The Victorian ROI for applicants within Victoria allows you to declare your income if you have a Skill Level 1-3 job and your employer has a physical presence in Victoria. The occupation does not need to be related to your nominated occupation.

Firstly, the following types of income CAN be declared:

Regular wages/salary

Wages for paid leave

Higher wages for working weekends or public holidays (Note: this refers to penalty rates, not overtime pay. It applies to regular weekend shifts, not occasional overtime.)

Commission (only for sales roles)

The following types of income CANNOT be declared:

Superannuation

Allowances (e.g., meal allowances)

Bonuses (e.g., one-time rewards or performance bonuses for non-sales roles)

Overtime pay

Reimbursements

Tips

A very common mistake is declaring the total package including superannuation. Some companies offer annual salaries as a package that includes super.

The figure declared in the ROI should be the amount excluding super. However, since payslips often show an 'annual rate' which might include super, many applicants mistakenly use this higher figure, leading to a discrepancy between the declared and actual eligible income.

I have also encountered fortunate cases where applicants received a pay rise after submitting their ROI. By the time they submitted their formal state nomination application after receiving an invitation, their base salary was closer to the amount they initially claimed. In such cases of minor discrepancy, Victoria has been known to exercise some flexibility. However, it is highly recommended to submit the most accurate annual salary figure from the very beginning.

Additionally, pay attention to the type of employment. For both full-time and part-time positions, you essentially need to look at the hourly rate.

However, casual employment is treated very differently from part-time employment.

This is a frequently asked question: the difference in claiming income for casual vs. part-time roles:

For casual employment, the 25% casual loading must be deducted, and the calculation should be based on actual, guaranteed hours worked.

For example:
Both working 20 hours per week.

Part-time hourly rate: $35

Claimable annual income: $35 × 20 hours × 52 weeks = $36,400

Casual hourly rate: $43.75 (which includes the 25% loading)

Claimable annual income: ($43.75 / 1.25) × 20 hours × 52 weeks = $36,400

(First, the loading is removed to get the base rate, then calculated annually).

Therefore, it's important to emphasize that for professions like education or healthcare where you might be working through an agency for 20 hours per week, it counts the same as part-time work for accumulating work experience points. However, when claiming income in the ROI, although the casual rate is higher, the ultimately claimable income is often significantly less than for a comparable part-time role after removing the loading.

Furthermore, due to the instability of casual work, there may be periods with no work and no income.

We recommend that when declaring your income, you must carefully estimate your guaranteed hours and take a conservative approach. This is to avoid a situation where, after receiving an invitation, you cannot provide payslips that substantiate the income level you claimed.

For some very specific and unusual circumstances, targeted explanations may be necessary.