The 65-point minimum is the Department’s floor — not the realistic invitation score. In most rounds, the Department invites applicants well above 65 points. The cut-off in the table above reflects only the lowest score invited in the round, which often applies to a single high-demand occupation. Most applicants need 80–95+ points to receive an invitation in competitive occupations. Check the occupation-by-occupation breakdown in the table below to see what score attracted invitations in your specific occupation.

On this page you will find information about SkillSelect Invitation Rounds:

• The SkillSelect system is highly competitive — most occupations attract significantly more EOIs than the Department invites in any single round. Understanding which occupations currently receive invitations and at what score is critical before you commit time and money to a skills assessment. Speak to a VisaAid migration consultant to assess your occupation’s current invitation prospects before lodging your EOI.
• For 190 visa and 491 visa state nomination invitation rounds, each State and Territory runs its own separate program. Visit our 190 visa state nomination requirements page or the 491 visa page for state-specific nomination information.

Occupation Ceilings — What They Mean for Your EOI

The Department applies occupation ceilings to the subclass 189 and subclass 491 (Family Sponsored) programs. An occupation ceiling sets the maximum number of EOIs the Department can invite for a specific occupation in a program year — once an occupation hits its ceiling, the Department stops issuing invitations in that occupation for the remainder of the year, regardless of how high your points score is.

Occupation ceilings do not apply to the Skilled Nominated 190 visa or the state/territory nominated 491 visa — only to the independent (189) and family-sponsored (491) streams.

 Check whether your occupation has a ceiling and how close it is to being reached before you submit your EOI — a ceiling reached early in the program year can lock you out of invitations until July of the following year.