The Department of Immigration and Citizenship 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)

2nd Round (15th September)

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.

More information on the previous round and information on State and Territory nominated visa invitations can be found here: http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/index/report-2012-08/

2012 SkillSelect Invitation Rounds Summary

Please use the links below to review previous/future SkillSelect invitation round articles.

• SkillSelect 2013 March Round
• SkillSelect 2013 February Round
• SkillSelect 2013 January Round
• SkillSelect 2012 December Round
• SkillSelect 2012 November Round
• SkillSelect 2012 October Round
• SkillSelect 2012 September Round

The table below contains a running tally of the total invitations issued each month in addition to the total amount of invitations issues for the 2012 – 2013 year. Please note these figures include only invitations issued for Skilled Independent and Skilled Regional Sponsored visas.

Occupation Ceilings

Annual occupation ceilings are set for each occupation, meaning once the limit has been reached no further invitations will be issued in the corresponding field until July 2013. Occupations that have reached their ceiling are listed below:

• Chemical and Materials Engineers
• ICT Business & System Analysts
• lectronic Engineers

For candidates who have completed their Expression Of Interest (EOI) in the above mentioned group(s), your EOI will remain valid for 2 years.

The following table indicates which occupations are reaching the occupation ceiling fastest. This information is updated as often as the Department of Immigration release their statistics.

Last update: 18th February 2013

If your occupation ceiling has been reached, there are numerous ways of strengthening your EOI. The Department of Immigration selects applicants based on the date their EOI was submitted and/or the score they have achieved in the points test. If you meet the points test, but your score is relatively low (i.e. 60 – 65 points) there are a number of things you can do to improve you chances of getting selected in the following year.

Examples of what you can do to improve your score includes:

• IELTS English test (improve your score for additional points)
• Partner skill qualifications (skills assessment, English and age criteria)
• Credentialled community language qualifications
• Increase your education level
• Gain more work experience

State and Territory Government Nominations for 2012/13

Source: The Department of Immigration & Citizenship