Australia’s skilled migration points test is a single additive table. You score for your age, your English, your work experience, your qualifications and a handful of Australia-specific extras; a nomination, if you have one, is added on top. Reach 65 and you can submit an Expression of Interest. This page is that table in full — every factor, every tier, and the item number in the regulations each one comes from, so you can check us rather than trust us.
- 65 points is the minimum to submit an EOI — it is a floor, not a target, and in busy occupations it is not competitive.
- Every factor is measured at the time of invitation, not at lodgement. A birthday in between can cost you 5, 10 or 15 points.
- Overseas and Australian work experience are added together and then capped at 20 points, so extra years past the cap are worth nothing.
- The credentialled community language points (5) are the cheapest and fastest row in the table for anyone who already speaks a second language.
The short version
The points test is set out in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, in thirteen short parts. Each part is a table: a condition on the left, a number of points on the right. Nothing is weighted, discounted or scaled. You either meet a tier or you do not.
Below, each factor gets its own section with the full tier list. If you would rather just get a number, the calculator does all of this live and puts your answers in the URL so you can send the result to someone.
Age — up to 30 points
Age is the single largest factor in the table and the only one that moves against you while you do nothing. It is measured at the moment you are invited, which is why an EOI sitting in the pool quietly loses value as the years pass.
| Age at invitation | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 18 to 24 | 25 | 6D11 |
| 25 to 32 | 30 | 6D12 |
| 33 to 39 | 25 | 6D13 |
| 40 to 44 | 15 | 6D14 |
| 45 and over | 0 | — |
English — up to 20 points
Competent English is the entry requirement for a points-tested visa, so it scores nothing. Points start one tier above it. This surprises people constantly: passing the English requirement and scoring English points are two different things.
| English level | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Competent English | 0 | — |
| Proficient English | 10 | 6D22 |
| Superior English | 20 | 6D21 |
Each tier is defined by minimum scores in every component of an accepted test — not an overall average. A PTE 79 overall with a 72 in writing is not superior English. The score-by-score thresholds for all five accepted tests are set out separately, and the converter will tell you which tier a given result reaches.
Skilled employment — up to 20 points
Two separate tables, one for work outside Australia and one for work in it, both counting only time in your nominated occupation or one closely related to it, and only within the ten years before invitation.
Outside Australia
| Experience in the last 10 years | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 4 years | 5 | 6D31 |
| 5 to 7 years | 10 | 6D32 |
| 8 years or more | 15 | 6D33 |
In Australia
| Experience in the last 10 years | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 years | 5 | 6D41 |
| 3 to 4 years | 10 | 6D42 |
| 5 to 7 years | 15 | 6D43 |
| 8 years or more | 20 | 6D44 |
How the experience tables are actually counted — including what “closely related” means and why part-time years often count for less than people assume — is its own guide.
Qualifications — up to 20 points
Your highest recognised qualification only. These do not stack: a doctorate does not add to a bachelor, it replaces it.
| Highest qualification | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Diploma or trade qualification completed in Australia | 10 | 6D73 |
| Bachelor degree (Australian, or a recognised standard) | 15 | 6D72 |
| Doctorate (Australian, or a recognised standard) | 20 | 6D71 |
One qualification-related item does stack. A specialist educational qualification — a Masters by research or a doctorate in a STEM field from an Australian institution — is worth a further 10 points under item 6D7A1, on top of the row above.
The Australian extras — 5 points each
Three small items, all rewarding time spent studying or training here.
| Item | Points | Item no. |
|---|---|---|
| Australian study requirement — at least two academic years towards a recognised qualification | 5 | 6D81 |
| That study undertaken in a designated regional area, while living there, none of it by distance | 5 | 6D101 |
| A completed professional year in Australia in your nominated or a closely related occupation | 5 | 6D61 |
The regional study points require the Australian study requirement first, so for a student in a regional city they arrive together as ten points rather than five. Whether a given campus counts is a postcode question — the regional postcode checker answers it, and the full guide to the study points covers the definitions.
Credentialled community language — 5 points
Item 6D91. If you hold a credential in a community language at the standard the Minister specifies, you score 5 points. For almost everyone claiming it, that credential is a NAATI CCL pass.
This row is unlike the rest of the table, and it is worth being explicit about why rather than coy: it is the only factor that a person who already speaks a second language can convert into points in a matter of weeks, for the price of one test. There is no degree to finish, no year of employment to accrue, and no minimum age. You either pass the test or you do not. That is also the catch — a fail costs the full fee again, because there is no re-sit discount.
If you are short of 65 and you speak Punjabi, Hindi, Nepali, Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese or one of the many other languages NAATI tests, this is very likely the cheapest five points available to you.
Partner — up to 10 points
Part 6D.11 is the part people most often score wrong, because being single is worth exactly as much as having a skilled partner.
| Your situation at invitation | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| You have no partner, or your partner is already an Australian citizen or PR | 10 | 6D112 |
| Partner is under 45, has competent English, and has a positive skills assessment in an occupation on the same list | 10 | 6D111 |
| Partner has competent English, but no skills assessment | 5 | 6D113 |
| Partner has neither competent English nor a skills assessment | 0 | — |
The consequence is blunt: a partner with neither competent English nor a skills assessment costs you ten points relative to being single. That is not a judgement, it is arithmetic — and it is fixable, because your partner’s own CCL pass does nothing here but their English test and skills assessment do. What partner points actually require goes through each condition.
Nomination — 5 or 15 points
| Nomination | Points | Item |
|---|---|---|
| State or territory nomination for a subclass 190 | 5 | 6D121 |
| Regional nomination or eligible family sponsorship for a subclass 491 | 15 | 6D131 |
15 points is the largest single jump available to most people — but a 491 is a provisional visa with a five-year regional commitment attached, so it is a life decision wearing a points costume. What each state and territory actually asks for varies enormously and changes every program year; the nomination finder is the fastest way to see where you might plausibly fit.
A worked example
A 31-year-old software engineer with a bachelor degree, proficient English, four years of overseas experience and no partner, scoring for a subclass 189:
| Factor | Points |
|---|---|
| Age 31 | 30 |
| Proficient English | 10 |
| 4 years overseas skilled employment | 5 |
| Bachelor degree | 15 |
| Single | 10 |
| Total | 70 |
Seventy clears the 65 minimum comfortably — and for a software engineer in 2026 it is still unlikely to be invited quickly, because the occupation is crowded. Add a CCL pass and they are on 75; add superior English instead and they are on 80; do both and they are on 85and genuinely competitive. That gap between “eligible” and “invited” is the whole game, and it is what the invitation data actually shows.
What the table hides
The points test is the easy part. Every figure above assumes facts that the table itself does not decide:
- Whether your occupation is on the right list. No occupation, no points test at all.
- Whether your skills assessment succeeds. Assessing authorities discount years, reject qualifications and apply their own rules. A rejected assessment turns a 75 into nothing.
- What “closely related” means. Years you count confidently may not survive assessment.
- Whether a state will nominate you. Criteria change every program year, and several states invite rather than accept applications.
Quick check
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Every points figure above is the Commonwealth's, not ours, and was transcribed item by item from Schedule 6D on 15 September 2026 against compilation F2026C00667 (in force 1 July 2026). The regulations change by legislative instrument without notice — confirm before you rely on a number.
- Points table — SkillSelect — Department of Home Affairs
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 6D — General points test — Federal Register of Legislation