Received a SkillSelect Invitation? Check Your Points Before You Lodge

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By Chang Min Park
Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law · Legal Practitioner Director of Park & Co Lawyers

A SkillSelect invitation is good news. It also starts a period in which an estimate in your expression of interest must become a visa application supported by evidence. The invitation itself does not establish that every point you claimed is legally available.

Before paying the application charge, work through the score line by line. A high total is useful only if the underlying claims can be substantiated under the rules for your subclass.

Save the invitation and the EOI it relates to

Keep the invitation email, the EOI record and any state or territory nomination correspondence. Record the subclass, nominated occupation, invited score and deadline. Home Affairs generally gives invited applicants 60 days to lodge. Use the actual deadline in your invitation rather than calculating it from memory.

You can update an EOI before an invitation, but Home Affairs says you cannot update it once invited. If the invited EOI contains an error, identify the effect on eligibility before proceeding. Lodging a visa application with a lower supported score is not a routine way to repair an inflated claim.

Build a points audit, not just a document folder

For each claimed item, record the points, the applicable date, the legal requirement and the document that proves it. Separate age, English, qualifications, skilled employment, Australian study and any partner or nomination points. Do not assume that the date on which you lodge is the relevant date for every item.

For example, a later English result may improve your prospects for a future invitation without supporting the score attached to this invitation. A qualification can be genuine but still require an assessment of its level or relevance. The Schedule 6D points test and your visa’s Schedule 2 criteria need to be read together.

Employment claims need more than a job title

Start with a table of employers, dates, hours, duties, remuneration and the period for which points were claimed. Mark overlapping employment and periods of leave. Compare the table with the EOI, your skills assessment and the documents you intend to upload.

A reference letter headed with your nominated occupation does not explain what you actually did. Useful corroboration may include contracts, detailed duty statements, payslips, tax records and bank entries. If an employer has closed or will not provide a reference, explain that problem and consider what independent records remain. Do not create a replacement reference that purports to come from the employer.

Skills assessment timing needs particular care

Check the assessing authority, occupation, outcome, issue date and validity period. A favourable assessment for another purpose or occupation may not answer the visa requirement.

There is an important qualification to blanket advice that an assessment must always have been issued before invitation. Home Affairs currently describes acceptance of a suitable skills assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period following Thapa [2021] FCCA 686. Its published guidance also contains statements about invitation-date validity. Check the current visa-specific guidance and the applicable legal criteria if your assessment was issued after invitation; do not assume that a later assessment either automatically cures the problem or is automatically unusable.

The practical preference is to obtain and check the assessment before making the EOI claims. If timing is already an issue, preserve all versions and obtain advice while the invitation remains usable.

What if the supported score is lower?

Work out which claim fails and why. Is the problem missing evidence, a date error, a different legal interpretation or an item that was never available? Those questions can lead to different next steps. A decision about this invitation should also consider state nomination obligations and the effect on accompanying family members.

A points audit does not replace the rest of the visa assessment. Health, character, identity and other subclass requirements still matter. Nor does the minimum points threshold guarantee an invitation in a future round.

What to bring to a pre-lodgement review

  • The complete EOI, invitation and any nomination correspondence.
  • Your points breakdown and the dates used for each claim.
  • Skills assessments, English results and qualification documents.
  • Employment records and an explanation of any inconsistencies.
  • Family details, current visa information and the invitation deadline.

Bring concerns about the score forward early. There is more room to investigate an uncertain claim before lodgement than after a refusal has raised a new set of deadlines.

Have your invited score checked before lodging

Park & Co Lawyers can assess your EOI, invitation and supporting documents against the requirements of your visa stream. Include the invitation date, subclass and points claimed in your enquiry so the remaining time is clear.

Enquire about your SkillSelect invitation

Prefer email? enquiry@parkcolawyers.com

Submitting an enquiry does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Representation and fees are agreed separately.

Sources and further reading

Sources checked on 11 October 2026. This article provides general information, not advice about an individual application. Check the law and official guidance applicable to your circumstances before acting.

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