Understanding Australia’s Skills Assessment process

Whether you’re an engineer, IT professional, accountant, marketing professional or in the construction industry – Getting a Skills Assessment is one of the key steps on your Permanent Residency journey.  

A Skills Assessment in Australia evaluates your eligibility criteria including your qualifications, work experience and skills. This step provides accurate and critical information to the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) as they assess your eligibility to apply for Permanent Residency. The process requires your full attention and must be done at the right time to ensure that your application can be submitted on time.  

This article provides essential information on the Skills Assessment process in Australia. Key information in this article:   

• General eligibility criteria 

• Key things to consider for your Skills Assessment 

• Skills Assessment application process 

• Common challenges and tips

General elgibility criteria

1. Academic qualifications – You must submit qualifications relevant to your nominated occupation. These must meet the standards set by your assessing authority for your profession. Common documents include academic transcripts and professional certifications. 
2. Work experience – Provide details of your professional experience in your nominated field. Your experience should closely align with your occupation for a successful assessment. Common documents include employment references, payment evidence, and a structured CV. 
3. Language proficiency – Demonstrate adequate English language skills by taking one of the standardised English tests – e.g. PTE and IELTS. 
4. Essential documents – Submit all necessary documents, including academic transcripts, professional certifications, employment references, two types of payment evidence, and a well-structured CV, as specified by the assessing authority. 

Key things to consider for your Skills Assessment

• Skills Assessing authorities – Each occupation has a different skills assessing authority. We recommend searching for your occupation on the official Department website to learn more about your skills assessing authority. Each authority has different criteria and requirements to assess your application. Some common assessing authorities are VETASSESS, CPA, ACECQA, TRA, ANMAC. 

• Document translation – Please ensure that all documents are translated to English before they are submitted.  

• Skills Assessing authority fee – All skills assessment processes incur a standard fee and expedition fee (if applicable to your case and authority).  

Skills Assessment application process

Your assessing authority will thoroughly check the following:  

• Education qualifications – Your educational qualification must meet the Australian standards.  

• Work experience – Your work experience and documentation must be relevant to your nominated occupation. 

The application process may vary according to each assessment authority. Detailed information on the steps, processing times and validity is available on the authority’s website.  

Common challenges and tips

• Time frames – Each assessment requires a timely submission. If your visa requires your skills assessment to be submitted by a certain date, make sure you submit your skills assessment on time to avoid further delays. Each authority provides a waiting and processing time depending on a regular or expedited application.  

• Expediting your application – In some cases, you may be allowed to request for an expedited assessment. Expedition of the assessment comes at an additional cost.   

• Document accuracy – You must ensure that all your documents are accurate and presented in the right format to avoid delays or rejections.  

• Seeking professional advice – Each skills assessment requires proper planning and seeking professional advice is recommended to ensure the process goes smoothly.  

To conclude, a successful and positive skills assessment is crucial to your Permanent Residency application in Australia. By following the information above and familiarising yourself with the right knowledge, you can be on track to receive a positive skills assessment.