The Department of Home Affairs recently announced the next rounds of invitations to apply for skilled migration, which will occur during the month of September. Under the new SkillSelect migration program, skilled migrants are issued an invitation to apply for a skilled visa after submitting and Expression of Interest (EOI). The next round of invitations will be issued under the Skilled Independent (subclass 189) and the Skilled Regional (family) Sponsored (subclass 489).
There will be 2 rounds of invitations during September. The first will occur on the 1st September and the second will occur on 15th September – each of which will cover 500 invitations, totalling 1000 invitations for the month of September.
This is a step in the right direction after a somewhat disappointing round in August. The number of invitation in August was significantly lower, with a total of only 100 invitations being issued.
SkillSelect invitations for September have been broken down by visa subclass and will be released as follows:
1st Round (1st September)
| Visa Subclass | Maximum Number |
|---|---|
| Skilled Independent (subclass 189) | 900 |
| Skilled Regional (Family) Sponsored (subclass 489) | 100 |
2nd Round (15th September)
| Visa Subclass | Maximum Number |
|---|---|
| Skilled Independent (subclass 189) | 900 |
| Skilled Regional (Family) Sponsored (subclass 489) | 100 |
Invitations will be issued to candidates with the highest points score in their Expression of Interest submitted in these visa subclasses. Where there is a tie in points, the invitations will be issued according to the date at which they reached their current point score for that visa subclass.