Current Australian Skilled Occupation List (SOL) – as @March 2017

We are coming into the time of year where the Australia Skilled Occupation (SOL) List and the State/Territory nomination lists are being reviewed. These lists form the basis for whether applicants can apply for a visa under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) program. These visas are predominantly

1. Skilled Independent (Subclass 189) Visa
2. Skilled Nominated (Subclass 190) Visa
3. Skilled Regional (Provisional) (Subclass 489) Visa

Skilled Occupation List (SOL) 

The SOL is usually updated on the 1st July of each year, in line with the new financial year (FY) in Australia. If you have a positive skills assessment in an occupation on the SOL list, and you can meet the points test of 60, you can apply for a Subclass 189 visa.

The SOL has not changed in the 2016-17 FY. There has however been a number of occupations have been affected by occupation ceilings that have been introduced throughout the FY. These ceilings have meant that some occupations have a higher points test that must be met before you are eligible for a visa. The ANZSCO codes groups, occupations and points required for these are below.

• 2211 Accountants (70)
• 2212 Auditors, Company Secretaries and Corporate Treasurers (70)
• 2334 Electronics Engineer (60)
• 2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers (65)
• 2339 Other Engineering Professionals (65)
• 2611 ICT Business and System Analysts (65)
• 2613 Software and Applications Programmers (65)
• 2631 Computer Network Professionals (65)

State/Territory skilled occupations 

If individuals are unable to meet the criteria for the Subclass 189 visa they can look at state/territory nominated visas. Under the Subclass 190 & 489 visas if you can be nominated by a state or territory of Australia you could be eligible to obtain a residency visa. Further information about the conditions of the visas can be found here.

The key to these visas is usually (but not always) having an occupation that they will nominate you for. The current status of the states/territories is below:

1. Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – Currently not accepting any onshore application for the Subclass 190 or 489 visas. To be reviewed as at 1 July 2017.
2. New South Wales (NSW) – Currently accepting nomination for specific occupations, for both the Subclass 190 or 489 visa.
3. Queensland (QLD) – Currently accepting nominations for specific occupations.
4. Northern Territory (NT) – Currently accepting nominations for specific occupations or any skilled occupation if you can evidence appropriate job opportunities. The occupation list is usually updated annually in April.
5. South Australia (SA) – Currently accepting nominations for specific occupations, or if you can meet a points score of 80 in a skilled occupation.
6. Tasmania – Currently accepting nominations for specific occupations.
7. Victoria – Currently accepting nominations for specific occupations
8. Western Australia (WA) – The WA list is currently being reviewed. Currently WA are not accepting nominations for any occupation.

For details of the current nominated occupations on the SOL and state/territories please see the attached. If your occupation is not on this list, but you believe you have a skilled occupation that has strong employment prospects or you score highly under the points test please get in touch.

2016-2017 Skilled Occupations (March 2017)

If you would like to discuss your options, or you have any questions, please get in touch.