An overview of 2022-23 WA State Nomination Program

State Nomination Western Australia 2022-23

Over the past few weeks, we have been talking about upcoming changes to various visa programs on our Facebook and LinkedIn, such as new student visa conditions and removal of skills assessment for Subclass 485 Graduate Work Stream applications.

Nevertheless, on a personal note, the most exciting changes have to be the 2022 – 23 WA State Nomination Program. This is an essential step for Subclass 190 and Subclass 491 visa applications.

Now, before we talk about why we feel excited, let us take a step back and break down the WA state nomination requirements for 2022-23 program year.

General Process

To be eligible for a nomination from Western Australia, applicants must first make sure they can meet Subclass 190 or 491 visa requirements prescribed by the Department of Home Affairs. The general process is:

• Obtain a positive skills assessment for an eligible occupation
• Submit expression/s of interest (EOI), i.e. the points test, and indicate that you are seeking nomination from Western Australia. This allows WA state government to invite you to apply for state nomination, if your ranking is high enough.
• Upon nomination approval, you will receive an invitation to apply for Subclass 190 or 491 visa.

Your ranking is determined by multiple factors, including but not limited to:

• The stream you are eligible for
• Your location
• Your nominated occupation
• Level of your WA qualification

This is usually not a straightforward matter, so you should always consult with a migration professional to plan your visa pathway.

WA State Nomination – Streams

For the new program year, WA state nomination has two streams:

• General Stream
• Graduate Stream

There are three occupation lists:

• General stream has access to WA Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) Schedule 1 & 2
• Graduate stream has its own Graduate Occupation List (GOL).
• This occupation list also specifies, for each occupation, the visa type available as well as any restrictions on location of employment offer.
• It is possible for an occupation to appear on both WASMOL and GOL

When you receive an invitation to apply for WA state nomination, you are notified of the stream nominated, and you are given 28 days to lodge state nomination application with required supporting evidence. It is possible for an applicant to receive invitations for both streams.

General Stream – WASMOL Schedule 1

In addition to the above-mentioned DOHA visa requirements (e.g. skills assessment for your nominated occupation, EOI etc.); the following requirements are mandatory for applicants invited under General Stream with an occupation on WASMOL Schedule 1:

• Providing supporting evidence to meet minimum employment experience in your nominated or closely related occupation, i.e. the ability to claim 5 points for work experience in your EOI:
  • If the experience was in Australia: at least 1 year in the past 10 years
  • If the experience was outside Australia: at least 3 years in the past 10 years
• Minimum English language requirements apply, unless you hold passport from United Kingdom, Ireland, the US, Canada and New Zealand
• A contract of full-time employment for at least 12 months. The position offered to you must be in your nominated or closely related occupation, and it must be based in Western Australia.
• If you are applying from outside Western Australia, you must provide evidence of sufficient funds for relocation and settling down in WA.

General Stream – WASMOL Schedule 2

For occupations on WASMOL Schedule 2, the WA state nomination requirements are almost identical with WASMOL Schedule 1, with one good exception – you do not need to demonstrate the above-mentioned minimum work experience requirement, which makes the process slightly easier than WASMOL Schedule 1 nominations.

Graduate Stream

This is probably the best addition to Western Australia nomination program in recent years. In addition to the standard Subclass 190 and Subclass 491 visa requirements, you must be an eligible WA graduate with a nominated occupation on the Graduate Occupation List.

An eligible WA graduate means you have:

• gained a Certificate III or higher qualification in Western Australia; and
• completed at least two years of full time study in Western Australia at:
  • a Western Australian university
  • higher education provider
  • TAFE
  • registered training provider
  • English language provider

Graduate stream also has a more flexible approach towards employment. Unlike General Stream with a mandatory requirement of 12 months’ contract and/or ‘5 points’ of work experience, graduate stream applicants only need to provide one of the following:

• at least six months of paid Australian work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation over the past five years; or
• A full-time employment contract for your nominated or closely related occupation, with a position based in Western Australia, for at least six months.

WA State Government has strict requirements on the standards of documents/information submitted, so it is very important that you seek professional migration assistance from a registered migration agent if you are not sure. With a state nomination application, you cannot afford, nor should you be, getting it wrong.

What is so special about 2022-23 program year?

Now that you have an overview of how WA state nomination works, we can finally talk about why we are so excited about the new program year.

To start with, the graduate occupation list just received a huge expansion. It will have more than 300 occupations when the new program year starts. Amongst 190+ new occupations, key additions to the occupation list include but are not limited to:

• Architectural draftsperson / Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians NEC
• Trade occupations such as Bricklayer, Carpenter, wood & floor tiler
• Child care centre manager
• Dental-related occupations
• Engineering occupations such as Engineering Technologist, Mechanical Engineering Draftsperson/technician
• Occupational therapist / welfare worker
• Food Technologist
• ICT business analyst / manager, Support engineer, Database Administrator, Software and applications programmer, Software tester, Systems administrator/analyst, Web administrator, Analyst programmer
• Internal Auditor
• Enrolled Nurse / Registered Nurse / Midwife

Moreover, for the first time since the pandemic started, WA state nomination program will open up for offshore applicants, i.e. those who currently reside outside Australia. This gives prospect applicants another option when considering Australian migration. The state of Western Australia will also continue to utilize skills from these talented individuals from overseas to address labour market shortages and post-pandemic recoveries.

So, the last question is – why should you move to WA? We will discuss this in detail in our next blog. In the meantime, WA’s Deputy Premier has provided a very good answer in his recent visit to London:

‘WA continued to thrive and remain relatively safe during the pandemic while enjoying one of the world best economies.’

‘There are low levels of unemployment and strong demand for skilled workers.’

‘We all know how good the lifestyle is and just what an extraordinary place it is to call home.’

‘Come and build a life in WA.’

So if you are interested in migrating to Western Australia, whether you are already in Australia or not, you should contact us now. This can be a complicated and lengthy process, but you will be in good hands with our experienced visa team. Talk to our Migration Agents Perth.