Visa UpdatesMay 12, 2026•6 min read

Avoid These? The Most Difficult Courses to Get PR in Australia

VisaClarity Team

Migration Information Hub Writers

⚠️ Online Forum Panic

"Avoid These Courses! PR is 100% Impossible!"

"Never study Accounting, Business Administration, or Marketing! The Australian government has blacklisted these courses and you will be deported immediately upon graduation!"

🚫 Banned Sectors💀 Zero Chance🛑 Save Your Money

🔍 Exposing the Reality

⚖️ The Migration Reality

Australian immigration law does not blacklist or ban any course or degree. The high difficulty associated with these fields stems from market competition and quota availability.

✓
Excess Candidate Supply: Popular general courses graduate tens of thousands of applicants annually, creating massive queues.
✓
Escalating Points Cutoffs: High competition forces the minimum points for invitation to escalate (often between 95 to 100 points).
✓
Restricted State Priority: States focus their nomination quotas on core public services (healthcare, teaching, infrastructure trades) rather than general administrative roles.

The Most Competitive Study Sectors

If you select these study streams, understand that independent migration is highly competitive, and you will need to maximize your points or look for alternative sponsorship routes.

1. Accounting

95 - 100 pointsOver-subscribed

Extremely popular. Despite being on the MLTSSL, queues are so large that candidates need near-perfect points (Superior English + years of experience) to receive invitations.

2. Marketing Specialists

90 - 95 pointsLow Priority

Listed on the short-term STSOL list. This means there is no independent 189 pathway; applicants must secure state nomination or corporate sponsors.

3. General Business Admin

95+ pointsRestricted

Roles like 'Program Administrator' or 'Contract Administrator' have limited vacancies and are rarely nominated by state governments.

4. Human Resources (HR)

90+ pointsLow Priority

Short-term list only. State lists open HR streams infrequently and prioritize candidates with years of local regional experience.

5. General Arts & Humanities

Not Points TestedHard Assess

Translating a general liberal arts degree into a positive skills assessment is difficult because assessing bodies look for highly specific professional roles.

How to Adjust Your Migration Strategy

If you have already studied or plan to study in these competitive areas, you are not locked out. You can adjust your strategy:

✓
Relocate Regionally: Residing and studying in a regional area (such as Wagga Wagga) gives you 15 bonus points for state nomination (491) and access to DAMAs.
✓
Access DAMA Concessions: Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMA) list many general trades and service roles, allowing regional businesses to sponsor you with lower salary and age cutoffs.
✓
Obtain Employer Sponsorship: Sponsoring visas (Subclass 482 or regional 494) are employer-driven and are not points-tested. If a business sponsors you, queue size is irrelevant.

Compare visa subclass criteria, costs, and processing streams side-by-side:

Compare Visa Subclasses >

⚖️ Section 280 Compliance note: The information presented on this page is educational general information. It does not constitute personal migration advice.