Changes were introduced by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) that took effect from 1 March 2014 and raised the minimum ceiling for each occupational group under the SkillSelect system to 1000 invitations.
Since then, we have been advising our Clients that it’s actually brilliant news in that regard. I’m very happy to report that the forecasts we made have been proven to be accurate and prescient by the selections made from the pool in the time that’s elapsed since.
The increase in the minimum ceiling for all occupational groups to 1000 impacted a large number of occupations especially with regard to occupations where high numbers of EOI’s had been received and invitations were therefore being issued on a pro-rata basis in each invitation round. Because of the high number of applications, these occupations were also subject to a higher cut-off for points and earlier dates of effect with regard to EOI selections compared to other occupations.
To specifically boil down to the Engineers the occupations that were effected were:
– Chemical Engineers
– Materials Engineers
– Electronics Engineers
– Telecommunications Engineer
– Telecommunications Network Engineer
– Aeronautical Engineer
– Environmental Engineer
– Biomedical Engineer
– Agricultural Engineer
– Naval Architect
– Engineering Technologist
– Acoustic Engineer
– Mechatronics Engineer
– Product Design Engineer
How does the SkillSelect system work, you might be wondering. And we are obliged to reply!
In the SkillSelect system, Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) are ranked by points score. The highest ranked applicants are invited to apply for the relevant visa. For applicants who have equal points scores, the time at which they reached their points score for that subclass (referred to as the visa date of effect) determines their order of invitation. EOI’s with earlier dates of effect are invited before those with later dates.
We can see the improvement in both cut-off points and dates of effect for the 4 occupational groups containing the above occupations by looking at the selections made on 24 February, just before the changes took effect, and on 28 April, which is the most recent selection:
In the selection of 24 February, the relevant selection points and cut-off dates for the 4 occupational groups in question were as follows:
– Chemical and Materials Engineers
, 75 points, all applications lodged on or before 22/02/2014 5.24 pm
– Electronics Engineers, 65 points, all application lodged on or before 14/01/2014 at 1.25 pm
– Other Engineering Professionals, 75 points, all applications lodged on or before 03/02/2014 11.31 pm
– Telecommunication Engineering Professionals, 70 points, all applications lodged on or before 14/02/2014 at 7.26 pm
Looking at the most recent selection made on 28 April:
– Chemical and Materials Engineers, 60 points, all applications lodged on or before 08/03/2014 at 1.18 pm
– Electronics Engineers, 60 points, all applications lodged on or before 21/03/2014 at 2.07 pm
– Other Engineering Professionals, 60 points, all applications lodged on or before 09/03/2014 at 10.39 pm
– Telecommunications Engineering Professionals, 60 points, all applications lodged on or before 28/02/2014 at 7.40 pm
You will notice that all 4 groups has improved dramatically in terms of selection points and cut-off dates over the course of the 4 selections made from the pool since the change was introduced. Not only has the selection point dropped to 60 for all 4 groups of occupations, but the cut-off dates have also approached the actual date of selection.
Before the implemented change, a person in one of the above occupations lodging a 60 points EOI could not expect to be selected. Now they can expect to be selected within 6 to 8 weeks and immediately if their EOI has higher.
If you are interested in migrating to Australia please fill up our assessment form, alternatively, you can send us an e-mail at enquiries@australmigrate.com to organise a consultation.
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