EOI Points Feature

How to do the Professional Year

The Professional Year isn't "any occupation can buy 5 points". It must meet the occupation field, the timing window, the course completion evidence, and the Department's points test rules all at once. Here we separate the IT, engineering, and accounting tracks so you can judge whether it's worth doing.

Back to the calculator See the closure rumours

How many points

The Home Affairs points table is still the authority. Don't claim early when the course isn't complete, the evidence isn't in hand, or the timing window isn't met.

Biggest risk

Wrong field chosen

IT, engineering, and accounting are not interchangeable. The accounting PY has stopped new enrolments, so don't treat an old article as a new 2026 option.

Who it suits

5 points short with enough time

The Professional Year is only worth budgeting for if you're already close to the invitation line and your occupation, visa, and completion date all line up.

Judge by field

First check whether a matching program still exists, then look at the fees and where to apply.

Check the skills assessment first →

IT Professional Year

Professional Year

Suits graduates with an Australian ICT-related qualification. Start with the ACS Professional Year in IT, then confirm the course, campus, intake, and fees with ACS or a partner provider.

Status: Still subject to the current ACS and provider pages
Provider: ACS and its approved providers
Where to apply: Enquire and enrol from the ACS Professional Year page or an approved provider page
Cost: Typically quoted around AUD 6,000-13,000, varying by city, provider, and promotions

Official page →

Engineering Professional Year

Professional Year

Suits graduates with an Australian engineering-related qualification. Engineering Education Australia describes it as the government-recognised engineering Professional Year.

Status: Open status, placement, and campus depend on EEA / the provider
Provider: Engineering Education Australia / Engineers Australia system
Where to apply: Apply or enquire via the EEA Professional Year page
Cost: Usually from a few thousand to around ten thousand AUD; confirm against the delivering provider's quote

Official page →

Accounting Professional Year

Professional Year

The accounting Professional Year can no longer be planned as a standard new-student pathway. CPA Australia, CA ANZ, and the Accounting PYP all state that new enrolments have stopped, with program activities ending on 2026-05-01.

Status: New enrolments have stopped; past completion evidence should still be checked against the DHA points test rules
Provider: CPA Australia / CA ANZ / IPA jointly involved
Where to apply: Don't treat the accounting PY as a new way to add 5 points; instead look at English, NAATI, state nomination, or employer sponsorship
Cost: No longer a budget item for new enrolment fees

Official page →

How to actually do it

1First confirm whether your nominated occupation or a closely related occupation falls within the IT, engineering, or historical accounting Professional Year scope.
2Check the entry conditions: visa, Australian qualification, graduation date, English, and skills assessment or provisional assessment.
3Enter only via the official professional bodies or their approved provider pages; don't rely on agent screenshots or outdated quotes alone.
4Compare campus, delivery mode, placement arrangements, refund terms, intake dates, and the time to issue the completion certificate.
5After completing the course, keep the completion letter, transcript, provider evidence, and payment records before deciding whether to claim 5 points in your EOI.

Key Q&A

Exactly how many points does the Professional Year add?

The Home Affairs points table still lists the Professional Year as a 5-point item. In practice it depends on whether you complete it within the required window before invitation or application, and whether the Professional Year is related to your nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation.

I already have a job — can I still do a Professional Year for the points?

Generally "having a job" isn't an automatic barrier in itself. What you really need to check is your entry eligibility, visa validity, the class and internship/placement arrangements, whether you can finish on time, and whether the completion date still falls within the window required for the 5 points. Full-time workers especially need to confirm whether course attendance and the internship clash.

I've heard the Professional Year is closing — is that true?

You can't say it's all closing in a blanket way. The accounting Professional Year has stopped new enrolments and ended its activities; for IT and engineering, check the ACS and EEA official pages respectively for now. Discussion of points test reform also doesn't mean the current 5 points have been removed.

How do I judge the fees reliably?

Don't just look at the advertised price. Put the enrolment fee, tuition, payment schedule, re-sit fee, transfer fee, refund window, whether placement is charged separately, and the time to issue completion evidence all into your budget.

Look at the Professional Year and the skills assessment together

The Professional Year usually can't replace a formal skills assessment. A safer order is: first confirm the ANZSCO code, assessing authority, and visa list, then decide whether to use a Professional Year to top up by 5 points. For IT and engineering graduates, the Professional Year may also help build workplace readiness and a local-experience narrative, but the visa outcome still depends on the complete documentation.

Calculate EOI score Check skills assessment See invitation history

Official sources

Home Affairs 189 points table

The Professional Year as a 5-point item in the points test, per the Department's current page.

ACS Professional Year in IT

The official entry point for the IT Professional Year and the provider lookup.

Engineering Education Australia Professional Year

Official program details for the engineering Professional Year.

CA ANZ Accounting Professional Year Program closure

Closure notice for the accounting Professional Year.

CPA Australia Accounting Professional Year Program

Notice that the accounting Professional Year has stopped new enrolments and ended activities.