Data on August 2018 SkillSelect round has been released, showing that 2500 invitations were sent out on the 11th (2490 for Skilled Independent SC189 and 10 for Skilled Regional SC489), more than doubling those sent out in July.
Only applicants with a points score of at least 70 received invitations this round, with the most recent EOI having been lodged back at the end of May. The vast majority of invitations went to applicants on 75 points (1094 in total), which is 10 points above the minimum invitation score. Clearly, it is best to try and obtain the highest points score possible.
Looking at the pro-rata occupations, Accountants and Auditors are still sitting on a minimum of 80 points for an invitation (with an EOI lodged back in March), while Electronics Engineers, Other Engineering Professionals, ICT Business and Systems Analysts, and Software Applications Programmers are sitting on 75 points.
Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineer points have dropped down to 70 (with an EOI from December 2017, as well as Computer Network Professionals (but a lengthy wait on an invitation with the EOI from September 2017).
With another round tomorrow, 11 September, it will be interesting to see if the increased number of invitations will be maintained.
Interestingly, the migration occupation lists are still under review by Immigration, following consultation with the Department of Jobs and Small Business. There has been no announcement on when new lists may be released (other than the ‘mid 2018’ initially advertised), so we are hoping that this is not done without any notice to applicants. Watch this space.
If you would like assistance with lodging an EOI or strategies to increase your points score, please contact us for assistance.
AMVL Migrations
