Points test requirements

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Australia Skilled Immigration Points Calculator

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Skill Level
Age
English Language Ability
Specific Work Experience
Occupation in Demand
Australian Qualifications
Bonus Category
Spouse Skills
Relationship
Pass mark and Pool mark

You are awarded points for the following:

Skill – you receive points for the occupation you nominate as long as the relevant assessing authority determines that your skills are suitable for this occupation.

Skill level	Points
For most occupations where training is specific to the occupation¹	60
For more general professional occupations²	50
For other general skilled occupations³	40

¹ - To obtain 60 points for your nominated occupation, you most likely need to have a degree or trade certificate and experience that meet Australian standards and that are specifically related to your occupation. If necessary, you must meet any registration requirements in Australia. In some cases, experience without formal qualifications may be accepted.

² - To obtain 50 points for your nominated occupation, you must have earned a qualification equal to an Australian Bachelor degree or higher qualification, but it does not necessarily have to relate to the occupation you nominate.

³ - To obtain 40 points for your nominated occupation, you must have a qualification equal to an Australian diploma or advanced diploma which does not necessarily have to relate to the occupation you nominate.

You should see the Australian Skilled Occupations List (ASOL) to check whether or not the occupation you wish to nominate is on ASOL and to find out how many points your occupation is worth.

Before you apply, you must have your skills assessed by the relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation. The skills assessment and the documents provided to the assessing authority must be included with your application.

You should also refer to the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) description of your nominated occupation to determine whether or not your job duties correspond with the same or related Australian occupation.

Age – you are awarded points for your age.

Age	Points
18-29 years	30
30-34 years	25
35-39 years	20
40-44 years	15

Before you apply you should provide evidence of your age, for example, by your birth certificate.

English language ability – if this is found as either vocational or competent.

English language ability	Points
Vocational (you must have a reasonable command of English, coping with overall meaning of the language in the most situations)	15
Competent (you must be able to use and understand fairly complex language, especially where used in a familiar situation)	20

Before you apply you should obtain evidence of your English language ability. If you are from an English speaking Country this may be less relevant.

Specific work experience – this differs from the basic requirement of recent work experience, without which you can not make a valid application. The number of points you are awarded for this factor vary. It depends on the number of points for your nominated occupation and the period of time you have worked in your nominated occupation, closely related occupation or skilled employment.

Specific work experience	Points
in your nominated occupation which is worth 60 points or in a closely related occupation, for at least 3 of the 4 years before submitting your application	10
in your nominated occupation or any skilled occupation for at least 3 of the 4 years before submitting your application	5

Occupation in demand (and job offer) - there are some occupations that are in demand in Australia. If you claim points for this your nominated occupation should be on the Migration Occupations in Demand List. You can be awarded extra points if you have a job offer for your nominated occupation.

Occupation in demand	Points
Occupation in demand, with no job offer	10
Occupation in demand with a job offer	15

Before you apply you should check whether your nominated occupation at the time of your application is on the Migration Occupations in Demand List and obtain documentary evidence of the job offer if you claim points for occupation in demand with job offer.

Australian qualifications – you can be awarded points for this factor if you have completed an Australian qualification from an Australian educational institution, studying one academic year in Australia.

Australian qualifications	Points
One-year diploma or higher qualification	5
Upper second class Honours degree (or +) following Australian bachelor degree	10
Master's degree following bachelor degree completed in Australia	10
Doctorate degree with min. 2 consecutive years of full-time study in Australia	15

Before applying you should obtain certified copy of your qualifications, if you claim points for this factor. You should also note that you could claim points for this factor only if you have completed your Australian qualifications less than 6 months before you apply for migration.

Spouse skills – you are awarded points for this factor if your spouse also satisfies the basic requirements and has obtained a suitable skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority.

Spouse skills	Points
If applicable	5

Before submitting a migration application you should obtain proof that your spouse satisfies the basic requirements and obtain a skills assessment for your spouse's skills from the relevant assessing authority.

Bonus Category - either capital investment in Australia, Australian skilled work experience or fluency in one of Australia's major community languages (other than English).

Bonus category	Points
Capital investment in Australia	5
Australian work experience	5
Fluency in one of the Australia's community languages	5

Sponsored Category - If you apply under the Skilled Australian Sponsored category you may receive extra points for your relationship to Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia, if you or your spouse relates to your sponsor as a non-dependant child, a parent, a brother or sister, or a niece or nephew.

Relationships	Points
If applicable	15

Pass mark and Pool mark

You must gain sufficient points to reach the pass mark in effect at the time your application is assessed.

Please, be advised on the current pass mark for the following categories:

	Pass mark	Pool mark
Skilled Australian Sponsored	110	105
Skilled Independent	120	70
Skilled Independent Overseas Student	120	120*

* - in effect from 1 April 2005.

You should check the pass mark in effect at the time of your application, since it might have changed.

Applications that achieve a score below the pass mark but above another mark called the 'pool mark' will be held in reserve for up to 2 years after assessment. If the pass mark is lowered at any time during that 2-year period and if your score is equal to, or higher than, the new pass mark, your case will be processed further.