Australia Skilled Migration: Points, Skills Assessments and Invitations
Australia’s points-tested skilled visas are not a job offer and not an employer-sponsored visa. You submit an expression of interest in SkillSelect. You can be invited to apply for a Skilled Independent visa, subclass 189, a Skilled Nominated visa, subclass 190, or a Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa, subclass 491. An expression of interest is not that visa. Jobs that depend on an employer’s sponsorship are a different path, covered in Australia jobs with visa sponsorship. The points floor below is from the Department of Home Affairs expression-of-interest page on 25 September 2026.
The expression of interest
You enter your details, including English-test results and a skills assessment as you receive them, and you submit. If your circumstances change, you can update the expression of interest before you are invited. If you are invited, you have 60 days from the date of the invitation to apply online in ImmiAccount. Missing that window means you do not have an application in progress.
Occupation, assessment, and points are separate
The occupation has to be on a skilled occupation list, and different lists apply to different visas. A skills assessment is evidence you add to the expression of interest. It is not the same thing as the points score, and the assessing authority depends on the occupation. Home Affairs does not use one authority for every job.
Subclasses 189, 190, and 491 are points-based. To be invited, you need to meet or exceed a threshold of 65 points. Points come from factors such as age, work experience, qualifications, and English. The points table itself did not open as a full grid on this check, so this article does not assign points to an age or a test score. Use the Home Affairs calculator and the table on the day you submit. An indicative score in SkillSelect is still not an invitation. The page says that meeting 65 points does not guarantee one. Invitation rounds are not a permanent pass mark, and this article does not quote one.
Three visas, not one
Subclass 189 does not use a state or territory nomination. Subclass 190 does. Subclass 491 is a regional provisional visa and also involves nomination. Treating them as a single “skilled visa” hides who must nominate you and whether the visa is provisional. Employer sponsorship is outside this list. A sponsor is not a substitute for an expression of interest, and an expression of interest is not a sponsor.
Stay periods, age caps, and visa charges were not on the expression-of-interest page. They are not stated here.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs: SkillSelect expression of interest
