Do you want to consider moving to Australia? Let’s first learn how a skills assessment for Australia can help you.

A skills assessment determines whether you are a ‘skilled person’ for visa purposes. The skilled visa program in Australia aims to bring in foreign talent. It identifies the skilled occupations that Australia requires and then establishes a standard for those who apply.

For example, if you apply for a visa based on your carpenter occupation, a skills assessment will determine whether your qualifications or work experience are comparable to that of an Australian carpenter.

A skills assessment is proof that you have the necessary skills to live and work in Australia. It involves comparing your qualifications and employment in Australia to the criteria of a nominated occupation (CSOL List). To apply for a migration visa, officials must provide a positive assessment result. Learn more about skill assessment by reading the blog.

What is skill assessment in Australia?

Skill assessments are job requirements in Australia that are based on skills and job roles and are issued by the relevant skill-assessing authority. A skill-assessing official is a company that looks over your work history to see if you meet their skill standards.

All these skill assessments are under four major occupation lists.

  • General Skilled Migration Visas
  • Temporary-Graduate Visa
  • Employer-Sponsored Visas
  • Temporary -Skill Shortage visa

What visas require a skill assessment in order to apply?

The top four primary visa categories that require skill evaluation are as follows:

Visas for General Skilled Migration:

Applicants with the necessary skill set can apply in the following visa categories:

  • Skilled Independent Subclass 189 visa
  • Skilled Nominated Subclass 190 visa
  • Subclass 491 (provisional) Skilled Work Regional Visa

Do you require a Skills Evaluation?

Yes, suppose you want to move to Australia and have applied for a General Skilled Migration Visa. In that case, you must obtain a skill evaluation from officials before applying for a visa. You will be unable to apply for Australian PR unless you have a skill assessment on your profile.

It is an important factor of the General Skilled Migration Program, which selects potential candidates with the appropriate qualifications to work and migrate to Australia.

Most likely! The first step in applying for a skilled visa (subclasses 189, 190, and 491) is to have your skills assessed.

A skills assessment opens the door to permanent residency if you apply for an employer-sponsored visa. It also improves your chances of getting a job, in our experience, because you’re demonstrating to the employer that your skills are recognised in Australia.

Finally, if you work as a licenced trader, you must complete a skills assessment. To work as a licenced trader in Australia, you must have a state licence. The skills assessment is the first step towards obtaining your Australian licence. Electricians and plumbers are included in category A.

Essentially, if you want to live in Australia for an extended period of time, you must have a positive skills assessment. If you are a licenced professional, you should check Australian licencing requirements to see if you need a skills assessment.

What are the Skill Assessment Eligibility Requirements?

There are various skill assessment bodies for various profiles, but the most common requirements are:

  • The applicant must hold a diploma, degree, or a comparable post-secondary qualification.
  • Work experience in the required field is required (for some occupations)
  • English proficiency (IELTS or TOFEL ORPTE)
  • Certificate of Health and Character

Once invited by Skill Assessment officials, the applicant can apply for this visa.

What Documents Are Required for Skill Assessment?

The documents that must be submitted must be written in English. If they are not in English, the applicant should submit photocopies of the originals along with English translations.

The following documents are required:

  • Payment of application fees
  • Passport
  • Photographs in passport size
  • Identity Verification (ID, Birth certificate and others)
  • Documents proving educational qualifications
  • Employment verification (offer letter, pay slips and bank statements)
  • Statements of business activity (for self-employed applicants)
  • Resume/CV
  • Letter of Roles and Responsibilities on company letterhead.

What is the Skill Assessment Process Time?

The standard process of assessing the application takes approximately 12-14 weeks after the skill assessment officials receive all of the required documents and information for the full Skill Assessment. In some cases, you can also request expedited processing.

Who is eligible to apply through Skill Assessment?

Australia is in need of migrants to fill open positions. Skilled migrants can apply for jobs in Australia via Skill Assessment. Here are the most in-demand job positions in Australia.

Professionals in Medicine (Nurses and Doctors)

In order to work as a doctor or nurse in Australia, an applicant must have a bachelor’s degree. They should have at least 5 years of experience in their field. The required IELTS score is 7 in all four bands.

Engineers and IT personnel

  • To be considered for the position of engineer, the candidate must have
  • Four years of engineering bachelor’s degree
  • There is no set amount of work experience required.
  • IELTS band score of 6 in all four modules

Note that native speakers and students who have graduated from an Australian university are not included in the IELTS score.

Teachers

The following qualifications are required for the position of teacher:

  • Four years of higher education, equivalent to the Australian education qualification (3 years degree plus one-year postgraduate diploma).
  • A teaching certificates
  • Depending on the requirements, work experience may or may not be required.
  • An IELTS score of 7 for reading and writing and 8 for speaking and listening.

Accountants

  • Accountants should have the following qualifications:
  • Qualifications comparable to CPA Australia
  • Core accounting subjects such as cost management, auditing, and others must have been studied.
  • Depending on the criteria, work experience may or may not be required.

Step by Step process to Apply for a Skill Assessment

1. Check your Qualification

The main consideration in selecting the appropriate assessment pathway is your qualification. It is determined by the following factors:

  • the country from which you received it 
  • the type of qualification
  • Whether or not it is accredited.

Accredited qualifications are engineering qualifications that are recognised through Accords. The relevant Accords are the Washington Accord, the Sydney Accord, and the Dublin Accord. We will recognise your qualifications under these Accords if and only if:

  • It was completed shortly after the country was accepted as a full signatory under the Accord.
  • Your program is accredited during the time period specified on the signatory’s website for your country. This is also known as a program’s intake, commencement, or graduation year.
  • Provisional accreditation is insufficient for your program, which is fully accredited.

Check the International Engineering Alliance website’s qualification checker to see if your qualifications are accredited.

You can apply directly through the Australian qualifications pathway if you completed your qualification in Australia and it is listed on Engineers Australia’s list of accredited programs.

2. Occupational Categories

Engineers Australia classifies skilled migration into four occupational categories:

  • Professional Engineer
  • Engineering associate
  • Engineering manager
  • Engineering technologist

You will work in one of these occupational categories in Australia based on your qualifications and skills.

3. Assessment Pathways

If your qualification is accredited, you have four assessment pathways or types to choose from:

  • Australian qualification
  • Washington Accord
  • Dublin Accord
  • Sydney Accord

You can apply under the Washington Accord if you have a French qualification.

You can apply through the Australian qualification pathway if you meet the following criteria:

  • you have an ASQA-recognized Australian engineering associate degree or advanced diploma and
  • You want to work as an engineering associate.

Apply through the competency demonstration report (CDR) assessment pathway if you have an Australian provisional-accredited qualification.

If your qualification is not accredited, apply via the CDR route. In this case, your knowledge, skills, and competency are measured against international standards.

In the CDR pathway online application, you will be asked to select your engineering occupation (or qualification) from a drop-down list. The Australian government has identified 31 engineering occupations for the time being.

If your assessment is successful, the outcome letter will include both your occupational category and your engineering occupation.

4. Prepare your application

You can begin your online application, save and exit at any time, and then return to finish it.

Examine the requirements for the assessment type you’ve chosen in the online application. Then gather all of the necessary documents and read the detailed instructions for preparing your migration skills assessment application. This downloadable publication describes:

  • complete the list of documents required for the assessment pathway you’ve chosen
  • Language requirements in English
  • You must adhere to ethical standards in your application.

Make sure to thoroughly read this material to ensure the best possible outcome for your assessment.

5. Submit your application

To apply online, you must first register in the EA portal. Once you’ve created your account, you’ll receive an email with your account ID.

Log in with your account ID and select migration skills assessment from the menu. Choose your assessment path, upload all necessary documents, and submit your application. The online application is simple to use, but if you need assistance, consult the online application guide.

When your application is successfully submitted, you will receive an email confirmation.

6. Assessment processing times

Applications for standard assessment are typically assigned to an assessor within eight to twelve weeks of submission. This does not guarantee that you will receive a response within this timeframe. The time it takes to process your assessment is determined by the quality of the documents you provide and whether we need to request additional information from you.

To check the status of your application, log in to your account on the EA portal. Online status updates are displayed throughout the assessment process until it is completed. You can also send us an email to enquire about the status of your application.

7. Assessment fees

The assessment fees and additional services page detail the fee for applying for migration skills assessment.

It should be noted that, as part of a government skills incentive, eligible migrant engineers can fast-track their skills assessment applications for free until June 2023.

8. Receive your assessment results

You will receive an email to know whether or not your application was successful. If your application is approved, you will also receive a migration skills assessment outcome letter, which you can use to apply for a visa. You can check the status of your outcome letter by logging into the EA portal.

Engineers Australia will keep your assessment letter on file for an indefinite period of time. To find out how long your letter is valid for migration visa applications, go to the Department of Home Affairs website.

If you have any questions about migration or visas, you can contact the Department of Home Affairs.

How do you take a skills evaluation?

Your occupation influences how your skills are evaluated and to whom you should apply. Some occupations have multiple skill-assessing bodies, so do your homework. Another stumbling block is that some skills assessments include ‘deeming dates’ on their outcome letters. Failure to provide the proper documentation can significantly reduce the amount of work experience you can claim later in the visa process. This can mean the difference between obtaining a visa and not.

Professional occupations are typically evaluated using documents. This includes an examination of your qualifications, identification documents, and an application form. Some evaluating bodies also require evidence of English language proficiency. For example, Nurses and teachers.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to have a skill assessment done, you must follow these simple steps:

  • Contact the authority in charge of skill evaluation.

You should contact the skill assessment authority before applying for the visa. Check which skill-assessing officials are appropriate for the nominated profession. Each skill assessment authority has its own process, costs, and time to evaluate a profile.

  • Get your assessment and apply for permanent residency in Australia.

If you receive a positive assessment result, you must submit a scanned copy of the assessment along with your visa application to migrate to Australia.

When a Skill Assessment officer receives an application, the first thing they do is check to see if the candidate has the necessary education, work experience, and English language fluency.

Aside from that, they consider the following factors:

  • The occupation for which the candidate has applied
  • Qualifications (Educational and other qualifications that meet the requirements of the occupation)
  • Candidate’s Work Experience.
  • The significance of your work skill to the occupation applied
  • The candidate’s visa category of choice

These are the most important standard requirements that Skill Assessing Authorities require of all migrants.

To obtain an invitation, the applicant must apply for the occupation on the authorities’ occupation list.

Your skill assessment should be valid at the time you submit your visa application.

Let’s take a look at how job validity is determined:

  • If a skill assessment has no validity period, it is valid for three years from the date of issue.
  • If the validity of any evaluation is less than three years, it is valid until the last date specified in the assessment.
  • If the validity period is longer than three years, it is valid for three years from the date of issue.

Candidates should be well prepared before submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI). The officials have the authority to issue more than one skill assessment.

Employer-Nomination Program (subclass 186)

Subclass 186-Employer Nomination Scheme is another name for it. A candidate applying for a labour-agreement stream is not required to provide evidence of his skill assessment. If the candidate applies directly through the Direct Entry Stream, he must submit his skill assessment.

Regional Sponsored Migration Program (subclass 187)

When applying directly under the Temporary Resident Transition Stream, a candidate is not required to submit a skill assessment. The skill assessment officer may still request a skill assessment before proceeding with your application. If the candidate applies directly through the Direct Entry Stream, he must submit his skill assessment.

TSS (Temporary Skill Shortage) visa (Subclass 482)

When applying for a TSS Visa, you should do the following:

Check to see if you require a Skill assessment or if you are exempt.

  • Before submitting, you should have started or completed your skill assessment within the last three years.
  • You must include the skill assessment reference number to avoid processing time delays.
  • Provide documentation if you are eligible for an exemption.

Graduate Student Visa (subclass 485)

To obtain this visa, the candidate must apply to the occupation listed in the MLTSSL. A mandatory skill assessment is required for the professions listed on the Medium to Long Term Strategic Skills List. When your skills match the skills required by the assessing officials, your visa application will be accepted.

Note: Please keep in mind that Skill Assessment is only required if you are applying under the Graduate Work Stream.