Recent policy updates.
Australian skilled migration changes often, and the changes are scattered across multiple government publications. This is the log we keep for ourselves; it is also the log everything on this site is checked against.
- 7 August 2025English language
PTE Academic moves to per-skill scoring
PTE results from 7 August 2025 are assessed against minimum scores in each of the four skills, not a single overall score.
- For Competent English, the new minima are: Listening 47, Reading 48, Writing 51, Speaking 54.
- IELTS scoring is unchanged: an overall band of 6.0 with no individual band below 5.0 still meets Competent.
- PTE results issued before 7 August 2025 remain valid until 6 August 2028 and are still assessed under the previous overall-score model.
- Remote-proctored PTE tests are no longer accepted for visa purposes.
189190491482485186 - Q1 2025Points test
189 invitation rounds move to quarterly with a four-tier system
The Skilled Independent (subclass 189) program now allocates invitations across four occupation tiers, with rounds running quarterly rather than monthly.
- Tier 1 covers strategic-priority occupations and clears at the lowest point thresholds.
- Tier 4 covers high-volume occupations (notably accounting and several ICT roles), where invitation cutoffs in recent rounds have sat at 90 to 95+ points.
- Trades occupations have generally cleared at or near the 65-point floor under Tier 1 settings.
- Tier assignments are not published per occupation; expect significant variance between rounds.
189 - 7 December 2024Visa structure
Skills in Demand visa replaces TSS (subclass 482)
Subclass 482 was renamed and restructured. Three streams now sit under one subclass with materially different eligibility from the old Short-term and Medium-term streams.
- Specialist Skills stream: roles paid at or above AUD 135,000 (indexed).
- Core Skills stream: roles paid at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) of AUD 73,150 and listed on the new CSOL.
- Essential Skills stream: roles covered by Labour Agreements (replaces sector-specific exceptions).
- Required prior work experience dropped from 2 years to 1 year.
- The post-departure window for ceasing employment extended from 60 days to 180 days.
482Sponsorship - 3 December 2024Occupation lists
Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) introduced
456 occupations consolidated into a single list for employer-sponsored streams. The legacy MLTSSL/STSOL split no longer applies to subclass 482, but MLTSSL still applies to independent skilled migration.
- The CSOL backs the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand (482) visa.
- MLTSSL remains the gating list for the Skilled Independent (189) visa and most state nomination programs targeting long-term shortages.
- STSOL and ROL still surface in some state and regional nomination programs but are no longer central to employer sponsorship.
- Several occupations on legacy lists were removed from the CSOL; check the source for the full add/remove diff.
482189190491 - 1 July 2024Age requirements
Temporary Graduate (485) age cap dropped from 50 to 35
The general age limit for the post-study work visa is now 35. Two narrow exemptions remain at 50.
- General applicants must now be under 35 at the time of application.
- Hong Kong and British National (Overseas) passport holders remain eligible up to age 50.
- Master by Research and Doctoral graduates remain eligible up to age 50.
- Course duration requirements and the post-study work stream lengths (2 to 4 years; +1 to +2 for regional study) are unchanged.
485
We update this page when we update the rest of the site. If you see a policy change that affects study-to-PR pathways and isn't yet listed, the value of this site is in being accurate; we want to know.
This page is general guidance based on public government publications. Always confirm current rules with the Department of Home Affairs and a MARA-registered migration agent before making study or visa decisions.