491 WA

If you would like to be considered for an invitation for State nomination, your occupation will need to be eligible under the following streams.

• General stream — A skilled migration pathway for a range of occupations and industry categories. Eligible occupations are listed on the WA Skilled migration occupation list (WASMOL) Schedule 1 or 2.
• Graduate stream — A skilled migration pathway for eligible international students who are completing vocational education and training (VET) or higher education qualifications in WA. Eligible occupations are listed on the Graduate occupation list (GOL).

These occupation lists identify occupations that are considered a priority for WA and are therefore eligible for skilled migrants through State nomination.

Applicants who have a nominated occupation identified on the WASMOL or the GOL may be eligible for WA State nomination using one of the following visa subclasses:

• the Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190); or
• Skilled work regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491).

General Stream

Nominated occupation on the relevant occupation list 

The nominated occupation identified in your skills assessment must be listed as “available” on the:

• WASMOL Schedule 1 occupation list; or
• WASMOL Schedule 2 occupation list.

* You can view the eligible occupations here

Department of Home Affairs requirements

You must meet Home Affairs’ requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:

• the Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190); or
• the Skilled work regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

English language requirement

You must meet the minimum score for English language requirements as shown below, in all four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking), in one of the Home Affairs approved English tests listed.

Work experience requirement (not applicable to General stream WASMOL schedule 2 applicants)

You must have:

• at least one year of Australian work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation over the last 10 years; or
• at least one year of overseas work experience in the nominated (or closely related) occupation over the last 10 years.

You can only count work experience gained after you received your qualification, in paid employment, where you have worked at least 20 hours per week.

Further evidence of work experience may be requested during the application process.

Contract of employment (not applicable to visa 491 applicants)

You must have a contract of employment in your nominated (or closely related) occupation for full time employment in Western Australia, for at least six months from the date of your application for State nomination. Full time employment is defined as an average of at least 35 hours work per week. You are able to provide two contracts of employment to make up the 35 hours. The contract must include:

• full names of both the employer and the employee;
• start and end date (if permanent, only start date is required). The start date must be within three months of your application;
• job title and related ANZSCO code;
• job description;
• terms and conditions of employment (such as salary, hours of work, leave entitlements and superannuation) which must be no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing equivalent work. If your contract does not describe your terms and conditions of employment, you can provide the enterprise agreement or industrial award for your occupation;
• location of employment;
• a statement that confirms “work specified in the employment contract must be performed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party”;
• dated signatures from the employer and the employee; and
• be drafted by the employer and not by the employee.

We will also assess whether:

• an appropriate salary will be paid for the specified occupation, based on market salary rates;
• the business employing you is genuine and operating in the location specified; and
• as the employee, you will bear no financial risk and be provided with the relevant tools and equipment to successfully undertake the tasks required.

Independent contractors, self employment and sole traders

Employment contracts submitted by an independent contractor or for self-employment do not meet the above requirements and are not suitable to apply for WA State nomination. Employment contracts submitted by a sole trader will be considered in the following circumstances only:

• the sole trader is not the stated applicant of the State nomination application; and
• the employment contract meets all the above requirements.

View the Employment contracts and Independent contractors information available on the Fair Work Ombudsman or Austrade website.

Graduate Stream

Nominated occupation on the relevant occupation list 

The nominated occupation identified in your skills assessment must be listed as “available” on the Graduate stream occupation list related to your stream.

You can view the eligible occupations here

Department of Home Affairs requirements

You must meet Home Affairs’ requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:

• the Skilled nominated visa (subclass 190); or
• the Skilled work regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

English language requirement

You must meet the minimum score for English language requirements as shown below, in all four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking), in one of the Home Affairs approved English tests listed.

WA study requirements

You will need to have gained one of the following qualifications from an accredited educational institution in WA that meets the accreditation requirements outlined below at the time of your study.

• A university or higher education qualification. This includes a PhD, Masters, Bachelor or higher degree (Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma); and/or
• a vocational education and training (VET) qualification at a Certificate III level or above.

You also must have studied at an accredited WA educational institution, full time and face to face, for at least two years (the educational institution determines whether a course is full time or part time). You can use study from different qualifications to make up the two years, including:

• university/higher education.
• VET (Certificate III level or above); and/or
• English language programs.

The onus is on the applicant to provide evidence to show two years of living and studying in WA. Additionally, the awarding institution must have met the accreditation requirements.

Evidence required 

You will need to provide the following evidence:

• award certificate/s;
• a record of your results, such as transcript/s or a statement of attainment showing two years full time study in WA; and
• a letter from your education provider confirming your study duration and study load, start and completion date. If you studied at multiple institutions, to fulfil the two year study requirement, a letter must be provided from each education provider.

If you were studying under an Australian student visa, you will also need to provide:

• confirmation of enrolment/s (COEs) and/or student visa grant notice for the duration of your two years of WA study; and
• if any study from your full time course was completed at a reduced study load, evidence demonstrating this was approved by your awarding education provider.

To meet the WA study requirement for the State nominated graduate stream, you must have completed your studies at an accredited educational institution (or institutions) in WA. The institution must have been accredited at the time of your relevant WA studies. To be considered accredited, the educational institution (including providers of English language programs) must be:

• registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• have a campus in WA where students study full time, on campus, through face-to-face delivery.

In addition:

• a university or higher education institution must also be registered as an Australian higher education provider with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to be considered an accredited educational institution; and
• a vocational education and training (VET) institution must also be registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) or the WA Training Accreditation Council (TAC) to be considered accredited. You can check if your institution is registered on the training.gov.au website.

The institution types may be as follows.

• English language program provider (ELP)
• Vocational education and training (VET)
• Higher education (HE)
• University (U)

491 Skilled Regional Visa
Australian Skilled Regional Visa
491 NSW | 491 VIC | 491QLD | 491 SA | 491 WA | 491 TAS | 491 ACT