Familiar with the Australian skills assessment? You should be

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australian skills assessmentThe Australian skills assessment is a skills test that is part of the application process for certain work visas and the Temporary Graduate visa.

It’s much more than just another box to tick on your to-do list though.

Your skills assessment result could determine whether or not you can live and work in Australia.

What is the Australian skills assessment?

The objective of a skills assessment for the purpose of immigration to Australia is determining if your qualifications and experience meet the standards for working in Australia in your occupation.

Who assess your skills?

Your skills will be assessed by your profession’s relevant Australian assessing authority. For instance, Engineers Australia assess engineers and the ACS is the official assessing authority for professionals who work in the ICT industry.

Each assessing authority has its own assessment procedures, timeframes and charges, so you’ll have to contact the relevant authority to get the correct information. If you’re working with an immigration agent, he or she should be able to give you more details.

How does skills assessment influence your immigration?

During the assessment both your qualifications and experience are assessed. You’ll need a positive outcome for both for a successful assessment and immigration. If you don’t get positive outcomes, you might not be able to immigrate to Australia.

Who needs to have skills assessed?

You may need to have your skills assessed by an assessing authority to be eligible to apply for one of these visas:

You must speak to your advisor to find out if you should get a skills assessment done. In the case that you must get an assessment done, your advisor will be able to tell you at what stage of the application you’ll have to do the assessment.

Ten of the most prominent assessing authorities

Below we’ll share the assessing authorities our team works with the most. We’ll share what each authority is, straight from their website, and give links to more information about the particular skills test where it’s available.

1. Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA)

The AACA is the ‘national voice for architect registration boards around Australia. AACA owns the National Standard of Competency for Architects. The National Standard underpins all assessment processes including the accreditation of architecture programs leading to registration as an architect in Australia.’

Read more about the skills assessment here.

2. The Professional Association for Australia’s ICT sector (ACS)

The ACS is the ‘authorised assessing authority that undertakes skill assessments for the purposes of skilled migration.’ Their role is to ‘assess the skills and qualifications of ICT professionals who are considering migration to Australia to work in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.’

Read more about the skills assessment here.

3. Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors AIQS

The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) is the ‘peak professional standards body for built environment cost professionals’ and dedicated to ‘maintaining the highest standards of professional excellence and continuous development.’

The AIQS’s members are all built environment professionals, predominately with job titles such as Quantity Surveyor, Cost Estimator, Cost Planner, Cost Manger, Cost Engineer, Cost Consultant and Project Controller. Their members also include graduates and students.

When it comes to skilled migration, the AIQS is the assessing authority ‘nominated by the Australian Government to provide expert advice to the Department of Home Affairs about qualifications and skilled employment experience with respect to the skilled occupation ‘Quantity Surveyor’ (ANZSCO 233213).’

Read more about the skills assessment here.

4. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership strives to ‘develop expertise and empower teachers and school leaders to create better education outcomes for Australian children’. When you want to immigrate to Australia, the AITSL will assess your suitability to work in the country as a school teacher.

Read more about the skills assessment here.

5. Australian Psychological (APS)

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) ‘advance psychology for members and their communities via advocacy, education, and evidence-based practice’. The APS has 24,000 members working in diverse settings and sectors across Australia and the rest of the world.

6. The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council Inc

The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (ACVB) works to ‘ensure the quality (recognised nationally and internationally) of the Australian and New Zealand veterinary profession’. The AVBC serves its members in a number of ways:

  • Providing a forum for communication and discussion of areas of mutual interest and policy development
  • Providing the framework for public and industry confidence in veterinary standards
  • Assuring and promoting education standards in the accreditation of veterinary schools, the Australasian Veterinary Examination and specialist registration.

Read more about the skills assessment here.

7. Engineers Australia

Engineers Australia (EA) is the ‘largest and most diverse body of engineers in Australia’. As Australia’s principal engineering association EA ‘serve and represent around 100,000 professionals at every level, across all fields of practice’.

Further to this, EA is a ‘trusted authority’ who uses its expertise to ‘create, accredit and assess engineering programs and practitioners’.

Read more about the skills assessment here.

8. Occupational Therapy Council of Australia

The Occupational Therapy Council of Australia is an independent NPO whose purpose it is to ‘ensure that standards of education, training and assessment of occupational therapists are maintained and developed so the Australian public is assured of safe and proper practice’.

Read more about the skills assessment here.

9. Trades Recognition Australia

Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) is a ‘skills assessment service provider specialising in assessments for people with trade skills gained overseas or in Australia, for the purpose of migration and skills recognition’.

Get more information about the skills assessment here.

10. VETASSESS

VETASSESS is Australia’s leading vocational education and training (VET) skills assessment provider for both migration and national skills recognition.

VETASSESS is recognised for their expertise and experience in ‘assessing the qualifications and work experience of prospective migrants, and supporting individuals’ applications for employment, course entry and industry membership’.

VETASSESS assess 29 trade occupations and more than 350 professional occupations from various industries. Furthermore, VETASSESS’s portfolio of services expands to include educational research and consultation on assessment standards, test design and curriculum development.

Read more about the skills assessment here.

Is it your dream to live and work in Australia?

Then you should contact us! Our advisors will assess your eligibility to apply for a work visa, advise on your visa options, and discuss the immigration process with you.

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