Overview of requirements
The following table provides an overview of the 2024-25 requirements for each stream of the State nominated migration program, for each of the two eligible visa types.
| Visa type | 190 | 491 | 190 | 491 | 190 | 491 |
| Meet Department of Home Affairs eligibility requirements for the intended visa subclasssee How to apply for WA State nomination, Step1: Lodge an expression of interest | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Nominated occupation is available on the relevant list | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Meet minimum English requirements | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| At least one year Australian or one year of overseas work experience in nominated (or closely related) occupation | √ | √ | - | - | - | - |
| Full time employment contract in WA for a minimum of six months in the nominated (or closely related) occupation* | √ | - | √ | - | - | - |
| Have obtained a Certificate III level or above qualification from an accredited WA educational institution | - | - | - | - | √ | √ |
| Meet all of the Graduate stream study requirements | - | - | - | - | √ | √ |
* Applicants invited through a WA building and construction industry sector occupation (as per the WA State nomination Occupation lists) do not need to have a contract of employment.
2024-25 Stream-specific requirements
For specific details about each of these requirements for the General or the Graduate streams, please refer to the information below.
General stream: WASMOL schedule 1
1: Nominated occupation on the relevant occupation list
The nominated occupation identified in your skills assessment must be:
- listed on the:
- WASMOL Schedule 1 occupation list
- eligible for your intended visa subclass.
2: Skills assessments
Your skills assessment must match the occupation you nominate in your EOI, and the occupation you are invited to apply for WA State nomination through.
A provisional skills assessment issued for a subclass 485 visa application cannot be considered.
3: Department of Home Affairs requirements
You must meet Home Affairs' requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:
- the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)(opens in a new tab); or
- the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)(opens in a new tab).
4: English language requirement
To meet the English language requirement, you must meet the minimum score listed for all four components, in a single sitting of one of the Home Affairs approved English tests listed below.
| Competent English bands (test) | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Including One Skill Retake (OSR) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | B | B | B | B |
| Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) | 12 | 13 | 21 | 18 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
If you have a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or the Republic of Ireland, you don't need to sit an English test to be eligible for WA State nomination.
British National (Overseas) passports are not acceptable as evidence of competent English.
5: Work experience requirement
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.
Evidence of relevant work experience may include:
- records of Payment/Payslips to demonstrate paid employment in the occupation or closely related occupation. The Record of Payment/Payslip must include the Employer’s name and ABN (or overseas equivalent), the name of the employee, the pay period, date the payment was issued, gross and net pay including any loadings, penalties or allowances, deductions and tax withheld.
- a letter from an employer that provides evidence of employment, including the employee’s name, job title, location of employment, duties performed and period of employment and the salary/hourly rate paid to the employee. The letter must include the business details, including company name and ABN (or overseas equivalent) and name and contact details of the employer for verification purposes.
Further evidence of work experience may be requested during the application process.
6: Contract of employment
The Contract of employment requirement is not applicable to visa 491 applicants.
From 1 July 2024, current employment, or a contract of employment for an occupation available through Schedule 1 may include a Contracted Medical Practitioner Agreement, a Private Practice partnership agreement, Locum Tenens agreement or similar employment contract.
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.
You will need to provide a copy of your contract as part of the State nomination application, and it must be provided as one document.
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.
General stream: WASMOL schedule 2
1: Nominated occupation on the relevant occupation list
The nominated occupation identified in your skills assessment must be:
- listed on the:
- WASMOL Schedule 2 occupation list.
- eligible for your intended visa subclass.
2: Skills assessments
Your skills assessment must match the occupation you nominate in your EOI, and the occupation you are invited to apply for WA State nomination through.
A provisional skills assessment issued for a subclass 485 visa application cannot be considered.
3: Department of Home Affairs requirements
You must meet Home Affairs' requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:
- the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)(opens in a new tab); or
- the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)(opens in a new tab).
4: English language requirement
To meet the English language requirement, you must meet the minimum score listed for all four components, in a single sitting of one of the Home Affairs approved English tests listed below.
| Competent English bands (test) | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Including One Skill Retake (OSR) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | B | B | B | B |
| Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) | 12 | 13 | 21 | 18 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
If you have a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or the Republic of Ireland, you don't need to sit an English test to be eligible for WA State nomination.
British National (Overseas) passports are not acceptable as evidence of competent English.
5: Contract of employment
The Contract of employment requirement is not applicable to visa 491 applicants, or applicants who are were invited through a WA building and construction industry sector occupation (as classified on the WA State nomination Occupation lists).
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.
You will need to provide a copy of your contract as part of the State nomination application, and it must be provided as one document.
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.
Graduate stream
1: Nominated occupation on the relevant occupation list
The nominated occupation identified in your skills assessment must be listed on the Graduate stream occupation list and eligible for your intended visa subclass.
2: Skills assessments
Your skills assessment must match the occupation you nominate in your EOI, and the occupation you are invited to apply for WA State nomination through.
A provisional skills assessment issued for a subclass 485 visa application cannot be considered.
3: Department of Home Affairs requirements
You must meet Home Affairs' requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:
- the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)(opens in a new tab); or
- the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)(opens in a new tab).
4: English language requirement
To meet the English language requirement, you must meet the minimum score listed for all four components, in a single sitting of one of the Home Affairs approved English tests listed below.
| Competent English bands (test) | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) including One SKill Retake (OSR) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Occupational English Test (OET) | B | B | B | B |
| Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT) | 12 | 13 | 21 | 18 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | 169 | 169 | 169 | 169 |
If you have a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or the Republic of Ireland, you don't need to sit an English test to be eligible for WA State nomination.
British National (Overseas) passports are not acceptable as evidence of competent English.
5: Study requirements
To meet the study requirements you must be able to demonstrate that you meet the following five study components:
- gained at least one qualification (at the levels listed below) in WA; and
- studied in WA:
- at an accredited WA educational institution; and
- full time; and
- in a face to face learning environment (on campus study); and
- for a period of at least two academic years.
Qualifications
You will need to have gained at least one of the following qualifications from a WA educational institution that meets the accreditation requirements (outlined below) at the time of your study.
- a university or higher education qualification.
- a PhD or Masters degree;
- higher degree (Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma); or
- Bachelor.
and/or
- a vocational education and training (VET) qualification at a Certificate III level or above.
You can use study from different WA qualifications to make up the two-year study requirement component.
Study gained through an English language program can be used to meet the study requirement, if you have also gained at least one of the qualifications listed above.
WA Educational Institution accreditation requirements
The WA Educational institution/s where you completed your studies must have:
- been accredited at the time of your studies; and
- a campus in WA where students study full time, on campus, through face to face delivery.
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)(opens in a new tab); 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)(opens in a new tab) 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)(opens in a new tab) to be considered accredited. You can check if your institution is registered on the training.gov.au website(opens in a new tab).
Please refer to our list of WA accredited educational institutions below, for further information.
Full time study
The educational institution determines whether a course is full time or part time based on the number of subjects a student studies per semester / trimester.
If study from your full time course was completed at a reduced study load, you will need to provide evidence demonstrating:
- this was approved by your awarding education provider; and
- details of the advanced standing or recognition of prior learning used to reduce your study load.
Credits, advanced standing or recognition of prior learning for study completed outside of Western Australia can not be used to meet the WA State nomination study requirements.
Face-to-Face
An environment where a teacher and class of students meet for group learning, on campus, at a set time in a set place is considered face-to-face learning.
For the purpose of WA State nomination, study used to meet the face-to-face study requirement component must be completed on campus, in WA.
Online study is not eligible unless you were required to complete some of your studies online due to COVID-19 (between 1 February 2020 to 25 November 2023). In this case, you will need to show evidence that you were enrolled as an onshore WA student during this period.
Two years of academic study
You must complete a minimum two year period of academic study in WA, contributing to the completion of one or more qualification/s to meet the two year study requirement component.
Credits, advanced standing or recognition of prior learning for study completed outside of Western Australia cannot be used to meet the WA State nomination study requirements.
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.
WA accredited educational institutions
You can search on the training.gov.au website(opens in a new tab) or TEQSA website(opens in a new tab) to see if it was accredited at the time of your studies.
