It appears that States and Territories have received a very small allocation of places for Subclass 491/190 nominations, until the Federal Budget is handed down on 6 October 2020.
Very strict conditions have been imposed on the occupations the State and Territory Governments can approve for the Subclass 491/190. These may only be used for occupations that are critical to the COVID economic recovery. The critical occupations and industry sectors are those providing critical or specialist medical services, including air ambulance, medical evacuations and delivering critical medical supplies; those with critical skills required to maintain the supply of essential goods and services (such as in medical technology, critical infrastructure, telecommunications, engineering and mining, supply chain logistics, agricultural technology, food production, and the maritime industry)
The highest ranked applicants by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa. For clients who have equal points for that subclass determines their order of invitation. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.
You will see that only candidates with a minimum of 90 points received invitations in the August round under the Subclass 189 stream. However, the invitation did not extend to occupations subject to a pro rata arrangement. There have been NO invitations being issued to candidates under the following occupation groups: accountants, auditors, electronics engineers, industrial/mechanical and production engineers, ICT business and system analysts, software and application programmers, and computer network professionals.
In fact, the Department of Home Affairs has not issued any invitation for pro rata occupations since May 2020.
| Visa Subclass | Minimum Points Score | Number |
| Skilled Independent Visa ( subclass 189) | 90 | 110 |
| Skilled Work Regional ( Provisional) visa (subclass 491) Family Sponsored | 75 | 90 |
The specific numbers for 2020-2021 Migration Planning are still not available until the Commonwealth Government’s allocation of state nomination places for 2020-21 takes place as part of the Federal budget process (6 October 2020). However, some States and Territories have opened with a limited number of interim allocation places for the Subclass 491 and 191 programmes.
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, it appears that the Department considers priority to be given to candidates already in Australia and meeting the points requirements and has temporarily stopped the invitations for candidates located outside of Australia.
The Department also indicates that the occupation ceilings and the latest invitation rounds are based largely as a result of the need for fighting COVID-19 pandemic and Australians economic recovery. As a result, we can see a number of invitations for candidates in such occupations as Registered Nurses, General Practitioners, Civil Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Telecommunications Engineering, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist.
The table, below, is a summary of the skilled occupations and the occupation ceiling, with the number of invitations that have been issued under the occupation for the current financial year and places remaining up until 11 August 2020.
| Description | Occupation Ceiling 2020-2021 | Invitations to 14/07/2020 | Invitations to 11/08/2020 | Remaining |
| Other Medical Practitioners | 1,168 | <20 | 29 | >1119 |
| General Practitioners and Resident Medical officers | 4,257 | <20 | 24 | >4215 |
| Electronics Engineers* | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Other Engineering Professionals* | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Agricultural and Forestry Scientists | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Chemists, and Food and Wine Scientists | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Life Scientists | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Medical Imaging Professionals | 1,161 | <20 | <20 | >1121 |
| Occupational Therapists | 1,461 | <20 | <20 | >1421 |
| Physiotherapists | 1,685 | <20 | <20 | >1645 |
| Internal Medicine Specialists | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Midwives | 1,333 | <20 | <20 | >1293 |
| Psychologists | 1,545 | <20 | <20 | >1505 |
| Civil Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Electrical Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Telecommunications Technical Specialists | 1,000 | <20 | <20 | >960 |
| Health and Welfare Services Managers | 1,666 | 0 | <20 | >1646 |
| Medical Laboratory Scientists | 1,536 | 0 | <20 | >1536 |
| Civil Engineering Professionals | 3,919 | 141 | 141 | 3,637 |
| Registered Nurses | 17,859 | 40 | 194 | >17625 |
| Electrical Engineers | 1,348 | 98 | 98 | 1,152 |
| Telecommunications Engineering Professionals | 1,000 | 76 | 76 | 848 |
| Chemical and Materials Engineers | 1,000 | 65 | 65 | 870 |
| Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers* | 2,682 | 48 | 48 | 2,586 |
| Mining Engineers | 1,000 | 20 | 20 | 960 |
| Construction Managers | 7,145 | 0 | 0 | 7,145 |
| Engineering Managers | 1,474 | 0 | 0 | 1,474 |
| Child Care Centre Managers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Other Specialist Managers | 4,188 | 0 | 0 | 4,188 |
| Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Music Professionals | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Artistic Directors, and Media Producers and Presenters | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Accountants* | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers* | 1,619 | 0 | 0 | 1,619 |
| Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Economists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Land Economists and Valuers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Management consultant | 4,526 | 0 | 0 | 4,526 |
| Architects and Landscape Architects | 1,452 | 0 | 0 | 1,452 |
| Cartographers and Surveyors | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Environmental Scientists | 1,295 | 0 | 0 | 1,295 |
| Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Veterinarians | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Other Natural and Physical Science Professionals | 1,056 | 0 | 0 | 1,056 |
| Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers | 3,321 | 0 | 0 | 3,321 |
| Secondary School Teachers | 8,716 | 0 | 0 | 8,716 |
| Special Education Teachers | 1,721 | 0 | 0 | 1,721 |
| University Lecturers and Tutors | 5,042 | 0 | 0 | 5,042 |
| Optometrists and Orthoptists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Other Health Diagnostic and Promotion Professionals | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Chiropractors and Osteopaths | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Podiatrists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Speech Professionals and Audiologists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Psychiatrists | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Surgeons | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| ICT Business and Systems Analysts* | 2,273 | 0 | 0 | 2,273 |
| Multimedia Specialists and Web Developers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Software and Applications Programmers* | 8,405 | 0 | 0 | 8,405 |
| Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists | 2,667 | 0 | 0 | 2,667 |
| Computer Network Professionals* | 2,245 | 0 | 0 | 2,245 |
| Barristers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Solicitors | 4,535 | 0 | 0 | 4,535 |
| Social Workers | 1,862 | 0 | 0 | 1,862 |
| Automotive Electricians | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Motor Mechanics | 5,205 | 0 | 0 | 5,205 |
| Sheetmetal Trades Workers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers | 4,866 | 0 | 0 | 4,866 |
| Metal Fitters and Machinists | 6,335 | 0 | 0 | 6,335 |
| Precision Metal Trades Workers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Panelbeaters | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Bricklayers and Stonemasons | 1,712 | 0 | 0 | 1,712 |
| Carpenters and Joiners | 6,812 | 0 | 0 | 6,812 |
| Painting Trades Workers | 3,303 | 0 | 0 | 3,303 |
| Glaziers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Plasterers | 1,452 | 0 | 0 | 1,452 |
| Wall and Floor Tilers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Plumbers | 5,861 | 0 | 0 | 5,861 |
| Electricians | 8,021 | 0 | 0 | 8,021 |
| Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics | 1,581 | 0 | 0 | 1,581 |
| Electrical Distribution Trades Workers | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Electronics Trades Workers | 2,047 | 0 | 0 | 2,047 |
| Chefs | 2,256 | 0 | 0 | 2,256 |
| Animal Attendants and Trainers | 1,239 | 0 | 0 | 1,239 |
| Cabinetmakers | 1,694 | 0 | 0 | 1,694 |
| Boat Builders and Shipwrights | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials | 1,262 | 0 | 0 | 1,262 |
| Sportspersons | 1,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,000 |
The nomination process will be dependent on each State and Territory Government, and applications will be prioritised based on skills and sectors critical to supporting the country’s response to the COVID19 pandemic.
Critical skills, services, and sectors include:
According to the above, some States/Territories have now published relevant Skills Occupation Lists.
| State/Territory | List | Status | Release date |
| Australian Capital Territory | ACT Critical Skills List | OPEN
Canberra Residents only |
19/08/2020 |
| New South Wales | OPEN | ||
| Northern Territory | CLOSED | ||
| Queensland | CLOSED | ||
| South Australia | OPEN | ||
| Tasmania | OPEN | ||
| Victoria | CLOSED | ||
| Western Australia | CLOSED |
The next invitation round will be on 11 September 2020 and it’s expected that the invitations will look similar to the August round.
Published Thu 27 August 2020. Tags: 189 Visa, 491 Visa, SkillSelect Invitation Round, State Sponsorship
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