The 10 Points for a Research Masters or PhD: Which Fields Now Count

If you hold a research masters or a doctorate from an Australian institution, there are 10 points in the points test that we regularly see go unclaimed. They sit in their own section of the points test, separate from the points for the degree itself, and they only apply if your study was in one of a specified list of fields. That list has just been remade. The Migration (Fields of Education) Instrument 2026 was registered on 24 September 2026 and commenced the day after, on 25 September. It repeals the 2016 specification it replaces. Twenty-one fields are now specified, grouped under sciences, information technology and engineering.

What the 10 points actually is

Australia's points test is built in sections, and each one covers a different thing: age, English, work experience, education, and so on.

Education has two sections, not one. The first gives you points for the qualification itself, up to 20 for a doctorate. A second, separate section gives 10 points for what the Migration Regulations call a specialist educational qualification. That's the one this new instrument feeds.

We labour the two-section structure because it decides whether those 10 points are additional to your degree points or instead of them. More on that below.

Which fields of education count?

Twenty-one fields are specified. They are grouped under three headings, and the instrument says in terms that the grouping column is for information only, so the operative list is the 21 individual fields.

Notice what isn't there. No health, no nursing, no teaching, no accounting, no law, no architecture, no agriculture. If your research degree sits outside those 21 fields, this particular 10 points isn't available to you, however strong the rest of your case is.

What you need to have done

These requirements are cumulative, not alternatives. All of them have to be met:

• The award must be from an Australian educational institution.
• The degree must be either a masters degree by research or a doctoral degree.
• The degree must have included study of at least two academic years at that institution.
• That study must have been in one of the 21 specified fields.

Most people come unstuck on the research requirement. A coursework masters in computer science does not qualify under this section, no matter how good the university or how long the program. It has to be a masters by research, or a doctorate. In our experience that single distinction accounts for more failed claims here than the field list does.

Take a mechanical engineering PhD finished at an Australian university with three years of on-campus research. That person plausibly meets all four requirements. Change one fact, make it a two year coursework masters in the same subject at the same university, and the claim fails at the second requirement while everything else still looks identical on paper.

Does it stack with your degree points?

Yes, and this is the part worth understanding properly, because it changes the arithmetic.

You get points for only one qualification within any one section of the points test, and where more than one applies inside a section, you get the highest. Those two sections are distinct. So the specialist educational qualification isn't competing against your doctorate points. It's a separate claim in a separate section.

Within the general education section you pick up one figure only, the highest you qualify for. Specialist points and Australian study points sit in their own sections and are assessed separately.

One timing point that catches people out: each of these is tested at the time of invitation, not at the time you lodge. Finishing a thesis after the invitation issues does not help that invitation.

Which visas does this apply to?

Four visas use this points test: the subclass 189 in the points-tested stream, the subclass 190, the subclass 489 and the subclass 491. If you're applying for an employer-sponsored visa such as the 482 or the 186, there's no points test, so none of this is relevant to you.

What we can't tell you yet

Two things are still open, and we'd rather say so than guess.

First, what an academic year means for the two year requirement. Migration law doesn't define it in the ordinary way. They say an academic year is a period the Minister specifies as an academic year in a separate written instrument. Until you've read that instrument, you can't safely assume two academic years means two calendar years, or two enrolment years, or anything else.

Second, whether the field list actually changed. This instrument repeals the 2016 specification, and we haven't been able to compare the two lists side by side. So we're not going to tell you a field was added or removed. If you were counting on a field under the old instrument, check the new list rather than assuming it carried across.

FAQ

How many points is a specialist educational qualification worth?

‍Ten points.

Does a coursework masters count?

‍No. It has to be a masters degree by research or a doctoral degree. A coursework masters does not meet it, whatever the field.

Can I claim the 10 points on top of the points for my doctorate?

‍You are limited to one qualification within any one section of the points test. The specialist educational qualification sits in its own section, separate from the one that rewards the doctorate, so it isn't competing with it.

Does a degree from outside Australia count?

‍Not for this claim. The specialist educational qualification requires the award to be from an Australian educational institution. Overseas qualifications can still earn points under the general education section.

My field is not on the list. Is there anything else?

‍Not under this section. You may still claim points for the qualification itself, for the Australian study requirement if you meet it, and for the other sections of the points test such as work experience and English.

When does the new instrument start?

‍It commenced on 25 September 2026, the day after it was registered.

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Not sure whether your degree meets the research requirement, or whether your field is on the list? [Book a consultation] and we will check it against the instrument and work out what your points actually come to.