Australia skilled visa points calculator 2026: the 65-point test for subclass 189, 190 and 491

The three visas share the points table and the 65-point pass mark ⁴:

• Skilled Independent (subclass 189) is a permanent visa with no sponsor. Home Affairs invites the highest ranked Expressions of Interest in SkillSelect rounds ^{1 5}.
• Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) is permanent and needs a nomination from a state or territory government agency. Each agency has its own criteria ².
• Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) is provisional, for living and working in regional Australia, and needs a state or territory nomination or sponsorship by an eligible relative ³.

For all three you need an occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list, a suitable skills assessment and an invitation ^{1 2 3}. The skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before your invitation ¹. You must be under 45 when you are invited and have at least competent English at that time ^{1 2}.

These are the points of the Home Affairs points calculator ⁴. All criteria are assessed at the time of invitation ⁴.

Criterion	Condition	Points
Age	18 to 24	25
Age	25 to 32	30
Age	33 to 39	25
Age	40 to 44	15
English	Competent	0
English	Proficient	10
English	Superior	20
Overseas skilled employment	3 to under 5 years	5
Overseas skilled employment	5 to under 8 years	10
Overseas skilled employment	8 years or more	15
Australian skilled employment	1 to under 3 years	5
Australian skilled employment	3 to under 5 years	10
Australian skilled employment	5 to under 8 years	15
Australian skilled employment	8 years or more	20
Qualification	Doctorate	20
Qualification	Bachelor degree or higher	15
Qualification	Australian diploma or trade qualification, or a qualification recognised by your assessing authority	10
Australian study requirement	At least one Australian degree, diploma or trade qualification	5
Specialist education	Australian master's by research or doctorate with at least 2 academic years in a relevant field	10
Credentialed community language	NAATI accreditation or community language credential	5
Study in regional Australia	Qualification obtained while living and studying in an eligible regional area	5
Professional Year	In Accounting, ICT or Engineering, completed in the 48 months before invitation	5
Partner	Partner applies, meets age, English and skill criteria	10
Partner	Partner applies and has competent English	5
Partner	Single, or partner is an Australian citizen or permanent resident	10
Nomination	Nominated for a 190	5
Nomination	Nominated or family sponsored for a 491	15

Three rules decide how rows combine ⁴:

• Employment is capped at 20. Overseas and Australian work together give at most 20 points.
• Only your highest qualification counts.
• Employment counts only in your nominated or a closely related occupation, in the 10 years before invitation.

Passport holders of Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States meet competent English without a test ⁶. Applicants from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan need a test result from the 3 years before the application ⁶.

The approved tests and scores changed on 7 August 2025, and PTE Academic now uses new scores under the same name ⁶. For tests taken from that date, the minimum in each of the four components is ^{6 7 8}:

Level	Points	IELTS (each component)	PTE Academic (listening, reading, writing, speaking)
Competent	0	6	47, 48, 51, 54
Proficient	10	7	58, 59, 69, 76
Superior	20	8	69, 70, 85, 88

TOEFL iBT counts only if you select "Taking TOEFL for Australia" when you register ⁶. Moving from competent to superior English is worth 20 points, the same as a doctorate ⁴.

In the SkillSelect round of 15 October 2026, Home Affairs invited 20,000 Expressions of Interest for the subclass 189 ⁵. The minimum score varied by occupation, from 65 to 100 ⁵. Some examples from that round ⁵:

Occupation	Minimum score invited
Registered nurses (every specialty listed)	70
General Practitioner	70
Electrician (General)	65
Secondary School Teacher	80
Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher	90

The same round issued no invitations for the family sponsored 491 ⁵. State nominations for the 190 and the state nominated 491 run outside these rounds, and occupation ceilings do not apply to them ⁵.

When scores tie, the Expression of Interest that reached its score earlier is invited first ⁵. Reaching 65 makes you eligible to be ranked; the score you need in practice depends on your occupation and on the round.

All three people are fictional.

Maria, 29, registered nurse from the Philippines. Bachelor of Science in Nursing, IELTS 7 in every component, 6 years of nursing work after graduating, single.

Criterion	Points
Age 25 to 32	30
Proficient English	10
Overseas employment, 5 to under 8 years	10
Bachelor degree	15
Single	10
Total	75

Maria reaches 75, above the 70 that registered nurses needed in the October 2026 round ⁵. A 190 nomination would add 5 ⁴.

Arjun, 34, software engineer from India. Bachelor's degree, PTE Academic at the superior level, 9 years of experience, his wife applies with him and has competent English.

Criterion	Points
Age 33 to 39	25
Superior English	20
Overseas employment, 8 years or more	15
Bachelor degree	15
Partner with competent English	5
Total	80

Ayesha, 41, accountant from Pakistan. Bachelor's degree, IELTS 6 in every component, 12 years of experience, single.

Criterion	Points
Age 40 to 44	15
Competent English	0
Overseas employment, 8 years or more	15
Bachelor degree	15
Single	10
Total	55

Ayesha is 10 points short. Proficient English would bring her to 65, superior English to 75, and a 491 nomination would add 15 ⁴. She must also be invited before she turns 45 ¹.