How to Score 65 Points for Subclasses 189, 190 and 491

The pass mark for the Subclass 189 (Skilled—Independent), Subclass 190 (Skilled—Nominated) and Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visas is 65 points, set by the Migration (LIN 19/210: Pool and Pass Marks) Instrument 2019 for applications made on or after 16 November 2019. That 65 is the minimum needed to lodge an expression of interest — it does not, on its own, produce an invitation. This guide shows exactly how each point category builds your score, cites every value to its item in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, and works through an example that reaches 65 so you can self-assess before you lodge.

The number 65 is not in the visa rules themselves. The Minister sets the pass mark by legislative instrument, and the current one is the Migration (LIN 19/210: Pool and Pass Marks for General Skilled Migration Visas) Instrument 2019, with the registration identifier F2019L01400. For applications made on or after 16 November 2019 for a Subclass 189, 190 or 491 visa, both the pool mark and the pass mark are 65 points.

“Pass mark” has a precise meaning. It is the score your expression of interest (EOI) must reach to be considered. It is the door you have to get through to be in the running — not a score that delivers an invitation. Invitations are issued to the highest-ranked expressions of interest, so a person sitting exactly on 65 is competing against everyone who scored more. Reaching 65 lets you lodge; it does not settle whether you will be invited.

Every point you can claim comes from Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994 — the “General points test for General Skilled Migration visas”. A schedule is simply a table of rules attached to the regulations. Within it, each rule sits at a numbered “item”, written as a code like 6D11 or 6D72. That code is the legal address of a figure: when you see “25 points under 6D11”, it means the law at item 6D11 awards 25 points for that circumstance. Tagging every value to its item is what lets you check any claim against the law itself.

Schedule 6D runs through several categories. The ones most applicants rely on are age (Part 6D.1), English language (Part 6D.2), overseas skilled employment (Part 6D.3), Australian skilled employment (Part 6D.4), educational qualifications (Part 6D.7) and partner factors (Part 6D.11). There are further categories — a professional year (6D61), Australian study (6D81), a credentialled community language (6D91) and study in a designated regional area (6D101). State nomination and regional nomination or sponsorship add points of their own, at items 6D121 and 6D131.

One rule governs them all: the points are assessed at the time of invitation to apply for the visa, not when you lodge the EOI and not when a decision is made. Every item in Schedule 6D is worded that way. Your age, your English result and your years of experience are frozen at the moment you are invited.

Age is the single largest block of points for most applicants, and the most common place people get the figure wrong by misreading their own bracket. Schedule 6D awards age points at items 6D11 to 6D14, measured by your age at the time of invitation:

• Not less than 18 and under 25 — 25 points (6D11)
• Not less than 25 and under 33 — 30 points (6D12)
• Not less than 33 and under 40 — 25 points (6D13)
• Not less than 40 and under 45 — 15 points (6D14)

The top band, 30 points, applies from your 25th birthday up to the day before your 33rd — “under 33” means you have not yet turned 33. You will see this described loosely elsewhere as “25 to 32”; that is the same bracket worded casually, not a different rule. Because the measure is your age on the day of invitation, a person who turns 33 after lodging an EOI but before being invited drops from 30 points to 25. Over 45 earns no age points, and the subclass rules require applicants to be under 45 at the time of invitation in any event.

Schedule 6D sets English points at two items: 20 points for superior English (6D21) and 10 points for proficient English (6D22). Competent English earns no points under Schedule 6D — it is the baseline eligibility level required to apply, not a scoring level. So the three practical rungs are: competent (0 points), proficient (10 points, 6D22) and superior (20 points, 6D21).

The exact test scores that reach each band — the IELTS, PTE, TOEFL iBT or other equivalents for competent, proficient and superior — are set separately under the regulations and the Department of Home Affairs English requirements, not in the Schedule 6D text. Confirm the current score equivalences for each band with the Department of Home Affairs before you rely on a result, because the right score moves you between 0, 10 and 20 points. Improving your English band is often the fastest controllable way to gain 10 or 20 points.

Skilled employment is counted in two separate places, and it matters which is which. “Skilled employment” here means work in your nominated skilled occupation, or a closely related skilled occupation, in the 10 years before invitation.

Overseas skilled employment (Part 6D.3):

• At least 36 months — 5 points (6D31)
• At least 60 months — 10 points (6D32)
• At least 96 months — 15 points (6D33)

Australian skilled employment (Part 6D.4):

• At least 12 months — 5 points (6D41)
• At least 36 months — 10 points (6D42)
• At least 60 months — 15 points (6D43)
• At least 96 months — 20 points (6D44)

Overseas experience therefore tops out at 15 points (6D33), while Australian experience can reach 20 (6D44). These bands are measured in whole totals within the 10-year window — you qualify for a band once your total hits its month threshold.

This is the step most self-assessments get wrong. If you have both overseas experience (Part 6D.3) and Australian experience (Part 6D.4), you do not simply add the two totals. Item 6D51 says that where the combined points from both parts would exceed 20, the Minister gives you 20 points for the two together — and no points are given separately under Part 6D.3 or Part 6D.4. The prescribed number for the combination is 20.

Walk it through in order:

1. Work out your overseas employment points under 6D31–6D33.
2. Work out your Australian employment points under 6D41–6D44.
3. Add the two figures together.
4. If that sum is more than 20, your employment score is fixed at 20 under 6D51 — not the sum.

Example: eight years overseas is 15 points (6D33), and three years in Australia is 10 points (6D42). Added naively that looks like 25. But because the combined total exceeds 20, item 6D51 caps it at 20 points. Claiming 25 here would overstate your score by five points and could see your EOI assessed below the figure you expected.

Educational qualifications are scored in Part 6D.7. The points are awarded for your highest relevant qualification:

• A doctorate from an Australian institution, or an equivalent of a recognised standard — 20 points (6D71)
• At least a bachelor degree (which includes a masters) from an Australian institution, or an equivalent of a recognised standard — 15 points (6D72)
• A diploma from an Australian educational institution — 10 points (6D73)
• A trade qualification from an Australian educational institution — 10 points (6D74)

A qualification or award recognised by the relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation as suitable also earns 10 points (6D75). There are additional items for a specialist educational qualification (6D7A1, 10 points) and meeting the Australian study requirement (6D81, 5 points).

Partner points are where incorrect figures circulate most widely. Schedule 6D sets three distinct items, and they award different amounts for different situations:

• 6D111 — 10 points: your spouse or de facto partner is an applicant for the same subclass, is not an Australian permanent resident or citizen, was under 45 at the time of your invitation, nominated a skilled occupation, had a suitable skills assessment for that occupation (not for a Subclass 485 visa), and had competent English at the time of invitation.
• 6D112 — 10 points: you either do not have a spouse or de facto partner, or your partner is an Australian permanent resident or Australian citizen.
• 6D113 — 5 points: your partner is an applicant for the same subclass, is not an Australian permanent resident or citizen, and had competent English at the time of invitation — but does not meet the full skilled criteria of 6D111.

You will see claims elsewhere that a skilled partner must be “under 50” and earns “5 points”. That is wrong for the current Schedule 6D. The age condition for a skilled partner is under 45, and a skilled partner meeting all of 6D111 earns 10 points, not 5. The 5-point figure belongs to 6D113 — a partner with competent English only. Do not repeat the “under 50 / 5 points” version.

All three subclasses use the identical Schedule 6D test for age, English, employment, qualifications and partner factors. The difference is at the end of the schedule, in two nomination items:

• Subclass 189 — no nomination points. Your score is Schedule 6D as above, with no additional item.
• Subclass 190 — 5 points under 6D121 if you have been invited to apply for a 190 visa and the nominating State or Territory government agency has not withdrawn the nomination.
• Subclass 491 — 15 points under 6D131 if you have been invited to apply for a 489 or 491 visa and the nominating State or Territory has not withdrawn the nomination, or (where sponsored by a family member) the Minister has accepted the sponsorship.

A crucial detail: the 6D121 and 6D131 points are worded around having been invited to apply with a nomination in place. The nomination or sponsorship points attach at the invitation stage — you count them once that nomination or sponsorship is secured and reflected in your invitation. A 491 nomination adds the most (15 points, 6D131), which is why it is often the strongest route for applicants short of the mark.

Use the estimator below to add up your own score. Each option carries its Schedule 6D item and the exact point value the law fixes. Assess every factor as it stands at the time you would be invited. Remember that the combined-employment cap (6D51) applies automatically once your overseas and Australian totals add to more than 20.

Take Priya, a 30-year-old software engineer applying for a Subclass 190 visa with State nomination. Here is how her score builds, each line tied to its Schedule 6D item:

• Age 30 (25 to under 33) — 30 points (6D12)
• Proficient English — 10 points (6D22)
• Bachelor degree — 15 points (6D72)
• Four years overseas skilled employment (at least 36 months) — 5 points (6D31)
• State nomination for 190 — 5 points (6D121)

Total: 30 + 10 + 15 + 5 + 5 = 65 points, reaching the pass mark.

Had Priya applied for Subclass 189 instead, she would lose the 5 nomination points and sit at 60 — below the pass mark. The nomination route (6D121 for 190, or the larger 6D131 for 491) is what lifts an applicant in her position over the line.

Three errors account for most overstated self-assessments.

Switching from single to partnered after invitation. One registered migration practice describes a common scenario: an applicant who was single when invited claimed points as a single applicant, then married or entered a de facto relationship after the invitation and tried to claim skilled partner points instead, as reported by Visa Envoy. Partner factors are assessed at the time of invitation, so a change afterward does not alter the points claimed for that invitation.

Mis-dating your age. Age is measured at the time of invitation, not when you lodge the EOI. Turning 33, 40 or 45 between lodging and invitation moves you down a bracket — from 30 to 25 points at 33, or out of age points entirely at 45.

Double-counting employment past the 6D51 cap. Adding overseas and Australian experience totals together beyond 20 overstates your score. Item 6D51 fixes the combined figure at 20 whenever the two parts together would exceed it.

The confirmed law is clear: 65 points is the pass mark for subclasses 189, 190 and 491. That is what lets you lodge an EOI. What it does not tell you is whether a 65-point EOI will actually be invited.

Invitations are issued to the highest-ranked expressions of interest, so in practice the competitive score — the level at which invitations are actually being issued in a given round for a given occupation — can sit well above the 65-point floor. That is commentary on how invitation rounds behave, not a legislated figure, and it shifts by occupation, by subclass and by the number of places and competing applicants. The only authoritative figures for what scores are being invited are the Department of Home Affairs SkillSelect invitation-round reports; check those for the current position in your occupation rather than relying on any fixed cut-off number quoted secondhand.

The practical takeaway: treat 65 as the point at which you become eligible to compete, and build your score as high as you reasonably can above it — a stronger English band, more experience, or a nomination — because ranking, not the floor, decides invitations.

This article is general information, not personal migration advice. Your points depend on your exact circumstances at the time of invitation — your age, English result, verified employment, assessed qualification and partner details — and small differences change the figure. Before you lodge an expression of interest, confirm your own score and strategy with a registered migration agent.

Global Migrations (Global Migration & Education Solutions, ABN 22 998 014 414) provides assistance through registered migration agent Ranbir Singh, MARN 1069570. You can reach the office at 36 Zodiac Way, Plumpton VIC 3335, on +61 3 7043 2395, or at info@globalmigrations.com.au. More information is available at globalmigrations.com.au.