Australia 189 Employment Points: Twenty Hours, Ten Years and Skills-Assessment Dates

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For 189 employment points, your total time in work and the period eligible for points can differ. Check paid hours, occupational relevance, the ten years before invitation and the assessment findings before calculating overseas and Australian employment points. The combined maximum is twenty points, even if the two tables would otherwise produce a higher sum.

Calculate overseas and Australian periods separately

Home Affairs lists overseas skilled-employment points as zero below three years, five from three to under five, ten from five to under eight, and fifteen from eight years. Australian skilled-employment points are zero below one year, five from one to under three, ten from three to under five, fifteen from five to under eight, and twenty from eight years. Apply the combined twenty-point cap afterwards.

Use the actual eligible dates at each boundary. Two years and eleven months is not three years. Keep the complete employment history, then identify the portion relied on for the points claim. Do not change the real joining date to make the evidence resemble the calculation.

Check paid hours and occupational relevance

The official definition concerns work for remuneration for at least twenty hours a week. A contract labelled part-time does not settle the question, and a full-time title does not explain unpaid or materially different periods. Preserve actual hours, duties and payment records. Do not assume that forty hours in one week can be redistributed to create eligibility in another week.

Closely related employment can involve the same ANZSCO Unit Group, a career-advancement pathway or recognition by the assessing authority as part of the assessment. Working in the same company or industry is not, on its own, enough. Explain the duties and progression instead of translating every historical title into the nominated occupation.

Recalculate the ten-year window at the relevant time

The relevant work must fall within the ten years before invitation. As time passes, recent experience can increase while earlier work moves outside that window. Keep both the original employment dates and the dates selected for the calculation. A worksheet prepared today should not be treated as permanently valid for a later invitation.

Overlapping jobs, self-employment or irregular hours need their actual arrangements recorded. Do not assume every overlap doubles the qualifying duration or that every form of self-employment is excluded. Where the facts or evidence are unclear, identify the issue for assessment rather than filling the gap with a universal rule.

Read the assessment beyond the positive result

VETASSESS explains that its Date Deemed Skilled is when its assessment requirements were met. Employment used for its qualifying period is not included in its Points Test Advice; eligible work after the date is considered for that advice. A suitable result therefore does not mean every year on the résumé is accepted for points.

This is VETASSESS guidance and should not be automatically attributed to every assessing authority. Read your own report, the periods assessed and any limitations. Home Affairs assesses visa points. A proposed different treatment needs an evidence-based, case-specific assessment, not selective use of the most favourable number.

Match Australian work to permission and documents

For Australian employment, Home Affairs requires the relevant period to have been on a substantive visa, Bridging A or Bridging B, with its conditions observed. Payroll, tax or superannuation records alone do not establish that requirement. Connect each period to its actual permission and conditions; today’s VEVO result does not necessarily describe historical work rights.

Index records showing remuneration, hours, duties and location. Explain differences between employer letters, payroll periods and bank receipts. Bonuses, reimbursements and backpay cannot simply be converted into hours. If an employer has closed, preserve the genuine available records and explain the evidence gap. A supported calculation is useful preparation, but it does not guarantee an invitation or approval.