190 Thapa Approach 2026: Practical Effect on Skills Assessment Timing

Yes — a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation can now be obtained after you receive your subclass 190 invitation, provided it is obtained within the 60-day invitation period. According to the Department of Home Affairs' Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) official page (as at July 2026), delegates of the Minister will now accept a suitable skills assessment for an applicant's nominated skilled occupation which has been obtained within the 60 day invitation period. The same page ties this to the decision in Thapa v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs [2021] FCCA 686 (Thapa).

What did Thapa actually change about the timing rule?

The page states the change of approach is made as a result of the Thapa decision, and that the Minister will administer the Migration Regulations 1994 in accordance with that decision.

The important qualifier is stated just as plainly: the Minister reserves the right to make submissions in a Court that Thapa was wrongly decided. So this is an administrative approach applied to current decision-making, not a permanent rewrite of the criteria. For an applicant, that means the flexibility is real today but should not be treated as a settled guarantee for every future invitation round.

What has not changed is the declaration requirement. For your application to be valid, you must declare that you have a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation. The concession is about when the document is obtained, not about whether you can skip the claim.

What must still be true on the day you are invited?

A post-invitation assessment does not relax the surrounding criteria. On the official page, all of the following attach at or before invitation:

• You must have been nominated by an Australian state or territory government agency — you can only apply if invited, and you are only invited if nominated.
• You must be under 45 when invited. Turning 45 after invitation is fine; turning 45 after EOI but before invitation means you will not be invited.
• You must have at least competent English at the time of invitation.
• Your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations for the 190 visa.
• Your EOI must reach the points threshold — the page sets this at 65 points or more — and your invitation will state the score you must ultimately meet.
• You must declare a suitable skills assessment at the time of invitation.

The assessment must also be for the occupation you nominate. The wording on the page is specific: a suitable skills assessment "for an applicant's nominated skilled occupation." An assessment sitting in a different occupation does not cover the claim, whenever it was issued.

How does the 60-day window work in practice?

Once invited, you have 60 calendar days to apply, and the page says this cannot be extended. The invitation arrives by email from SkillSelect, and it will include the points score you must meet. You could receive an invitation up to 2 years after submitting your EOI.

That makes the 60 days a lodgement clock, not a document-gathering grace period that buys you more time. The practical sequence is:

1. Invitation received — the 60-day clock starts, and your declaration about a suitable assessment is already locked in.
2. The assessment is finalised within those 60 days.
3. You lodge in ImmiAccount with a copy of the assessment attached, before day 60.

Two related traps appear on the same page. If you do not apply after two invitations, your EOI is removed from SkillSelect. And if the state or territory agency that nominated you withdraws the nomination after you have applied, your application becomes invalid.

Requirement	When it must be satisfied
Declaration of a suitable skills assessment	At the time of invitation
Obtaining the assessment document	May occur within the 60-day invitation period
Assessment for the nominated skilled occupation	Always
Lodging the application	Within 60 calendar days of invitation — no extension
Copy of the assessment provided with the application	At lodgement

How should an agent plan the assessment against a possible invitation?

Because the 60 days cannot be extended, the sensible posture is to treat the post-invitation pathway as a fallback rather than the plan.

Because the 60 days cannot be extended, check with the assessing authority how long it is currently taking to finalise an assessment in your nominated occupation before relying on the post-invitation route.

Then check the two evidence points the page flags specifically. If your skills were assessed on the basis of a qualification you obtained in Australia while holding a student visa, the qualification must be from a course registered on CRICOS — have that registration evidence ready rather than sourcing it after invitation. And the page warns that if the assessment was issued for a shorter period than the standard, that period must not have passed; a shorter-validity assessment is a real risk in a 60-day plan if the invitation is delayed.

For medical and legal practitioners the page accepts alternatives as proof of a skills assessment: full, unconditional or general registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, conditional specialist registration with AHPRA (specialty-only practice, no further training or supervision), or admission to practice law in the relevant state or territory. The page adds that for medical practitioners and for barristers and solicitors, you must hold that registration or admission at the time you are invited.

Consider a hypothetical applicant: nominated for an occupation, invited on day one of a 60-day window, with an assessment still at the assessing authority. On the current approach that applicant can lodge with an assessment obtained during the window. The same applicant who instead waits, assumes a further request will come, and lets day 60 pass has no extension available — and the page notes the Department is not obliged to request more documents and may decide the application without doing so.

Does the three-year currency rule still apply?

The page states that your skills assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation, and that if the assessment was for a shorter period, that period must not have passed.

It places that statement next to the 60-day concession without spelling out how the two interact for an assessment issued after the invitation date. The conservative reading is that currency for the nominated occupation is the point of both rules: an assessment is only useful if it is current and covers the occupation you claimed. Because the two statements sit side by side on the one page, confirm the current official wording before relying on either limb, particularly if your assessment was issued some time ago or carries a shortened validity.

Who can lawfully help you put this together?

Only some people can help with an application. If you appoint someone to give immigration assistance they must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. You can appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf. Appointing an agent uses Form 956; appointing an authorised recipient uses Form 956A.

If something in the application turns out to be wrong, the page requires you to tell the Department as soon as possible using Form 1023, Notification of incorrect answers.

This article is general information about how the published rules fit together, not personalised advice about your circumstances; because the Thapa approach is an administrative position the Minister has said he may contest, check the current official wording or get advice from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner before acting on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a 190 skills assessment have to exist before I am invited?

No, not as a document. The Department of Home Affairs page says delegates will now accept a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation that was obtained within the 60-day invitation period. You must still declare at the time of invitation that you have a suitable skills assessment.

Is the 60-day period extendable if the assessing authority is slow?

No. The official page states you have 60 calendar days from the date of your invitation to apply and that this time cannot be extended. Treat the post-invitation route as a fallback, and check with the assessing authority how long it is currently taking to finalise an assessment in your nominated occupation.

Does the three-year validity rule still bind me?

The page says the assessment must have been obtained in the 3 years before the date of your invitation, and that if it was issued for a shorter period, that period must not have passed. It states this alongside the 60-day concession without explaining how they interact, so check the current official wording before relying on either.

What if my assessment is still pending when the 60 days run out?

The window cannot be extended, and the page notes the Department may make a decision without requesting further documents. Separately, if you do not apply after two invitations your EOI is removed, and if the nominating agency withdraws your nomination after you apply, your application becomes invalid.

Can I use an assessment for a different occupation than the one I claimed?

No. The wording on the page is a suitable skills assessment for the applicant's nominated skilled occupation, and your occupation must be on the relevant list of eligible skilled occupations for the 190 visa. Timing flexibility does not extend to a mismatch between the assessment and the nomination.

Do doctors and lawyers need a skills assessment?

They can use specified alternatives. The page accepts full, unconditional or general AHPRA registration, conditional specialist AHPRA registration, or admission to practice law in the relevant state or territory. For these groups the registration or admission must be held at the time you are invited.

Is the Thapa approach permanent?

It is presented as a change of approach resulting from Thapa [2021] FCCA 686, with the Minister administering the Migration Regulations 1994 in accordance with that decision. The same page states the Minister reserves the right to argue in a Court that Thapa was wrongly decided, so the current official wording is the thing to rely on.

References

• Department of Home Affairs — Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190)