The points system: how to calculate your Australian score

You can add up your score in the Australian points system yourself, tonight. The table is in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations, the implementing rules of the Australian migration law. The points come from five parts:

• age (at most 30 points);
• English (at most 20);
• work experience (at most 20);
• education (at most 20);
• your partner (at most 10).

What most people misjudge is not their score but the threshold. The official minimum is 65 points. But the invitation threshold for the independent route is higher per occupation: in the June 2026 round from 65 for trades in demand to 100 for the busiest occupations. That difference between "may take part" and "gets invited" is where time and money are lost.

What does the table look like?

The figures below come from Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation of 1 July 2026); everything is measured at the time of invitation.

Item	Condition	Points
Age	18 to 25	25
	25 to 33	30
	33 to 40	25
	40 to 45	15
English	proficient	10
	superior	20
Work experience outside Australia (last 10 years)	3, 5 or 8 years	5, 10 or 15
Work experience in Australia (last 10 years)	1, 3, 5 or 8 years	5, 10, 15 or 20
Work experience combined	cap	20
Education	doctorate	20
	at least a bachelor	15
	Australian diploma or trade qualification, or recognised by the assessing authority	10
Partner	own skills assessment, occupation on the list, competent English, under 45	10
	competent English only	5
No partner, or partner is Australian or permanent resident		10
State nomination (190)		5
Regional nomination or family sponsorship (491)		15

Age weighs heavily: 25 to 33 gives the maximum of 30, and above 45 you no longer take part. That is a hard limit, not a sliding scale.

English is the biggest knob you can turn yourself: competent (the entry requirement) gives 0 points, proficient 10, superior 20. Which test you choose for it is an article in itself.

Work experience in your occupation or a closely related one counts over the last ten years, and experience in Australia counts more heavily. But combined you never get more than 20 points for it, however the sum comes out.

For education only your highest qualification counts.

There are also smaller items of 5 or 10 points. They mainly apply to those who already studied or worked in Australia:

• an Australian specialist educational qualification (10);
• the Australian study requirement (5);
• a Professional Year (5), a work-ready year after Australian study;
• a recognised community language qualification (5);
• study in regional Australia (5).