Skills Assessment

Get Your Skills and Qualifications Assessed for Migration

A skills assessment is an important part of many Australian skilled migration pathways. It assesses whether your qualifications, skills and/or employment experience meet the standards established by the relevant Australian assessing authority for your nominated occupation.

A suitable skills assessment may be required for visa pathways including General Skilled Migration visas such as subclasses 189, 190 and 491, and may also be relevant to certain employer-sponsored and temporary visa pathways. The exact requirements depend on the visa subclass, stream, occupation and individual circumstances.

Astra Consulting Group provides professional migration advice and assistance to help you understand the skills assessment process and prepare your application to the relevant assessing authority.

Identifying the Correct Assessing Authority

Different occupations are assessed by different Australian authorities.

Before commencing an assessment, it is important to identify:

• Your appropriate nominated occupation
• The relevant assessing authority
• Qualification requirements
• Employment requirements
• Evidence requirements
• English language requirements, where applicable
• Applicable assessment pathways
• Validity requirements

The Department of Home Affairs confirms that each assessing authority has its own procedures, timeframes and charges.

Reviewing Your Occupation and Qualifications

Our assessment begins by reviewing your educational background, employment history, qualifications and proposed occupation.

We can help you understand whether your background appears aligned with the occupation you intend to nominate and identify the evidence that may be relevant to your assessment.

Where appropriate, we can also discuss how the skills assessment fits into your broader migration strategy.

Employment Evidence

For many occupations, employment history can be an important component of a skills assessment.

Depending on the assessing authority and occupation, evidence may include:

• Employment reference letters
• Employment contracts
• Payslips
• Tax records
• Bank statements
• Position descriptions
• Organisational information
• Other evidence demonstrating the nature and duration of employment

The exact evidence required is determined by the relevant assessing authority.

Application Preparation and Support

Our professional assistance may include:

• Preliminary assessment of your occupation and qualifications
• Identifying the relevant assessing authority
• Reviewing qualification documents
• Reviewing employment evidence
• Identifying potential evidence gaps
• Assistance with preparing the application
• Reviewing supporting documentation
• Lodgement assistance where applicable
• Responding to requests for additional information
• Reviewing the outcome and discussing relevant migration options

Skills Assessment for Different Visa Pathways

A skills assessment is not identical for every visa pathway.

For example, a skills assessment required for a points-tested skilled migration visa may have different requirements from an assessment relevant to a Temporary Graduate visa or an employer-sponsored pathway.

It is therefore important to obtain the correct type of assessment for the visa pathway you intend to pursue. The Department notes that some assessing authorities issue different types of assessments and that an assessment obtained for one purpose may not necessarily satisfy another visa requirement.

Professional Migration Assistance

Important: The relevant skills assessing authority makes the decision on your skills assessment. We cannot guarantee a positive assessment outcome. Requirements, assessing criteria, fees and processing arrangements are determined by the relevant authority and may change.

A positive skills assessment also does not itself guarantee an invitation or visa grant. Any subsequent visa application must satisfy the separate requirements of the relevant visa subclass.