Skills Assessment
How can I get a suitable Skills Assessment ?
The Subclass 189 visa is probably the most beneficial visa subclass with all the benefits of permanent residency without any limitations. In order to qualify for this visa, you will need to get positive skills assessment.
To be invited to apply for a Subclass 189 visa, you must have nominated an occupation that is on the relevant skilled occupation list for this particular visa subclass. Most occupations have their own skills assessing authority. The Department only accepts a skills assessment issued by the relevant assessing authority therefore you are encouraged to arrange your skills assessment well before you intend to submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) in SkillSelect. You cannot rely on a skills assessment that was obtained after you were invited to apply.
Assessing Authority
Based on the occupation that you are in, you have to identify the relevant Assessing Authority. So, for General Professional Occupation(s) such as Café or Restaurant Manager or a Chemist, the relevant authority would be VETASSESS. Similarly, if you belong to one of the IT professions such as software engineer, programmer or network engineer then the relevant body to assess your qualification and experience would be ACS (Australian Computer Society.)
There are more than 600 occupations and almost 40 assessing bodies that work through your applications. Each has its own procedure and timeframe.
Preparing your application for Skills Assessment
Most Assessing bodies assess your skills for your nominated occupation based on your education qualification, professional licence (if any) and your work experience. The documents that are mostly required in these applications are as follows
- Degree or Award Certificate
- Employment References
- Project details Report if applying for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
- Your Detail Curriculum Vitae
- And Personal Identity documents such as Birth Certificate, Passport and Id Card
Therefore, it is important all documents supplied to the Authority are well descripted and authentic so that you don’t miss out on any significant experience due to lack of either an experience letter or extent of work performed in that role.
ANZSCO Code Requirements
The assessing body checks your qualification and work experience against the ANZSCO code requirements.
Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is a system that collects, publishes and analyses occupation statistics across government agencies. It is used by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to capture information in all visa, settlement and citizenship programs. Importantly, it is used within the skilled visa programs as the standard by which a visa applicant’s skills and work experience to undertake a specific occupation in Australia are assessed.
ANZSCO sets out what qualifications and experience you need to perform specific jobs and what your tasks would be in that occupation. If you are applying for a visa under skilled migration, the DIAC case officer assessing your visa application will want to see proof that you have undertaken the required qualifications and/or have the necessary work experience as outlined for your listed occupation in ANZSCO.
The processing time varies for each occupation however the average processing time is anywhere between 6 – 12 weeks.
Validity of Skills Assessment
The assessment is valid for 3 years from date of issue; otherwise what is mentioned on the result will be considered as a validity for your assessment.