Immigration Australia
PR Points Calculator
The points test is arithmetic, not judgement. Each factor carries a fixed score, and the total decides whether an expression of interest is valid — not whether it is competitive, which is a separate question entirely.
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Total points
—Minimum to lodge
65
Against the minimum
—
Biggest single gain
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Visa subclass
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Where your points come from
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-28. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
Home Affairs pass mark for the 189, 190 and 491 visas
Overseas and Australian experience combined
An arithmetic estimate, not migration advice. An arithmetic estimate against the published points test, not migration advice. Points depend on a positive skills assessment in an eligible occupation and on evidence the Department accepts — none of which this page can judge. A score is also only meaningful against current invitation rounds. Speak to a registered migration agent before acting on any total.
How many points do you need for a skilled visa?
Sixty-five points is the minimum to lodge a valid expression of interest for a subclass 189, 190 or 491. That is a floor, not a target: invitation rounds clear at whatever score demand in your occupation produces, and for the 189 that has often meant 80 to 90 or more.
Sixty-five is a floor, not a target
Reaching 65 points makes an expression of interest valid. It does not make it competitive, and the gap between those two things is where most of the disappointment in this process lives.
Invitations are issued in rounds, and each round clears at whatever score the demand in your occupation produces. For subclass 189 that has frequently meant 80, 90 or higher in popular occupations, while less crowded occupations clear considerably lower.
So the useful output of a points calculation is not “do I qualify” but “which single factor would move me the most, and is it reachable”. That is the figure shown beside the total.
Occupation matters as much as score. A 75-point application in an uncrowded occupation can be invited while a 90-point application in a popular one waits, because ceilings apply per occupation.
The levers worth pulling
Some factors are fixed and some are genuinely movable, and it is worth knowing which before spending money.
English is the most reachable. Moving from Proficient to Superior is 10 points for the cost of preparation and a test sitting, and it is the largest single gain available to most applicants.
State nomination adds 5 for a 190 or 15 for a 491, but both carry obligations — a real commitment to live and work in the nominating state or region rather than a formality.
A partner's skills can add 10, which occasionally makes it worth assessing the partner who was not planning to be the primary applicant.
Age moves in one direction only, and it moves against you.
How this is calculated
Every factor carries a fixed score. The total is a sum, with two constraints that catch people out.
total = age + English + overseas experience + Australian experience+ qualifications + partner + nomination + additional factorsemployment experience is capped at 20 points across both columns combinedonly one nomination applies — 190 and 491 are alternatives, not additiveminimum to lodge a valid expression of interest: 65
The employment cap is the constraint most often missed. Overseas and Australian experience are scored separately but contribute a maximum of 20 points together, so eight years in each does not give 35.
Age is scored at the date of invitation, not the date you lodge the expression of interest. Someone at 32 with an EOI in the queue drops from 30 points to 25 the day they turn 33, and that alone can move a competitive application out of range.
A worked example: a typical 189 applicant
Aged 29, proficient English, four years of skilled experience overseas, none in Australia, a Bachelor degree, single, with no nomination.
- Age 25–3230
- Proficient English10
- Overseas experience, 3–5 years5
- Australian experience, under 1 year0
- Bachelor degree15
- Single10
Seventy points — valid to lodge, and well short of competitive for most 189 occupations.
Moving English from Proficient to Superior adds 10 points on its own. For most applicants that is the cheapest and fastest single improvement available.
What points cannot do
Points are the last step, not the first. Before any of this matters you need an occupation on the relevant skilled list and a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority for that occupation.
Without both, the score is irrelevant — there is nothing to lodge. Applicants sometimes optimise a total for months before discovering their occupation is not eligible or their assessment will not succeed.
The lists and the assessing authorities change, and so do the points settings themselves. Any figure here is a snapshot of policy that moves.
Claiming points you cannot evidence is worse than scoring lower. The Department can refuse an application and, where a claim was not genuine, apply consequences that reach beyond it.
What this calculator does not do
- Points settings are policy and change without much warning
- Assumes a positive skills assessment in an eligible occupation — neither is checked here
- Does not model occupation ceilings or current round cut-off scores
- Age is scored at invitation, which may be well after you lodge
- Does not cover employer-sponsored or business streams, which are not points tested this way
Common questions
How many points do I need for Australian PR?
Sixty-five is the minimum to lodge a valid expression of interest for a 189, 190 or 491. Competitive scores are usually well above that — often 80 to 90 or more for the 189 in popular occupations.
How many points is Superior English worth?
Twenty, against 10 for Proficient and 0 for Competent. Moving from Proficient to Superior is the largest single gain available to most applicants.
Can I combine overseas and Australian work experience?
Yes, but the combined total is capped at 20 points. Eight years in each does not score 35.
Does state nomination add points?
Yes — 5 points for a subclass 190 and 15 for a 491. Only one applies, and both carry a genuine commitment to live and work in the nominating state or region.
When is my age assessed?
At the date of invitation, not when you lodge your expression of interest. Turning 33 or 45 while in the queue reduces your score at that moment.
Where these numbers come from
- Department of Home Affairs — SkillSelect and the points table Points test factors verified against the published table; settings are policy and change
- Department of Home Affairs — SkillSelect invitation rounds Where current round cut-off scores by occupation are published
Rates last verified 2026-10-28 Every figure the Department of Home Affairs sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
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