English Language requirements for Western Australia State nomination

Western Australia English requirements (graduate stream)

You must meet the English language requirements shown below in all four components in a single Department of Home Affairs approved English test.

If you have a passport from the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States of America or Ireland, you don’t need to sit an English test to be eligible for Western Australian State nomination.

You need to show proficient English (Table 1) if your occupation is an ANZSCO Major Occupation Group 1 (Managers) or Group 2 (Professionals) occupation. Visit the ANZSCO search page for more information on ANZSCO codes.

Otherwise, you will need competent English (Table 2).

Table 1 – Proficient English

Bands	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
Test	Minimum score ​ ​ ​
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)	7	7	7	7
Occupational English Test (OET)	B	B	B	B
Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT)	24	24	27	23
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)	65	65	65	65
Cambridge C1 Advanced	185	185	185	185

Table 2 – Competent English

Bands	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
Test	Minimum score ​ ​ ​
International English Language Testing System (IELTS)	6	6	6	6
Occupational English Test (OET)	B	B	B	B
Test of English as a foreign language internet-based test (TOEFL-iBT)	12	13	21	18
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)	50	50	50	50
Cambridge C1 Advanced	169	169	169	169

 

Have an occupation on the Graduate occupation list

Visit the occupation lists page for available occupations.

 

Meet Department of Home Affairs requirements

You must meet the Department of Home Affairs’ (Home Affairs) requirements for your intended visa subclass, being:

• the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190); or
• the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).

Live in Australia

Only applicants currently residing in Australia are eligible for Western Australian State nomination. You will need to provide one of the following documents or another relevant document, clearly showing your current Australian address:

• current lease agreement; or
• current utility bill.

If you live in Australia but are subject to a section 48 bar, you are not eligible for State nomination from Western Australia.

A Western Australian qualification

You will need to have gained one of the following qualifications from an accredited educational institution in Western Australia that meets the accreditation requirements outlined below at the time of your study.

• A university or higher education qualification. This includes a PhD, Masters, Bachelor or higher degree (Bachelor Honours Degree, Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma); and/or
• a vocational education and training (VET) qualification at a Certificate III level or above.

At least two years study in Western Australia

You must have studied at an accredited Western Australian educational institution, full-time and face-to-face, for at least two years. The awarding institution must have met the accreditation requirements outlined below at the time of your studies. You can use study from different qualifications to make up the two years, including:

• university/higher education;
• VET (Certificate III level); and/or
• English language programs.

The onus is on the applicant to provide evidence to show two years of living and studying in Western Australia. If, due to COVID-19, you were required to complete some of your studies online, you will need to show evidence that you were enrolled as an onshore Western Australian student during this period.

Accredited Western Australian university or higher education providers

To be determined as an accredited university or higher education provider it must have met the below requirements at the time of your studies:

• registered as an Australian higher education provider with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA);
• registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• have a campus in Western Australia, where students study bachelor or post graduate courses full time, on campus, through face to face delivery.

Your expression of interest must include the suburb and postcode for the university or campus where you completed your study.

Accredited Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions

To be determined as an accredited VET institution it must have met the below requirements at the time of your studies:

• registered with the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA). You can check if your institution is registered on the training.gov.au website;
• registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• have a campus in Western Australia, where students study full time, through face to face delivery.

Your expression of interest must include the suburb and postcode for the institution/s or campus where you completed your study.

Visit the Western Australian accredited educational institutions page for a list of currently approved VET providers.

Accredited provider of English language programs

To be determined as an accredited provider of English language programs, it must have met the below requirements at the time of your studies:

• registered with the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS); and
• have a campus in Western Australia, where students study full time, through face to face delivery.

Visit the Western Australian accredited educational institutions page for a list of currently approved providers of English language programs.

Evidence required

You will need to provide the following:

• award certificate/s;
• a record of your results, such as transcript/s or a statement of attainment showing two years full time study in Western Australia; and
• a letter from your education provider confirming your study duration and study load, start and completion date. If you studied at multiple institutions, to fulfil the two year study requirement, a letter must be provided from each education provider.

If you were studying under an Australian student visa, you will also need to provide:

• confirmation of enrolment/s (COEs) and/or student visa grant notice for the duration of your two years of Western Australian study; and
• if any study from your full-time course was completed at a reduced study load, evidence demonstrating this was approved by your awarding education provider

The educational institution determines whether a course is full-time or part-time.

Meet the work experience or employment contract requirement

You must have at least six months Australian work experience in your nominated (or closely related) occupation, or have a six month contract of employment in your nominated (or closely related) occupation in Western Australia.

Occupations designated as Regional Western Australia only

Candidates nominating for occupations that are designated ‘regional Western Australia only’ in the General or Graduate stream must provide evidence of a job offer/contract of employment in a location defined by the Commonwealth as Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas. These include the following areas by postcodes: 6041 to 6044, 6084, 6207, 6213, 6215 to 6537, and 6560 to 6770.

a)    Work experience

If you are using work experience to meet this requirement, you must show at least six (6) months of Australian work experience within the last five (5) years, in your nominated (or closely related) occupation. You will need to include the details of your work experience in your expression of interest in SkillSelect.

Work experience must be:

• gained post-qualification;
• in paid employment;
• for at least 20 hours per week;
• in the nominated (or closely related) occupation; and
• for tasks that correspond with the ANZSCO descriptor for the nominated (or closely related) occupation, closely related means that the occupation shares the first four digits of the ANZSCO code.

A professional year or work placement will not be considered work experience for the purposes of the State nomination program, unless it meets the above requirements.

You will generally be required to show relevant employment contracts and the relating payslips to show your six months of Australian work experience. You will be required to enter the details of your work experience into the payslip template and submit this, along with your payslips and employment contract/s as part of your application.

b)   Contract of employment

If you are providing a (minimum) 6 month contract of employment in Western Australia, it must:

• have at least six months remaining from the date of your application for State nomination. If you have not yet started working, your start date must be within three months of your application;
• be in your nominated (or closely related) occupation; and
• be for full time employment (at least an average of 35 hours per week) in Western Australia. You can have two employment contracts to make up 35 hours.

The contract must include:

• full names of both the employer and employee;
• contract start and end date (if permanent, only start date is required);
• job title and related ANZSCO code;
• job description;
• terms and conditions of employment (such as salary, hours of work, leave entitlements and superannuation) which must be no less favourable than those that would apply to an Australian citizen or permanent resident doing equivalent work. If your contract does not describe your terms and conditions of employment, you can provide the enterprise agreement or industrial award for your occupation;
• location of employment;
• a statement that work specified in the employment contract must be performed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party;
• signed and dated by the employer and the employee; and
• must be drafted by the employer and not the employee.

You will need to provide a copy of your contract as part of the State nomination application and it must be provided as one document.

We will also assess whether:

• at least the minimum salary will be paid for the specified occupation, based on market salary rates;
• the business employing you is genuine and operating in the location specified;
• the job will be completed by the employee and not contracted out to a third party; and
• as the employee, you will bear no financial risk and be provided with the relevant tools and equipment to successfully undertake the tasks required.

Employment contracts submitted by an independent contractor or for self-employment do not meet the above requirements and will not be suitable to apply for WA State nomination.

Employment contracts submitted by a sole trader will be considered in the following circumstances only:

• the sole trader is not the stated applicant of the State nomination application; and
• the employment contract meets all the State’s employment contract requirements.

Demonstrate sufficient settlement funds

If you live outside of Western Australia, you must have sufficient funds to cover your settlement costs and living expenses for at least three months.

The minimum amount of funds required is:

• for a single person – $20,000 (AUD);
• for a couple – $30,000 (AUD); and
• for every additional dependant – $5,000 (AUD).

You will be asked to show proof of funds through bank statements or asset valuations.