Do I Require a Skills Assessment?

Whether you are applying under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) or have an employer who is ready to sponsor you for a visa, you need to understand whether you need a Skills Assessment.

Skills assessments are issued by relevant skills assessing authorities. A skills assessing authority is an organisation that checks that your skills meet the standards they set to work in a relevant occupation.

The combined list of eligible skilled occupations sets out all relevant occupations under 5 occupation lists. Most occupations in each list have their own skills assessing authority. The Department can only accept a skills assessment issued by the relevant assessing authority. Each assessing authority has its own assessment procedures, timeframes and charges.

Obtaining a suitable skills assessment is mandatory for some visa subclasses (and streams) and may be requested for others. We recommend discussing your situation with the Registered Migration Agent (RMA) and get a professional advice about the visa you are interested in applying for. RMA will advise you if you need to submit a skills assessment and when you need to obtain it.

General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas

Applicants for the following points tested GSM visas must have a suitable skills assessment for their nominated occupation:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) — Points tested stream
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491)
  

To be invited to apply for a points tested visa, you must have nominated an occupation that is on the skilled occupation list.

When you submit your visa application you will need to provide evidence that you have a suitable skills assessment for your nominated occupation and it must also be valid at the time you are invited to apply for a visa.

Employer Sponsored visa

If you apply under the Temporary Residence Transition stream, a skills assessment is not required at time of application. A decision maker can still ask you to obtain a skills assessment if they think this is necessary before deciding your application.

If you apply under the Direct Entry stream, a skills assessment is required and you must have a positive skills assessment provided along with the application.

The assessment will show us you have the skills to work in the nominated occupation. The relevant skills assessing authority for these occupations is indicated in the combined list of eligible skilled occupations.

The skills assessment must clearly show that you have had your skills assessed as suitable by the assessing authority before you make the visa application. Skills assessments can be submitted after the visa application is made but the results of the assessment must have been obtained before the date of your visa application.

You must also have been employed in the occupation full-time for 2 or 3 years (depending on the visa stream), at the level of skill required for the occupation.

Skills in Demand (SID) visa

Certain primary SID visa applicants must undertake a mandatory skills assessment as part of the visa application process.

The following steps apply, when submitting your visa application:

• You need to confirm if you need a mandatory skills assessment or are eligible for an exemption.
• begin or have completed a skills assessment.
• include the skills assessment reference number to avoid processing delays
• provide evidence of any exemption, if you are eligible.

Note: As part of the application process, The Department may ask for a skills assessment, even where it is not mandatory. It will be requested in writing where this is the case.

How many years of work experience required for Skills Assessment.

The requirements are different based on the occupation and the assessing body. Engineers can apply for skills assessment with Engineers Australia with no prior work experience. Professional occupations assessed by VETASSES would require the visa applicant to have at least a year of post-qualification paid employment. Trade occupations, however, would require having at least 3 years of work experience.

Each persons’ circumstances are different, and we recommend booking a consultation to discuss your situation with Registered Migration Agent.