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NSW published on 7 September 2022 their skilled lists and opened their program for the 190 and 491 skilled visas. You can find the current NSW lists for the 190 and the 491 skilled visas here:
Some important notes/updates:
A candidate can only apply for a 190 or a 491 visa if they have first been invited to apply for that visa by a State or Territory. It is not possible to apply for these visas if you do not have an invitation (except where you have sponsorship from an eligible relative for the 491 visa).
Before starting the invitation process, the candidate must have a positive skills assessment from the relevant entity for the relevant occupation (unless the occupation does not require a skills assessment, for example: “253111: General Practitioner”).
The NSW skilled lists do not show an “occupation”, instead they show “an ANZSCO unit group”. The candidate must check if the ANZSCO GROUP AND OCCUPATION are available for visas.
An occupation is for example: "221111 Accountant (General)". An Occupation is what is on the general skilled list of occupations from the Department of Home Affairs for visas, and what a candidate will need to use when applying for a skilled visa.
An ANZSCO unit group is the group where one or more occupations are inserted. For example: “2211 Accountants” (which includes "221111 Accountant (General)” but also has other occupations).
When checking the NSW lists, it’s important to check if the specific occupation is part of the group they list there.
For example: The ANZSCO unit group “1331 – Construction Managers” is on the NSW list for the 190 visa.
This group has the following two occupations:
133111 Construction Project Manager and 133112 Project Builder Construction Project Manager is on the skilled list of occupations of the Department of Home Affairs for visas, so if this is the occupation being used, the candidate may be eligible for the 190.
However, 133112 Project Builder is not on the skilled list of occupations of the Department of Home Affairs for visas, so it is not possible to get an invitation from NSW for a 190 visa for this occupation.
NSW now shows the minimum points and years of experience for each unit group. If a candidate does not have these minimums (and also meets the other requirements) they will not invite. There are work experience exemptions if the candidate studied in regional Australia and is requesting an invitation for the 491 visa through pathway 1.
NSW will only accept work experience which is after the date the candidate was deemed skilled for the occupation. This date is stated in the skills assessment.
ACS and VETASSESS, for example, have specific rules for this. The candidate cannot claim work experience that those entities have used for their assessment to consider the person skilled and identify the date deemed skilled.
To be eligible for the 190 visa (apart from all other requirements) the candidate must have lived in NSW for at least 6 months OR have been offshore for at least 6 months. They have advised they have no exceptions to this rule.
To be eligible for the 491 visa (apart from all other requirements) the candidate must have lived in NSW for at least 3 months OR have been offshore for at least 3 months. They have advised they have no exceptions to this rule.
There are 2 pathways for invitation for the 491 regional skilled visa. One through direct invitation by the State of NSW, and a second one by direct request for invitation submitted to an RDA (Regional Development Area). According to the information available today from NSW, this second pathway is not yet opened.
There are many more requirements; but, it’s impossible to detail all here. These are some of the most important ones. We hope they help you. For any assistance regarding your specific case, please feel free to book a consultation with us.