SkillSelect Australian Visa Rounds to Run Quarterly in 2021

Key Highlights:

• Overview
• What’s Changing
• Affected Visas
• Effective Response

The Australian Department of Home Affairs has decided to change the frequency of visa invitation rounds in 2021.

As announced on their website, “The department will run quarterly invitation rounds for the remainder of the 2020 - 2021 program year. The next invitation round will run in January 2021.” 

What’s Changing

The anticipated fundamental change is that the Australian Department of Home Affairs will run quarterly rounds for the remaining 2020 - 2021 year programs. Skilled Independent Visa invitations have been running monthly so far.

Affected Visas

The following three subclasses will be affected by the new rule.

• Skilled Independent Visa (Subclass 189)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa (Subclass 491)
• Family-Sponsored Visa 

All these categories of visas were running monthly rounds so far. However, the last round of invitations was organized in October 2020.

Effective Response

The change as per the Department of Home Affairs provides flexibility for the concerned Minister to adjust planning services dictated by circumstances. 

Australia's government is closely monitoring the situation and making changes to ensure that they are consistent with public health measures. Care is also being taken that job opportunities in the country do not get displaced.