state or family sponsorship- only 60 points

[Mr and Mrs Holmesy]

Hi there,

 

I have asked this on the general forum however wonder if I could ask the 'experts' here....

 

Is it not possible to receive an invite to apply for a family sponsored 489 visa with only 60 points?

 

I am maxed out with 60 points:

 

age: 41: 15 points

 

superior english (ielts score 9): 20 points

 

bachelor degree: 15 points

 

state/family sponsorship: 10

 

Is state sponsorship my only option? I would really like to avoid this as my occupation (social worker) has recently come off the QSOL and we would like to be on the Sunshine Coast which is where my sister is based. However we would contemplate state sponsorship from a different state if we absolutely had to.

 

Many thanks

[Leanne Stevens]

Can you not claim points for work in your occupation (between 3-5 years will give you 5 points)? Many States are currently sponsoring Social Workers, but many of them require two years minimum work experience. For family sponsorship, 65 is the minimum point score for an invitation and has been for several years. If you have no work experience you would need to check as to whether you would be able to obtain the AASW skills assessment.

[Leanne Stevens]

Just a clarification on my comments above- I've just been through some previous invitation rounds and I can see that in some recent (but not all) rounds they have actually invited people for the 489 Family Sponsored visa with 60 points. And one of my RMA's has also just received an invitation for 489 FS only yesterday, for a client with 60 points. The numbers of invited 489 visas has increased considerably too, and they have allocated 150 in the current round - whereas last year it was down to 5 per round. On this basis, if you can meet the requirements of the skills assessment and other qualifiers it sound as if it's worth lodging your EOI with 60 points.