Description:To apply for a skilled nominated visa you must be nominated by a state or territory such as the Government of Western Australia. To be eligible for Western Australian nomination you must meet both the Department of Home Affairs criteria for the nominated visa and the Western Australian State criteria
WA Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
This permanent visa allows you to live and work in all areas of Western Australia.
The Department of Home Affairs criteria for a subclass 190 visa states that you must score at least 65 on your points test. Nomination from a state or territory gives you five points towards your score which is automatically incorporated into your Expression of Interest in SkillSelect. For more information on SkillSelect and the points test,visit Department of Home Affairs website.
Meet English requirements
You must demonstrate at least the minimum English language requirements in all four components in a single test applicable to your occupation and stream through an approved English test, listed below. If you have a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or Ireland, you are not required to sit an English exam to be eligible for Western Australian State nomination.
Some assessing authorities require an English test result as part of the skills assessment process.
All applicants applying through the graduate stream, and applicants applying through the general stream who are nominating an ANZSCO Major Occupation Group 1 (Managers) or Group 2 (Professionals) occupation, must demonstrate a ‘Proficient’ level of English, in all four components in a single test, outlined in the following table.
Table 2a ( Group 1 Managers):
| Bands | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
| Test | Minimum score | |||
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | B | B | B | B |
| Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) | 24 | 24 | 27 | 23 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | 185 | 185 | 185 | 185 |
All other occupations for the general stream must demonstrate the minimum English requirement in all four components in a single test, outlined in the following table.
Table 2b (Group 2 Professionals)
| Bands | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
| Test | Minimum score | |||
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | B | B | B | B |
| Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) | 12 | 13 | 21 | 18 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
Demonstrated the minimum required work experience in nominated occupation:
Be able to claim and give evidence of work experience in your Expression of Interest. This requirement can be met through:
- at least one year of Australian work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation** over the last 10 years; or
- at least three years of overseas work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation over the last 10 years.
WA Migration Services will assess your work experience in line with the Department of Home Affairs requirement, which specifies work experience must be gained post-qualification and via paid employment. You must have worked at least 20 hours per week in the specified occupation.
If you are using the graduate stream and hold a Western Australian PhD or Masters Degree, the work experience requirement is waived for your Western Australian State nomination.
**WA Migration Services does not conduct work experience assessments and defers to the relevant assessing authority as to the suitability of work experience for points.
Provide a contract of employment:
All applicants must have a contract of employment for full time employment for at least 12 months in Western Australia in the nominated (or closely related) occupation. If you are intending to apply for a Subclass 489 visa, the contract must be for employment located in a regional area of Western Australia.
The copy of your signed employment contract from your employer must demonstrate a minimum of 12 months employment and must include:
- full names of both the employer and the employee;
- contract start date and end date (if permanent, only start date is required);
- job description of the work to be performed by the employee;
- the terms and conditions of employment (include the position’s salary, hours of work, leave entitlements, superannuation, among other things) that are no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing equivalent work;
- location of employment;
- a statement that work specified in the employment contract must be performed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party;
- a signed and dated employment contract by the employer and the employee and provided as one document; and
- must be drafted by the employer and not by the employee.
Full time employment is defined as “on average at least 35 hours of work per week”.
You may provide two employment contracts which equal at least 35 hours of work per week.
You can submit your contract of employment when you lodge your application for State nomination with WA Migration Services.Funds:
If you live outside of Western Australia, one of the conditions of State nomination is that you bring sufficient funds into the State to cover your settlement costs.
The minimum amount of funds required is:
- for a single person – $20,000 (AUD);
- for a couple – $30,000 (AUD); and
- for every additional dependant – $5,000 (AUD).
You will be asked during the State nomination application process to show evidence of these funds through bank statements or asset valuations.
Additional requirements for graduate stream
A Western Australian qualification
You will need to have gained one of the following qualifications or a combination of studies from accredited educational institutions in Western Australia.
- a university or higher education qualification (registered by TEQSA). This includes a PhD, Masters, Bachelor or 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 (registered by ASQA).
At least two years study in Western Australia
You must have studied at an accredited Western Australian educational institution, full-time and face-to-face, for at least two years. You can use study from different qualifications to make up the two years. This can include university/higher education; VET (Certicate III level); and/or English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS). This is two years living and studying in Western Australia.
Accredited Western Australian university or higher education providers
The university or higher education provider must be:
- registered as an Australian higher education provider with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA); and
- have a campus in Western Australia, where students study bachelor or post graduate courses full time, on campus, through face to face delivery.
You must include the address and postcode for the university or campus where you completed your study in your Expression of Interest.
Current approved universities with a Western Australian campus are:
- Central Queensland University;
- Curtin University;
- Edith Cowan University;
- Murdoch University;
- Southern Cross University;
- University of Notre Dame Australia; and
- University of Western Australia.
Evidence required
You will need to provide the following:
- award certificate/s;
- transcript/s or Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement/s showing two years full time study in Western Australia; and
- confirmation of enrolment/s (COE’s) and/or student visa grant notice.
The educational institution determines whether a course is full-time or part-time.
Meet the work experience or employment contract requirement
You must have at least six months Australian work experience in your nominated (or closely related) occupation, or have a six month contract of employment in your nominated (or closely related) occupation in Western Australia.
a) Work experience
If you are using work experience to meet this requirement, you must show at least six months of Australian work experience within the last five years, in your nominated (or closely related) occupation. You will need to include the details of your work experience in your expression of interest in SkillSelect.
Work experience must be:
- gained post-qualification;
- in paid employment;
- for at least 20 hours per week in the nominated (or closely related) occupation; and
- for tasks that correspond with the ANZSCO descriptor for the nominated (or closely related) occupation.
A professional year or work placement is considered work experience, if it is a paid position and undertaken post qualification.
Further evidence of work experience may be requested during the application process.
b) Contract of employment
If you are providing a (minimum) 6 month contract of employment in Western Australia, it must:
- have at least six months remaining from the date of your application for State nomination. If you have not yet started working, your start date must be within three months of your application;
- be in your nominated (or closely related) occupation; and
- be for full time employment (at least an average of 35 hours per week) in Western Australia. You can have two employment contracts to make up 35 hours.
The contract must include:
- full names of both the employer and employee;
- contract start and end date (if permanent, only start date is required);
- job title and related ANZSCO code;
- job description;
- terms and conditions of employment (such as salary, hours of work, leave entitlements and superannuation) which must be no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing equivalent work. If your contract does not describe your terms and conditions of employment, you can provide the enterprise agreement or industrial award for your occupation;
- location of employment;
- a statement that work specified in the employment contract must be performed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party;
- signed and dated by the employer and the employee; and
- must be drafted by the employer and not the employee.
You will need to provide a copy of your contract as part of the State nomination application and it must be provided as one document.
We will also assess whether:
- an appropriate salary will be paid for the specified occupation, based on market salary rates;
- the business employing you is genuine and operating in the location specified;
- the job will be completed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party; and
- as the employee, you will bear no financial risk and be provided with the relevant tools and equipment to successfully undertake the tasks required.
Employment contracts submitted by an independent contractor or for self-employment do not meet the above requirements and will not be suitable to apply for WA State nomination.
Employment contracts submitted by a sole trader will be considered in the following circumstances only:
- the sole trader is not the stated applicant of the State nomination application; and
- the employment contract meets all the State’s employment contract requirements.