Points calculator · free, no sign-up

Australia PR Points Calculator

Score yourself against the real points test for the subclass 189, 190 and 491 — every factor, in the order Schedule 6D sets them out. You need 65 points to submit an Expression of Interest. The result updates as you go, and the URL holds your answers so you can send it to someone.

These points are not ours. They are set by Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994 and change by legislative instrument, without notice to anyone. Every figure below was transcribed item by item on 15 September 2026 from compilation F2026C00667 (in force 1 July 2026). Confirm against the Department’s points table or the regulations themselves before you rely on a number. This is a planning tool, not migration advice, and we are not registered migration agents.
Which visa are you scoring for?

Which visa are you scoring for?

A nomination is worth points in its own right, so the same person scores differently on each.

No nomination, no sponsor, permanent from day one. The highest bar.

Age

Age

Your age at the time you are invited to apply — not the day you lodge the EOI.

30 years+30 pts
18 to 24
25
25 to 32
30
33 to 39
25
40 to 44
15
45 and over
0
English

English

Competent English is the entry requirement, so it scores nothing — points start at proficient.

Skilled employment

Skilled employment

In your nominated or a closely related occupation, within the last 10 years. Overseas and Australian experience are added, then capped at 20 points together.

None0 pts
None0 pts
Qualifications

Qualifications

Your highest recognised qualification only — these do not stack.

Study and training in Australia

Study and training in Australia

Credentialled community language

Credentialled community language

Item 6D91 of the points table. A NAATI CCL pass is the usual way to claim it.

Partner

Partner

Your situation at the time of invitation. Being single scores the same as having a skilled partner.

55points · subclass 189

You are 10 points short of the 65 needed to submit an EOI. Find the cheapest way to close the gap.

A CCL pass would add 5, taking you to 60.

How that total is built

Age (30)30
Competent English0
Skilled employment0 overseas + 0 Australian0
Bachelor degree (Australian, or a recognised standard)15
You have no partner, or your partner is already an Australian citizen or PR10
Total55

Short of 65? The cheapest five points are a language test.

If you already speak Punjabi, the CCL is one sitting and no study of a new skill — just an exam format to learn. Twenty full mock papers are free here, with model answers.

Free, no account needed. We sell NAATI CCL Punjabi preparation — the practice above is free either way.

How the points test actually works

The points test is additive and mostly mechanical. You score for your age, your English, your skilled work experience, your highest qualification, and a handful of Australian-specific extras — then a nomination, if you have one, is added on top. Reach 65 and you may submit an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect.

Two rules trip people up more than the rest combined. First, every factor is measured at the time of invitation, not when you lodge — so a birthday or an expiring English test in between changes your score. Second, overseas and Australian work experience are added together and then capped at 20 points, which means the ninth year abroad is often worth nothing at all.

Why 65 is a floor, not a target

65 points gets your EOI into the pool. It does not get you invited. Invitation rounds work down from the highest scores in each occupation, so in a crowded occupation the effective cut-off can sit ten or twenty points higher — and an EOI sitting at exactly 65 can wait years without ever being reached. The honest read of a 65is “eligible, not competitive”. If that is where you have landed, what actually gets invited is the next thing to read.

The cheapest points on the board

Most ways to add points are slow, expensive or both. Another year of skilled employment takes a year. A doctorate takes three. Retaking an English test for superior English costs a few hundred dollars a go and, for a lot of people, simply does not come.

The credentialled community language points are the exception, which is the honest reason this site exists. One test, one sitting, 5 points — and if you already speak the language, the work is learning an exam format rather than learning a skill. That is a genuinely different proposition from the other rows in the table, and the full ranking by dollars and weeks per point sets out where it sits against everything else. It is not magic: you have to pass, and a re-sit costs the full fee again.

What this tool will not tell you

Whether your occupation is on the right list. Whether your skills assessment will succeed. Whether your work experience counts as “closely related”. Whether a particular state will nominate you. Those are the questions that actually decide most cases, and they are judgement calls made by assessing authorities, state governments and the Department — not by arithmetic. A registered migration agent is the right person to ask about them.

Frequently asked questions

How many points do I need for Australian PR?+

You need at least 65 points to submit an Expression of Interest for a subclass 189, 190 or 491. That is the minimum to enter the pool, not the score that gets invited — in competitive occupations the actual invitation cut-off sits well above it, and it moves round by round.

Is this points calculator accurate?+

It scores every factor exactly as Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994 sets them out, item by item, checked on 15 September 2026 against compilation F2026C00667 (in force 1 July 2026). What it cannot do is decide the facts about you — whether your experience counts as "closely related", or whether a skills assessment will land, are judgements the assessing authority and the Department make, not a calculator.

Do the 189, 190 and 491 use the same points test?+

They use the same table, but a nomination is worth points in its own right. A state or territory nomination for a 190 adds 5 points; a regional nomination or eligible family sponsorship for a 491 adds 15. The same person therefore scores three different totals, which is why this calculator asks which visa you are scoring for before anything else.

How does the NAATI CCL add 5 points?+

Item 6D91 of the points table awards 5 points for a credentialled community language qualification. The NAATI CCL test is the usual way to claim it: one sitting, one result, and the points are permanent once you hold the credential. Switch the toggle on in the calculator to see what it does to your own total.

Does my age at lodgement or at invitation count?+

At invitation. This matters more than people expect, because the age bands step down at 33, 40 and 45 — a birthday between lodging your EOI and receiving an invitation can cost you 5, 10 or 15 points.

Is this an official Home Affairs calculator?+

No. NaatiGuru is independent and is not affiliated with the Department of Home Affairs or NAATI. This is a free tool that renders the published points table; the Department runs its own calculator, and SkillSelect is the only place an EOI actually counts.

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