Following a review and refresh, the New South Wales Government has announced their state nomination program for the 2024-2025 financial year is due to reopen in October.
Occupation Lists
The NSW Skills List will now contain ANZSCO unit groups, meaning all occupations under that group are eligible for nomination. For example, unit group ‘2613 Software and Applications Programmers’ includes the following occupations:
261311 Analyst Programmer
261312 Developer Programmer
261313 Software Engineer
261314 Software Tester
261399 Software and Applications Programmers nec
If the above unit group was included in NSW’s list, then all of the above occupations would be eligible for nomination. Please note the list has not yet been published; this is an example only.
A separate Regional NSW Skills List will apply for Subclass 491 visa applications.
Subclass 491 Regional Sponsorship
Applicants in regional Australia also have access to three pathways for nomination:
1. Work in Regional NSW – Work in any 491-eligible occupation with one employer in regional Australia for a minimum of 6 months. Salary must be equivalent to TSMIT ($73,150) unless a concession applies.
2. Invited by NSW – Priority occupations per the Regional NSW Skills List. Must have resided in NSW for at least 3 months, or have been outside Australia for at least 3 months before applying.
3. Regional NSW Graduate – Have completed a Bachelors degree, Masters, or PhD at a regional NSW institution within 2 years of applying. Occupation must be on the Regional NSW Skills List.
Claiming Skilled Employment
The NSW government will adopt the same definition of ‘skilled work experience’ as the Department of Immigration, meaning they will take into consideration the advice of the skill assessing body, the ANZSCO definition including any pre-requisite qualifications/work experience relevant to the claimed skilled employment, and other relevant information.
Expression of Interest
With the goal of simplifying the process for applicants, NSW now allows applicants to select multiple subclasses of visas in their EOI. They will also consider all valid EOIs that have selected the state of NSW for nomination.
Invitation Rounds
Rounds are expected to occur every 2-3 weeks throughout the program year (i.e. until end June 2025) or until allocation is exhausted.
Decision Ready Applications
NSW expects that applicants provide decision-ready Nomination applications, including valid skill assessment, employment evidence, English language test results, passport, and NAATI certificate (if claiming points for community language).
Professional Support
AVIE encourages applicants to ensure they have all required documents to support points test claims the time of lodging an EOI, to avoid delays or disappointment where documents cannot be sourced.
Contact us now for assistance with an EOI and preparation for the NSW State Nomination process.