The Australian Point System and Visa Applications

The Australian point system utilised by the Australian government in its immigration process is used to determine which applicants are eligible for a residency visa. Skilled migrants, wishing to live and work in Australia, are assessed based upon this point system, with points awarded for various aspects including work experience, qualifications and language proficiency.

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The skilled immigration programme does not, under the Australian point system currently in use, have a universal set of points to serve as a qualifying mark. Instead the pass mark varies between 110 and 120 points and this depends on the type of skilled immigration visa that is being applied for. Furthermore, the Australian authorities keep in reserve a pool of applicants whose scores are lower than the required but above 70 points. These reserve pool applicants can be used to ensure that the required immigration quotas are maintained whenever the numbers of “passing” applicants are insufficient.

In addition to meeting the required number of points the applicant must also meet requirements in terms of health, character, age, education, work experience and basic English language proficiency.

An applicant will always have to undergo a medical examination prior to the approval of a visa. Furthermore, an applicant must be under 45 to qualify for a skilled migration visa, although there are other visas available for those who have exceeded this age. The Australian point system allocated between 15 and 30 points based on age with the number reducing the nearer an applicant is to the 45 year age limit.

The Australian skilled occupation list is extensive. The Australian point system allocates between 40 and 60 points according to the skilled occupation and each applicant must have an occupation that appears on the skilled occupation list and have the necessary work experience in that occupation. Between 5 and 10 points are allocated for the type of work experience and more points are available if the occupation is on the government’s Migration Occupations in Demand List.

There are also points awarded according to the applicant’s involvement in Australia and ability to adapt. Five points can be allocated to an applicant for residing in a designated region or low population growth metropolitan area. Further points are awarded for other attributes; these include providing a minimum Aus$100,000 capital investment in Australia, having previously had a certain amount of work experience within the previous 4 years, being fluent in one of Australia’s community language, other than English or having already received educational training in Australia.

In addition, the ability to speak the English language is also well rewarded. Whilst competency in the English language will earn points, the highest number of points will be awarded to those who are native speakers.

What makes the entire visa application process more complex is that the rules regarding the Australian point system never seem to remain constant for any considerable length of time. For this reason alone, utilising the services of a registered migration consultant to assist in the residency visa application process is highly worthwhile.