Skilled Migration
Australia’s skilled visa program rewards qualified professionals in occupations facing genuine shortages. But the pathway involves more than just a visa application: a skills assessment from the right authority, and often a separate professional registration, both run in parallel with your visa.
How skilled migration actually works
- A skills assessment from the authority that governs your occupation — this isn’t optional, and it’s assessed separately from your visa application
- A visa pathway — points-tested independent (subclass 189), state-nominated (190), regional (491), or employer-sponsored (482/186) depending on your circumstances
- Professional registration, for regulated occupations like medicine and teaching — this is a separate step again, often state-based, and is what actually lets you work, not the visa itself
The trap most people fall into: treating this as one process. Your skills assessment, your registration, and your visa each have their own timeline, their own authority, and their own requirements — running them in parallel rather than sequentially is usually what saves the most time.
Choose your occupation
Trade occupations
Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, chefs and other trades. Skills assessment requirements differ by occupation — give us a call and we’ll talk it through.
Professional occupations
Engineers, accountants, nurses, IT and other professionals. Give us a call and we’ll confirm the right assessing authority for your role.
Not sure which one fits you? Give us a call on 0409 273 192 and we’ll confirm the right assessing authority and pathway for your role.
Regional Queensland matters here
Mackay and much of regional Queensland sit outside the major capital cities, which matters for skilled migration — regional visas (like the 491) and state nomination programs often carry real advantages for applicants willing to live and work outside Brisbane, including bonus points for state or regional nomination (5 on the 190, 15 on the 491) and additional pathway options for in-demand occupations like teaching and medicine.