The Department of Home Affairs requires Australian Skilled Visa applicants to provide detailed information regarding their qualifications and employment history. To ensure you meet the Australian qualifications, Home Affairs requires that you complete a migration skills assessment form an assessing authority.

 The General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa is the most common visa programme for overseas professionals, managers, tradespersons, and international graduates in Australia to apply for residency. When migrating to Australia for a skilled occupation it is necessary to have a positive skill assessment. The skills assessment application must be processed by a relevant professional agency in Australia before lodging a visa application.

The first step in completing your skills assessment and lodging your application is to review the skilled occupation list and understand your occupations requirements. Once you have identified your occupation it is time to begin the skills assessment process.

There are more than 20 skills assessment agencies, including, Australian Computer Society (ACS), Engineer Australia (EA), CPA Australia, and VETASSESS.

VETASSESS is Australia’s leading vocational education and training assessment provider, it provides skills assessments for General Professional Occupations as well as Trade Occupations. VETASSESS reviews many popular occupations under General Occupations, e.g. Marketing Specialist, Property Manager, Conference and Event Organiser and Customer Service Manager.

1) Know Your Occupation & Job Descriptions

To start your skilled application process you must review the skilled occupation lists for your specific visa; 189 occupation list and 190 / 489 skilled occupation list. Below you will find two examples of nominated occupations and their job requirements.

Marketing Specialist - ANZSCO  225113

• researching potential demand and market characteristics for new goods and services and collecting and analyzing data and other statistical information

• supporting business growth and development through the preparation and execution of marketing objectives, policies, and programs

• commissioning and undertaking market research to identify market opportunities for new and existing goods and services

• advising on all elements of marketing such as product mix, pricing, advertising, and sales promotion, selling, and distribution channels

Customer Service Manager - ANZSCO  149212

• providing direction and feedback to team members and assisting with recruitment

• managing, motivating and developing staff providing customer services

• planning and implementing after-sales services to follow up customer satisfaction, ensure the performance of goods purchased and modify and improve services provided

• liaising with other organizational units, service agents and customers to identify and respond to customer expectations

2) No English Language Requirement

One benefit of taking the VETASSESS skills assessment is that it does not require English language skills assessments such as IELTS test results. With that being said, most VETASSESS skill level qualifications do require post-secondary education.  

3) Work Experience Requirements

VETASSESS requires a minimum of 1 year post-qualification highly related work experience for General Occupations.

4) The 6 Different VETASSESS Groups

VETASSESS has 6 different groups for General Occupations. VETASSESS has categorized its general occupations into groups A, B, C, D, E, and F for assessment purposes according to the indicative skill level on ANZSCO. The table below outlines the corresponding groups with their skill level but does not include group F due to it only having one occupation.

Group Qualification Requirments

Group A

1. Qualification(s) assessed at Australian Bachelor degree or higher degree with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
2.  Employment before qualification will NOT be considered.

Group B

1. Qualification(s) assessed at Australian Bachelor degree or higher degree with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
2. 
   If the degree is not highly relevant, but with a highly relevant Diploma and at least two years of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five year.
3. 
   If without highly relevant qualification, at least three years of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years
4. 
    At least 5 years highly relevant employment before any qualification may be considered

Group C

1. Qualification(s) assessed at least AQF Diploma level with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years
2. If the AQF Diploma is not highly relevant, but with a highly relevant AQF Certificate IV, at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five year.
3. 
   If the AQF Diploma is not highly relevant, at least two years of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five year.
4. 
   At least 3 years highly relevant employment before any qualification may be considered
   
   

Group D

1. AQF Certificate IV level, highly relevant, at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years;
2. AQF Certificate IV level, not highly relevant, at least two years of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
3. AQF Certificate III level, highly relevant, at least three years of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
4. At least 3 years highly relevant employment before any qualification may be considered

Group E

1. Qualification(s) assessed at AQF Diploma level with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level completed in the last five years.
2. Employment before qualification will NOT be considered.

Group F

Only one occupation in this group - 442111 Prison Officer, contact us if you need more details

5) VETASSESS Assessment Evidence Documents

1.Identity documents:
• Copy of current passport
• One recent passport size photo (45mm X 35mm)

2. Qualification evidence
• Qualification award certificate
• Academic transcript

3. Employment evidence and updated CV
• Statement of Service from employers
• Payment evidence
• Employment contracts

6)  VETASSESS Fees and Processing Time

•  AUD 968.00 for standard assessment, 10 to 12 weeks

•  AUD 1628.00 for priority processing, 10 business days

Do You Need Help with An Australian Visa Application?

At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants in all matters relating to Australian visa applications, including state sponsorship applications. Our areas of expertise include Skilled Migration visas, Business Skills Migration visas, Employer-Sponsored Work Visas, Partner and other Family Migration visas as well as Migration Review Tribunal, Judicial Review and Ministerial Intervention.

If you require further information regarding your Australia visa options you can contact us through:

(08) 8351 9956

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