Visa 189 document checklist

Your invitation-date evidence audit: which documents prove your claimed points?

A folder full of documents does not show, by itself, that you qualified for the points in your invitation. Start with the claims in your invited Expression of Interest (EOI), then identify the evidence and the date each claim must satisfy. Use the worksheet below before organising your uploads.

This checklist focuses on the subclass 189 Points-tested stream. The timing principles also help with subclasses 190 and 491, but nomination, sponsorship and individual points items need their own checks. Use the current 189 instructions, 190 instructions or 491 main-applicant instructions alongside it.

Start with the invitation, not today’s points total

Save your invitation, the EOI claims on which it was based, and the application deadline. Record your subclass, nominated occupation, claimed points and invitation date. For 190 and 491, distinguish a state nomination invitation from the Home Affairs invitation to apply for the visa.

Home Affairs assesses your evidence against the score stated in the visa invitation. Reaching 65 points is the eligibility threshold; it does not guarantee an invitation or mean that a higher invited score can be ignored. Most points criteria concern your position at invitation, but some items have different conditions or must continue to hold.

There are two dates to record: when the underlying fact existed, and when the supporting document was issued. A later employer letter can describe work completed before invitation. Work completed only after invitation cannot be added to that earlier employment period. This is an evidence-planning example, not a ruling that a particular letter proves a points claim.

Evidence-to-claim worksheet

Use one line for each claim. In the last column, write the exact filename and page, the fact it proves, and any unresolved gap. The suggested records are starting points; the actual points item and subclass instructions control what is sufficient.

Your audit record: invitation date ______ · subclass ______ · invited score ______ · evidence-supported score to review ______ · unresolved claims ______ · application deadline ______.

Use the official 189 points table, 190 points table or 491 points table for the conditions behind each row. Competent English itself earns no English-language points; Proficient earns 10 and Superior earns 20. A suitable skills assessment is an eligibility requirement, not a separate points bonus.

Skills assessments need a separate timing check

Do not reduce this to “upload the newest assessment”. Record the nominated occupation, assessing authority, assessment purpose, issue date and stated validity. Home Affairs gives a three-year look-back from invitation, or a shorter validity period if the assessment specifies one. Home Affairs says an assessment obtained for a subclass 485 visa is not a suitable assessment for these skilled visa applications. Medical and legal practitioners have specific accepted registration/admission pathways.

The current eligibility sections for 189, 190 and 491 require a declaration that you have a suitable skills assessment at invitation. They also publish the Department’s approach following Thapa: delegates accept a suitable assessment for the applicant’s nominated skilled occupation “obtained within the 60 day invitation period”. Their step-by-step guidance still says to have a suitable assessment at invitation. Flag a later-issued assessment for case-specific review against both sections, the assessment’s terms and your deadline. Do not treat this published exception as permission to defer English, employment, qualifications or other invitation-date claims.

Invitation-date claims and later uploads are different tasks

Before invitation, keep the EOI accurate and retain the evidence behind it. An EOI is not the visa application. After invitation, you have 60 days from the invitation date to apply for these visas. Use the invitation’s deadline; do not assume that uploading a document later extends it.

Prepare and attach evidence supporting the claims in your application. Some records may be issued later while proving earlier facts. Other requirements—such as health, character, family composition and current passport details—have their own rules and may involve further instructions after lodgement. Do not use the invitation date as a universal issue-date cutoff for every file.

If evidence is missing or a claim appears overstated, identify the problem before lodging and obtain advice on its effect. A new test, another month of work or a replacement document is not automatically a cure for an invitation-date shortfall. Home Affairs can assess the application on the evidence supplied; do not plan around receiving a request for missing material.

Two exceptions to a frozen-date shortcut: the official partner-points notes warn that single/Australian-citizen-or-PR partner points are not assessed only at invitation, and a later change in marital status may affect them. The 190 nomination item and 491 nomination or sponsorship item also have their own continuing conditions. Record changes as well as the original snapshot.

Primary applicant upload checklist

Use this list after the claim audit. Select the documents that apply to your circumstances and the current ImmiAccount instructions; a tick means “located and reviewed”, not “Home Affairs has accepted the claim”.

• Invitation and EOI: saved invitation, deadline and the claims underlying it; worksheet identifying each points item and evidence location.
• Identity and names: current passport identity details; birth certificate or accepted alternative; national identity and name-change evidence where relevant. Provide the pages and other identity records requested for your application.
• English: evidence of Competent English at invitation, plus the higher level if claiming English points. Eligible passport evidence may establish Competent English; citizenship alone is not the whole passport pathway. Check accepted tests, scores, test date and subclass rules, including the changes for tests taken from 7 August 2025.
• Skills assessment: suitable assessment and all relevant pages, or the specified professional registration/admission evidence; record dates, validity and any timing issue for review.
• Qualifications: completion/award records, transcripts and any required recognition for qualifications relied on for eligibility or points. Add Australian study, specialist education and regional-study evidence only for the items claimed.
• Employment: detailed signed references and corroborating financial records for each claimed period. A CV helps organise the chronology; it does not replace proof of eligible work. Home Affairs warns that a reference alone is insufficient.
• Other points evidence: qualifying NAATI community-language credential, Professional Year completion record and partner-points evidence, as applicable. Check each item rather than treating NAATI accreditation as the only possible community-language credential.
• 190/491 pathway records: retain nomination correspondence for your audit. For nominated 491 applicants, Home Affairs says nomination evidence need not be uploaded; follow the 190 instructions for that subclass. For family-sponsored 491 applications, provide the sponsor declaration and relevant age, status, relationship and regional-residence evidence under the 491 instructions.
• Character: requested police certificates, including relevant countries lived in for a total of 12 months or more in the past 10 years since turning 16; use the correct Australian Federal Police check when required. Include military-service records if applicable.
• Health: follow the subclass and ImmiAccount instructions on whether and when to complete examinations; retain the HAP ID where applicable. Health results are generally valid for 12 months, so avoid assuming that earlier is always better.

Family members: separate eligibility from partner points

For each included family member, gather identity and relationship records and the health/character material required for that person. Add marriage or de facto evidence, previous relationship records, child birth/adoption records, parental responsibility and non-travelling-parent consent documents where applicable.

For adult dependent children, check the actual age and dependency criteria and provide the requested supporting evidence. Do not assume that being a full-time student, living with you, or showing a generic 12-month dependency period is sufficient in every case.

Included applicants aged 18 or over may need Functional English evidence or payment of a second instalment, under the subclass rules. This is separate from the primary applicant’s Competent English requirement at invitation. It is also separate from claiming partner points, which can require Competent English and, for the skilled-partner item, additional age, occupation and skills-assessment criteria. Check the official English guidance for the relevant level and evidence period.

Translate and prepare the upload files

Translate non-English documents into English and provide both the original and translated versions. Translators in Australia must be NAATI accredited; include their practitioner number. Translators outside Australia need not be NAATI accredited, but each translation must give their full name, address, telephone number, and qualifications and experience in the language translated. Those details must be in English. Home Affairs says these documents do not need certification. See the preparation steps for your subclass and its skilled-visa guidance.

Use clear colour scans or photographs. Keep all pages of a document together and follow the file formats and limits shown in ImmiAccount. Keep your own copies of submitted forms and attachments. Do not apply a blanket “three years” validity rule to every English document: the level, test date, visa and relevant assessment date matter.

Bringing this audit to Expert Application Review

Prepare your forms and evidence, then bring the invitation, EOI claims, completed worksheet, filenames/page references and a short list of unresolved timing issues. Tell us your subclass, stage and deadline when you request an application review. This gives the reviewer a clear starting point for checking whether your prepared evidence supports the claims.

The Expert Application Review standard scope is A$990 including GST: a Registered Migration Agent reviews prepared forms and evidence, identifies gaps and inconsistencies, assesses lodgement readiness and provides consolidated recommendations, with one follow-up after your changes. Preparation, lodgement and ongoing representation are excluded. Suitability, scope and timing are confirmed before engagement; government and third-party fees are additional. A review does not guarantee completeness, eligibility or a visa outcome.

For general consistency checks across names, dates, answers and files, use our separate five pre-lodgement cross-checks. This worksheet concentrates on the evidence and timing behind skilled-migration claims.

General information only. Official sources checked on 21 October 2026 AEDT. Requirements can change; check current Home Affairs instructions and seek advice from a registered migration agent about your circumstances.