Most skilled visa pathways require a positive skill assessment from a relevant assessing authority before you can lodge your visa application. The assessing authority checks that your qualifications and work experience match the occupation you are claiming.
Each occupation has a designated assessing authority. Using the wrong authority or applying for the wrong occupation can waste months and hundreds of dollars.
Is this your situation?
You need a skill assessment but you are not sure which assessing authority to use, which occupation to nominate, or whether your qualifications will be recognised. Or you applied and received a negative assessment and you do not know why or what to do next.
The skill assessment is the foundation of your entire skilled migration process. Get it wrong and everything that follows falls over.
Major assessing authorities
TRA (Trades Recognition Australia) assesses trade occupations: cooks, bakers, mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, welders and other trades. TRA has multiple pathways including the Job Ready Program for international graduates, which takes 12 months or more.
VETASSESS assesses a wide range of professional occupations including managers, professionals and technical roles. They assess both qualifications and work experience against the ANZSCO occupation description.
ACS (Australian Computer Society) assesses ICT occupations. ACS deducts a period of work experience (the "skills met date") based on the relevance of your qualifications to your occupation. This deduction catches many applicants by surprise.
AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) is the registration body for health practitioners. Registration with AHPRA serves as the skill assessment for many health occupations.
ANMAC (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council) assesses nursing and midwifery qualifications.
AIM (Australian Institute of Management) assesses certain management occupations.
Other authorities include Engineers Australia, AACA (architects), CPAA/CAANZ/IPA (accountants), AITSL (teachers) and others.
Common reasons skill assessments fail
Claiming an occupation that does not match your actual job duties. Your employment reference says "office administrator" but you are claiming "marketing specialist." The assessing authority will check the duties described against the ANZSCO definition.
Employment references that lack detail. They need to describe your duties specifically, on company letterhead, signed by a senior person, covering specific dates. "John worked here from 2018 to 2022 as a manager" is not enough.
Qualifications that are not recognised as equivalent. A three-year degree from some countries may not be considered equivalent to an Australian bachelor's degree. VETASSESS and other authorities assess this.
Not enough relevant work experience. Some authorities require a minimum number of years of post-qualification experience in the nominated occupation.
Negative assessment? You may have options.
A negative assessment does not necessarily end your migration plans. You may be able to request a review with additional evidence, apply to a different assessing authority if your occupation is assessed by more than one, choose a different occupation that better fits your background, or gain additional experience and reapply.
We can review your negative assessment and advise on the strongest path forward.
How Robbie Toor (MARN 1170356) helps
Robbie advises on which assessing authority and which occupation is the best fit for your qualifications and experience. He reviews your documents before submission, helps with preparing employment references that meet the requirements, and handles the application. If your assessment comes back negative, he can advise on your options.