Can I Use My Australian Degree for 190 Skills Assessment in 2026?
Yes — you can use an Australian qualification as the basis of your Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated visa) skills assessment, but there is an extra condition attached to it. Under the Department of Home Affairs' official Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) page (as of the July 2026 version of the page): "If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you got in Australia when you held a student visa, the qualification must be from studying a course registered on CRICOS." CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. In practice, the degree itself is not in question; the question is whether the course behind it was registered, and whether you held a student visa while you studied it.
What exactly does the CRICOS rule require?
Two things have to line up at the same time:
- The course must have been registered on CRICOS.
- You must have held a student visa when you obtained the qualification.
The rule is written as a condition on the qualification, not on you personally, and it only bites when both halves are true. An Australian qualification obtained while you were not on a student visa — as a permanent resident or citizen, for example — is not covered by this sentence, because the trigger is studying in Australia when you held a student visa.
This matters most for people whose Australian study was the substance of their skills assessment. If your assessing authority looked mainly at overseas experience and only mentioned your Australian degree in passing, the condition is less likely to be the deciding factor — but the safest reading is that any qualification used as the basis of the assessment has to clear it.
How recent does the skills assessment itself need to be?
Separately from the CRICOS condition, the assessment has a time limit. The official page states that your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation; if the assessment was issued for a shorter period, that period must not have passed.
There is also a timing rule about when the assessment has to exist. The Department says that delegates will now accept a suitable skills assessment for your nominated skilled occupation obtained within the 60-day invitation period. The page explains this change of approach follows the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686, and notes that the Minister administers the Migration Regulations 1994 in accordance with that decision while reserving the right to argue in court that Thapa was wrongly decided.
That combination is worth spelling out: you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation for your application to be valid, you have 60 calendar days from the date of your invitation to apply (the Department says this cannot be extended), and the assessment you rely on must still sit inside its 3-year window at the invitation date.
Where does this sit in the wider 190 process?
The skills assessment is one criterion among several, and it is not the one that decides whether you get an invitation. In broad terms, the official page sets out that you must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect, be nominated by a state or territory government agency, have a suitable skills assessment for a nominated occupation on the relevant skilled occupation list, be under 45 at the time you are invited, score at least 65 points on the points test, and have at least competent English at the time of invitation.
State and territory agencies each set their own nomination criteria, so the CRICOS condition is a Department-level floor rather than the whole picture — a particular state may ask for more, particularly around Australian study and residence.
| Requirement | What the official page says |
|---|---|
| Skills assessment | Must be suitable for the nominated occupation, and declared at time of invitation |
| Australian qualification basis | Course must be CRICOS-registered if the qualification was obtained in Australia while holding a student visa |
| Assessment validity | Obtained within 3 years before the date of invitation (or within any shorter stated period) |
| Timing of assessment | Accepted if obtained within the 60-day invitation period, following Thapa |
| Age | Under 45 when invited |
| Points | At least 65 points to be invited |
| English | At least competent English at time of invitation |
What if your course was not CRICOS-registered?
Assume an applicant completed a short vocational programme in Australia on a student visa, but the provider only registered that course on CRICOS partway through — the applicant's enrolment period fell partly outside the registered dates. If a skills assessment is issued on the basis of that qualification, the condition on the official page is not met: the qualification would not be from studying a course registered on CRICOS for the period in question.
The practical consequence is not that the degree is "invalid" in general. It is that this particular qualification may not be usable as the basis of the skills assessment for a Subclass 190 application. Whether an assessing authority is prepared to assess you on other evidence — overseas qualifications, work experience, or a different Australian course — is a matter for that authority's own rules, which change over time and should be checked against the official and assessing-authority information current when you apply.
This article is general information about published criteria, not advice on any individual's eligibility; because the rules interact with your own study and visa history, treat the official page and a qualified professional's assessment of your circumstances as authoritative.
Frequently asked questions
Does the CRICOS rule apply if I studied in Australia as a permanent resident?
No, not on the wording of the official page. The condition is triggered by obtaining the qualification in Australia "when you held a student visa". If you were a permanent resident or citizen during that study, the CRICOS sentence does not apply to it — though the qualification still has to satisfy your assessing authority.
Does the CRICOS rule apply to my Australian master's degree as well as my bachelor's?
The page refers to "a qualification" without limiting it to one level, so any Australian qualification used as the basis of the assessment is read against the same condition. Check each qualification you intend to rely on, not just the highest one.
My skills assessment expires soon — can I still use it?
Only if it is still inside its window at the invitation date. The assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation, or within any shorter period stated on it if that period has not passed.
Can I get the skills assessment after I receive my invitation?
Yes, within limits. The Department states delegates will accept a suitable skills assessment obtained within the 60-day invitation period, following the Thapa decision — but you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation for your application to be valid.
Is a CRICOS-registered Australian degree enough on its own for a 190 visa?
No. It addresses one condition attached to the skills assessment. You still need an EOI, state or territory nomination, an occupation on the relevant skilled list, at least 65 points, competent English, and to be under 45 when invited.
Does the Department publish a CRICOS check I can use in my application?
The Subclass 190 page states the requirement but does not describe a specific check mechanism, and registration records can change over time. Because requirements and registers are updated, confirm the current position against the official sources at the time you apply.