A Look at the 2022/23 Skilled Migration Visa Nomination Program: Western Australia

Western Australia’s 2022/23 Skilled Migration Program is now open to applicants living overseas and in Western Australia. The program has been revised to increase the number of occupations eligible for skilled migration by 60%. The updated list of newly available occupations can be found here.

Importantly, new applications as of 1 July 2022 will benefit from several “temporary measures”. Applicants will have their $200 application fee waived, the requirement to have work experience reduced, and the requirement to have sufficient funds removed. For applications in professional and managerial occupations, the additional English requirements have been removed.

Western Australia offers State nomination for the following visa options (both of which have pathways to permanent residency):

• Skilled Work Regional Visa (subclass 491) (5-year provisional)
• Skilled Nominated Visa (subclass 190) (permanent)

Following consultation with Western Australia, the following interim nomination levels have been allocated for 2022/23:

Applicants may apply for nomination by the Western Australian Government under the following streams:

1. General stream – WASMOL Schedule 1 Occupation List
2. General stream – WASMOL Schedule 2 Occupation List
3. Graduate stream – Higher Education Graduates or VET Graduates

As of 6 May 2022, the invitations issued were as follows:

Current invitation round published on 8 September 2022 :

Western Australia has invited a total of 800 skilled workers for 2022/23 FY as of 8 September 2022.

Western Australia assesses eligible applicants against criteria unique to their jurisdiction. Before applying for state nomination, applicants must meet the Department of Home Affairs’ visa requirements. 

General stream -WASMOL Schedule 1 (Health and Medical Occupations) 

To be eligible for the General stream WASMOL Schedule 1 (Health and Medical Occupations), you must:

• Be currently residing in Western Australia.
• Be under 45 years old at the time state nomination is approved.
• Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
• Score at least 65 points or more on the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points).
• Have an occupation listed as available and eligible for the intended visa subclass on the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List Schedule 1.
• Have at least Competent English, but you do not need to sit the English test if you hold a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, or the United States of America.
• Have at least one year of Australian or overseas post-qualification work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation in the past 10 years.
• Have a valid contract of full-time employment for at least 6 months from the date of your application for State nomination if you are applying for a subclass 190 visa.
  • Note: having a full-time employment contract means you must work at least 35 hours on average.

General stream -WASMOL Schedule 2 (All other occupations) 

To be eligible for the General stream WASMOL Schedule 2 (All other occupations), you must:

• Be currently residing in Western Australia.
• Be under 45 years old at the time state nomination is approved.
• Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
• Score at least 65 points or more on the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points).
• Have an occupation listed as available and eligible for the intended visa subclass on the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List Schedule 2.
• Have at least Competent English, but you do not need to sit the English test if you hold a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, or the United States of America.
• Have a valid contract of full-time employment for at least 6 months from the date of your application for State nomination if you are applying for a subclass 190 visa.
  • Note: having a full-time employment contract means that you must be working at least 35 hours on average.

Graduate stream  

To be eligible for the Graduates stream, you must:

• Be living and studying in Western Australia for at least two years
• Be under 45 years old at the time state nomination is approved.
• Have a valid and positive skills assessment for your nominated occupation.
• Score at least 65 points or more on the Department of Home Affairs’ points test (including state nomination points).
• Have an occupation listed as available and eligible for the intended visa subclass on the Graduate Occupation List.
• Have at least Competent English, but you do not need to sit the English test if you hold a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, or the United States of America.
• Have completed one of the following qualifications from an accredited educational institution in Western Australia that meets the accreditation requirements at the time of your study:
  • A university or higher education qualification. This includes a PhD, Masters, Bachelor of higher degree (Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma); and/or
  • A vocational education and training (VET) qualification at a Certificate III level or above
• Have studied at an accredited Western Australian educational institution, full-time and face-to-face, for at least two years
  • Note: if you have completed some of your units online due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, you would need to show evidence that you were enrolled as an onshoreWestern Australian student during this period

Accredited Western Australian university or higher education providers

To be considered as an accredited university or higher education provider it must have met the below requirements at the time of your studies:

• Registered as an Australian higher education provider with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
• Registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• Have a campus in Western Australia, where students study bachelor or post graduate courses full time, on campus, through face to face delivery

Accredited vocational education and training (VET) institutions
To be determined as an accredited VET institution, it must have met the below requirement at the time of your studies:

• Registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA)
• Registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• Have a campus in Western Australia, where student study full time through face to face delivery

When applying under the graduate stream, the details of your Western Australian study, including the address and postcode of the Western Australian campus of the educational institution, must be included in your Expression of Interest.

Summary of the Stream Requirements for a Subclass 190 Visa

Summary of the Stream Requirements for a Subclass 491 Visa

However, Western Australia will select Expressions of Interest (EOIs) with the highest EOI score. However, candidates residing in Western Australia have priority and offshore candidates are least prioritised. If your EOI indicates that you are seeking Western Australia State nomination for both the subclass 190 and subclass 491 visa, you will generally be invited for the subclass 491 visa in the first instance.

Western Australia’s Nomination Process (for all streams)

The visa process consists of three stages:

1. Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Department of Home Affairs via SkillSelect and select nomination from “Western Australia”. Your EOI must satisfy the requirements specific to your intended stream. 
2. Wait for your EOI to be reviewed by WA Migration Services.
3. If your WA nomination application is successful, you can lodge your visa application.
4. If you are invited to apply, you will receive an email with a link to the State nomination application form. You have up to 28 days to complete the application.
5. There are no charges for the WA state nomination applications.
6. The Western Australian Government requires all successful applicants to comply with border rules (if they are moving to WA), register their arrival with WA Migration Services, live and work in WA for at least 2 years, and complete a settlement survey every 6 months in the 2 years period.

The next round of invitations to apply for Western Australia nomination is taking place in the third week of September 2022.

This article contains general information on the 190 and 491 visas, as well as Western Australia State Nomination, which are correct as of the date of writing this article. Changes to the migration program can occur without notice. The above information is not intended to be legal advice. 

To explore your skilled visa options with Western Australia, contact Migration Affairs for a consultation today!