test that expires, changes your score after the fact — and an invitation issued on points you can no longer prove is refused. Age is the one input that only moves against you.
The cap most calculators miss
Skilled employment points are capped at 20 in total under Schedule 6D — overseas and Australian experience combined, not 20 each. Eight years of both does not score 35. This is the most common over-scoring error in Australian points estimates, and it is worth checking against any figure you have been given.
The cut-off is not one number
SkillSelect invitation rounds are run by occupation group, and the ranking that matters is the one inside your group rather than the national picture. Rounds in 2026 have invited trades occupations at 65 points while some professional groups sat far higher. A score that looks uncompetitive in the abstract can be comfortably above the line in the right occupation — and the reverse is just as true.
Sixty-five points is the minimum to submit an expression of interest at all. It is a floor, not a target.
At a glance
Points to apply
65 of 130
Typical time
8–14 months
Government fee AUD 4,770 government fee for a single applicant
Programmes we handle for Australia
General Skilled Migration (SkillSelect)
65 points to submit an expression of interest. Invitations in recent rounds have typically needed 85–95 depending on occupation.
- Typical time
- 8–14 months
- Government fee
- AUD 4,770
- Pass mark
- 65 of 130
Who handles Australia
What decides a Australia application, beyond points
Most applications do not fail on a score. They fail on one of these — and none of them is something a points total can make up for.
Is there an age limit for Australian skilled migration?
Yes, and it is a hard cut-off rather than a scoring penalty. Applicants at or above the limit cannot be invited for the general skilled migration visas at all, and no score changes that. Employer-sponsored and regional routes operate under different age rules and are the ones worth examining instead.
Does my occupation have to be on Australia's skilled occupation list?
Yes. If your occupation is not listed, the visa does not exist for you and your points total is irrelevant. The lists are published by the Department of Home Affairs and are revised, so an occupation that was listed previously may not be now. This is the first thing to check and it takes one search.
Do I need a skills assessment for Australia?
Yes. It is a separate application to the assessing authority designated for your occupation, with its own fee, evidence requirements and timeline. A negative assessment ends the matter regardless of points, so identify the authority and what it wants before committing money to anything else.