This is one of the most common anxieties for skilled migration applicants: an 189 visa invitation arrives after years of waiting, but the Skills Assessment expiry date lands right around that same time. In this article, Dr. Sirous Ahmadi, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 0854826), explains the precise legal framework governing this situation—a framework that is frequently misunderstood because the legal criteria are not tied to the date of visa lodgement.
Short Answer
The legal criterion for the 189 visa is that the skills assessment must be valid “at the time of invitation,” not at the time of visa lodgement. Therefore, your first step is to compare the date your invitation was issued with the expiry date on your assessment: if the assessment was valid on the day you were invited and only expired afterwards, the condition is met, and you can proceed within the 60-day invitation window. If it expired before the invitation was issued, the Department of Home Affairs will accept a new assessment if obtained within that same 60-day window. This 60-day period cannot be extended.
What the law says
The Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) visa is an “invitation-based” visa; this means the primary applicant must have been invited in writing by the Minister to apply for the visa and the application must be made within the period specified in the invitation—a period of no more than 60 calendar days from the date the invitation was issued in SkillSelect.
The skills assessment requirement is set out in Schedule 2, Part 189 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Under clause 189.222(1), at the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the applicant must have had a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for their nominated occupation, and the assessment must not have been for a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa. Regarding validity, the rule is clear: if the assessment specifies a period of validity and that period does not end more than 3 years after the date of assessment, that period must not have ended; and if no such period is specified, no more than 3 years must have passed since the date of the assessment.
This is why the Department of Home Affairs procedural instructions for the Subclass 189 include a dedicated heading titled “Invitation date is significant,” which clarifies that the Schedule 2 criterion is that “at the time of invitation,” the relevant assessing authority must have assessed the applicant’s skills as suitable for their nominated occupation. A crucial component of this is that the list of occupations and the relevant assessing authority for each is determined by legislative instrument LIN 19/051, and the applicable instrument is the one in force at the time the invitation was issued.
Where an assessment expired before the invitation was issued, the Department’s practice changed following the case of Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686: the Department’s website states that this change in approach is a result of the Thapa decision, in which Judge Humphreys accepted the interpretation that the phrase “time of invitation” refers to the validity period of the invitation, i.e., 60 calendar days from the date of the invitation issued in SkillSelect. Accordingly, a skills assessment obtained within that 60-day window is accepted. Please note that Thapa is a single-judge Federal Circuit Court decision which the Department implements as an administrative practice; therefore, relying on it is only necessary when the simpler path—proving the assessment was valid on the day of the invitation—is not available.
Practical steps and key criteria
| Your Situation | Legal Result | Necessary Action |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment was valid on the invitation date and expired only afterwards | The clause 189.222(1) condition was met at the time of invitation | You do not necessarily need a new assessment; lodge the application within the invitation deadline |
| Assessment expired before the invitation date | Based on post-Thapa practice, an assessment obtained within the 60-day window is accepted | Apply for a new assessment immediately and lodge the visa application before the 60 days end |
| New assessment will not be issued within 60 days | This invitation will lapse, but the path is not closed | New assessment + new EOI in SkillSelect for the next invitation round |
- Extract dates accurately: The invitation date in SkillSelect and the expiry date on your assessment letter. Everything pivots on these two dates.
- 60-day deadline: The application must be lodged within the period specified in the invitation—a maximum of 60 calendar days from the invitation date; this is a legal deadline and cannot be extended. If your assessment expired 9 days ago and your invitation was issued around that time, you have approximately 51 days of that window remaining.
- Confirm the correct assessing authority: The assessing authority for each occupation is specified in LIN 19/051, which applies to Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) and 491 visas; the current version of this instrument is Compilation No. 5, dated 28 March 2026. For electronics occupations, depending on the exact ANZSCO code (technician/engineering vs. electronics equipment tradesperson), the assessing authority can vary and can only be definitively determined by referring to this legislative instrument and the nominated occupation in your EOI.
- Assess the authority’s processing time today: Every assessing authority has its own procedures, timeframes, and fees; before basing your plan on obtaining a new assessment in the remaining days, check that specific authority’s stated processing time for your occupation code.
- Occupation must not have been assessed for a 485 visa: The assessment must not have been for a Subclass 485 visa.
- You are not alone: The skills assessment expiry date is not recorded in the SkillSelect system, which results in automated invitations being issued to individuals who are not eligible; on 8 December 2022, when the Department issued 35,000 invitations for over 180 occupations for the 189 subclass, many invitees were unable to use their invitations due to expired skills assessments.
What this means for you
As Dr. Sirous Ahmadi, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 0854826), explains, in a case like yours, the first task is not to “get a new assessment”; the first task is to match the invitation issue date with the assessment expiry date. If the assessment was still valid on the day the invitation was issued—which is entirely plausible if it expired only 9 days ago—the legal condition was satisfied at that exact moment, and you have the right to lodge the visa application within the invitation window; a subsequent expiry does not invalidate the condition that was met, as the criterion is the “time of invitation,” not the “time of application.”
And if your review shows the assessment expired before the invitation, there is still no need for concern: current departmental practice allows for the acceptance of an assessment obtained within the 60-day window, making your situation a race against the calendar rather than a legal dead-end. Even in the worst-case scenario—where the assessing authority cannot provide a result in the remaining days—losing this invitation is not the end of the road: with a new assessment and a new EOI, you can be invited again, subject to your points, age, and the occupation’s status on the lists at that time. What has the greatest impact at this stage is correctly reading the file and precisely documenting these dates at the time of lodgement; expertise that Dr. Sirous Ahmadi, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 0854826), provides for invitation-based cases.
Resources
- Procedural Instruction: Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) — Department of Home Affairs (Document released under FOI, 2023)
- Migration Regulations 1994 — Schedule 2 (Clause 189.222), AustLII consolidated version
- Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019 — Compilation No. 5, 28 March 2026
- Working in Australia legislative instruments — Department of Home Affairs
- Australian skilled migration update: This new rule is ‘great news’ for visa applicants — SBS (Report on the Department’s change in approach following the Thapa decision)
- Law Council of Australia — submission to the Parliament of Australia (2023): Skills assessment expiry and automated SkillSelect invitations
Let’s review your case before the 60-day deadline
If you have a 189 invitation in hand and the assessment expiry date is worrying you, two simple dates will determine the fate of your file: the date of the invitation and the expiry date of the assessment. Bring them along with your nominated occupation and ANZSCO code to a consultation so that Dr. Sirous Ahmadi, Registered Migration Agent (MARA 0854826), can clarify the correct path—immediate lodgement, assessment renewal within the window, or reconstructing your EOI for the next round—brightly and without wasting even a single day of your legal deadline.
Frequently asked questions
When is the validity of a skills assessment for the 189 visa measured?
At the “time of invitation.” Clause 189.222(1) of Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 states that at the time of invitation to apply for the visa, the relevant assessing authority must have assessed the applicant’s skills as suitable for the nominated occupation. Therefore, the date of visa lodgement is not the criterion, and an assessment expiring after the invitation is issued does not negate the condition that was satisfied.
My assessment expired a few days after my invitation; do I need to get a new one?
Not necessarily. If the assessment was still within its validity period on the day the invitation was issued (or less than 3 years had passed since the date of assessment, in cases where no validity period is specified on the letter), the legal condition was met at the time of invitation. The first step is to match the invitation date in SkillSelect with the assessment expiry date.
What happens if the skills assessment expired before the invitation was issued?
The Department of Home Affairs announced a change in approach following the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration [2021] FCCA 686, stating that a suitable assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation window is accepted. In that case, “time of invitation” was interpreted as the validity period of the invitation, i.e., 60 calendar days from the date it was issued.
Can the 60-day invitation window be extended?
No. According to the Department of Home Affairs’ procedural instructions, the primary applicant must lodge the application within the period specified in the invitation, which is no more than 60 calendar days from the date of the invitation in SkillSelect. This period is statutory and cannot be extended.
If I cannot get a new assessment within the deadline, is my case finished?
No; only this specific invitation is lost. By obtaining a new skills assessment and lodging a fresh EOI, you can be invited again in future rounds, subject to your points, age, and the status of your occupation on the lists at that time.
How do I determine the correct assessing authority for electronics occupations?
The assessing authority for each occupation is determined by the legislative instrument LIN 19/051, which applies to the 189 visa (Points-tested stream); the current version is Compilation No. 5, dated 28 March 2026. Crucially, the applicable instrument is the one in force at the time the invitation was issued; you must match the exact ANZSCO code of your nominated occupation with that specific version.
This answer reflects the law and policy as verified on October 29, 2026. Immigration rules change frequently — confirm the current position before acting.
Dr. Sirous Ahmadi Registered Migration Agent 0854826
This article is general information only, current at the date shown, and is not legal advice. Do not rely on it for your own situation — immigration law and policy change frequently. Seek advice from a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer about your circumstances.