The Australian Skilled Migration Points Test, Explained for Filipinos

How the points test actually works

The points test is how the Department of Home Affairs ranks skilled visa applicants against each other for the 189 (Skilled Independent), 190 (Skilled Nominated) and 491 (Skilled Work Regional) visas. You do not apply for the visa directly — you first submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect, where the system tallies your points across every factor you can claim.

65 is the minimum to be considered at all. It is not a guarantee of an invitation. Home Affairs runs regular invitation rounds and, within each round, invites the highest-scoring applicants in each occupation first. In a competitive year for a popular occupation like accounting or software engineering, the effective cut-off in practice can sit well above 65 — sometimes into the 90s. A realistic score, not the bare minimum, is what actually gets you an invitation.

The seven factors you can score points on

Every point on the test comes from one of these factors:

• Age — up to 30 points, the single biggest factor. See our dedicated guide to age points.
• English language ability — up to 20 points for Superior English (roughly IELTS 8 in each band or equivalent).
• Skilled employment — up to 20 points for years working in your nominated occupation, split between overseas and Australian experience. See our work experience points guide.
• Educational qualifications — up to 20 points, from a Doctorate down through Bachelor and trade qualifications. See our qualifications points guide.
• Australian study requirement — 5 points for at least two years of study in Australia.
• Partner skills — up to 10 points if your partner also has a suitable skills assessment and competent English, or 10 points if you are single or your partner is an Australian citizen/permanent resident.
• State/territory nomination (190) or regional nomination/sponsorship (491) — worth 5 or 15 points respectively, on top of everything else.

Why your skills assessment has to come first

You cannot claim employment or qualification points for your nominated occupation without a current, positive skills assessment for that exact occupation. The assessing authority differs by occupation — ANMAC for nurses, Trades Recognition Australia for many trades, VETASSESS for most professional and general occupations, and the Australian Computer Society for ICT roles. Get this sorted before you build your EOI, not after, since the assessment can take weeks to months and everything else in your points claim depends on it lining up correctly.

Building a realistic score before you commit

The most common mistake Filipino applicants make is adding up an optimistic points total from memory instead of confirming every claim against the current instrument. Before you commit time or money to the process:

• Confirm your exact age-bracket points on the date you plan to submit your EOI — age points are calculated at time of invitation, and turning a year older can drop your score mid-process.
• Get your skills assessment outcome in writing before claiming any employment or qualification points tied to it.
• Check whether a state or regional nomination is realistic for your occupation — the extra 5 or 15 points it adds can be the difference between an invitation and staying in the pool.
• Re-verify the current points table and pass mark on the Department of Home Affairs website, since settings are reviewed periodically.

If you'd like to walk through the current points table, pass mark and occupation lists together, book a discovery call — we'll go through the published settings with you.