Accounting and IT — the two most crowded occupations, the highest invitation scores: a realistic 2026 strategy

Let’s be blunt from the first line, because our readers are people doing the maths themselves: accounting and IT — the two fields with the most Vietnamese students — currently carry the highest invitation scores in the skilled program. In the November 2025 invitation round (around 10,000 invitations nationally), the IT/accounting/business group was invited at 85–90+ points, while trades needed only 65–70 and health/engineering 75–85.

What does 85–90 mean? It means that scoring 65 — the minimum to lodge an EOI — is completely meaningless in these two fields. But high scores do not mean a dead end: they mean playing a different strategy — stacking multiple point sources, combining visa types, and deciding early. This post goes field by field.

Why the scores are so high in these two fields

Not because Australia doesn’t need accountants or developers — but because the candidate pool is enormous. Tens of thousands of graduates in these two fields lodge EOIs every year, the system invites from the top score down, and the floor gets pushed up. It is supply and demand inside the pool, not a judgment on the value of your profession. Understanding this mechanism matters: you don’t need to be “better than Australia needs” — you need more points than the people in your pool, or a door that doesn’t queue by points at all.

Strategy for accountants

Assemble the “practically mandatory” points kit

At an 85–90+ floor, these point sources are no longer optional extras:

• Superior English: 20 points — the gap between proficient (10) and superior (20) is 10 points, equivalent to years of work experience. This is the highest-yield investment available.
• Professional Year (PY): +5 points — the ~44-week program for accounting graduates.
• NAATI CCL: +5 points — the Vietnamese community language credential.
• PY + NAATI stack to 10 points — details in our post on Professional Year and NAATI CCL.

Check the foundation: the skills assessment

Accountants are assessed by CPA Australia, CA ANZ or IPA — and the test is whether you have covered the required competency subjects. Students should map their electives against the assessing body’s subject list before choosing them, not after graduating.

Step away from the crowd

• Regional state 491 + a regional accounting job offer: +15 nomination points and a far smaller competition pool — much more realistic than waiting for a 189. See our state selection strategy.
• Adjacent occupations: auditor or management accountant are different ANZSCO codes from accountant (general) — different pools, different state options. The precondition: your actual duties and evidence must genuinely match the code; choosing a code tactically while your real work says otherwise is self-sabotage.

Strategy for IT professionals

Understand the ACS rules

ICT skills assessments are run by the ACS, with one crucial quirk: ACS deducts some initial years of experience from what counts (how many depends on whether your degree is ICT-relevant). Career changers have the RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) route — a report demonstrating ICT knowledge through experience. The practical consequence: your years of experience “on the CV” and the years that score points are two different numbers — plan with the second one.

Choose your ANZSCO code wisely — but honestly

ICT spans many codes: developer, business analyst, security, DevOps… with very different levels of crowding in the pool. If your real work genuinely maps to a less crowded code (say, leaning towards business analysis or security rather than pure programming), that is a legitimate advantage — but the mapping depends on each person’s actual duties, so check the ANZSCO task descriptions and get advice before locking it in.

The employer-sponsorship door — IT’s particular advantage

IT has a genuinely active sponsorship market: mid-level IT salaries clear the CSIT of AUD 79,499 (2026–27 level, from 1 July 2026; previously 76,515, indexed each 1 July) without much difficulty. The 482 visa → two years with your sponsor → 186 TRT to PR never passes through a points invitation round — it sidesteps the 85–90 race entirely.

A combined strategy table

And the single most important shared principle: don’t sit waiting for the 189. At 85–90+, the realistic plan in both fields is a 491 + 482/186 combination, with the 189 as a bonus if luck strikes — not the main plan. For how each point source works, see how the skilled points test works on SkillSelect.

Honest numbers so you can decide early

We quote 85–90+ not to discourage you, but because early deciders have more options: first and second-year students can still pick the right electives for the assessment, move to a regional campus for +5 points, or even reconsider their major. Graduates still have PY, NAATI, superior English and the state-selection puzzle. Invitation scores move round by round — the figures here reference the November 2025 round; check the latest round data before finalising your plan.

Summary

Accounting and IT are not dead ends — they are crowded roads. The 2026 rules of the game: superior English + PY + NAATI as the base kit, the regional 491 as the main door instead of the 189, and for IT an extra lane via 482 → 186 that skips the points race altogether. The earlier you decide, the more cards you hold.

Want to know your current score and which combination is most realistic for your profile? Book a free assessment with VisaAffairs.

References

• Department of Home Affairs — Points calculator — the official skilled points table.
• Department of Home Affairs — SkillSelect — invitation round data and the EOI mechanism.
• Australian Computer Society — Migration skills assessment — ICT experience assessment rules and RPL.

This article is general information current at publication. Australian migration rules change regularly — check the date and contact VisaAffairs before relying on it for your own case. Book a consultation for advice on your specific circumstances.