The Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development announced in September a new permanent migration pathway for international students who have been studying face to face in a Western Australian university for at least two academic years. The announcement of the graduate occupation list marks the first positive news in the WA migration space for at least two years. The announcement also brings us up to speed with every other jurisdiction in the Commonwealth that already offer similar pathways to their university graduates.

Requirements – Have Studied In WA

To be eligible for the scheme you must have either completed a bachelor’s degree, a graduate certificate, a graduate diploma, a master’s degree or a PhD from a Western Australian University. Your study at a WA university must have been for at least 2 academic years. Unfortunately graduates from newly established colleges in WA that offer higher degrees (for example Stotts College and Sheridan College) are ineligible to apply for state nomination at this time. Accordingly, WA’s established universities (Curtin, Edith Cowan, Murdoch, Notre Dame and UWA) will enjoy a competitive advantage in the international education space.

Have an Occupation on the List

You must have an occupation on the graduate occupation list. It is important to note that there is no need to have a link between what you have studied and the nominated occupation. For example, if you graduated Curtin with a Master of Arts but have previously been trained overseas and qualified as a Commodities Trader you would still be eligible for state nomination as a Commodities Trader.

Have Work Experience

Master’s degree and PhD degree holders are exempt from this requirement but if you are a holder of a bachelor’s degree, graduate certificate or graduate diploma you will need to demonstrate one year of post-qualification work experience in order to be eligible for state nomination. Note that if you are an accountant or ICT graduate, completion of a professional year program will satisfy this requirement. It should also be noted that all applicants must have a valid skills assessment for migration purposes from their relevant skills assessing body. This may mean that although you have a master’s degree without work experience you could end up being ineligible for a skills assessment and as a result ineligible to apply. Work experience has to be for at least 20 hours a week and paid.

Have a Contract With a WA Company

Western Australian State Nomination graduates will need to secure (at least) a 12-month contract with an Australian company operating in WA as a mandatory requirement for the state nomination process.  A contract with a sole-trader operating in WA is not acceptable. The occupation under the contract must be the same or closely related to the occupation that the graduate has nominated through Immigration’s SkillSelect. There is no minimum salary requirement, but it is expected that the renumeration package shall be commensurate with what an Australian would be paid if they were working in the same position. Checks will be undertaking by the Western Australian Department of Training and Workforce Development to ensure that both the position and company are genuine.

Meet Immigration’s Visa Requirements

All applicant’s for Western Australian state nomination must also meet immigration’s visa criteria in order to be successful in their applications. For further information about the Western Australian State Nomination process and the visa criteria for subclass 190 Skilled – Nominated visas contact us today.

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