8 mistakes to avoid in your skills assessment application

We’ve asked our document checking team to tell us the most common mistakes they see with documents, and they have given us these tips to help applicants:  

Identity documents 

1. Many applicants do not provide enough personal identification documentation with their application – it's the most common mistake we see and will delay your application. You can find out what documents you need on our website under the tabs for Application Process.  

Applicant Declaration Form 

2. Make sure you sign your form! 

We do see applicants not signing their application, and our staff sometimes find that your signature cannot be confirmed because it does not match the signatures in other personal identification documents that you have provided. 

Provide an acceptable photo  

3. Low-resolution photos, side profile photos or selfie mobile phone camera photos are too low quality to be accepted. 

Tips for qualification and employment evidence 

4. Ensure you supply the English translation of your documents, from a registered translation service. 
5. You must also supply high quality colour scans of the original documents – applicants and agents sometimes provide only English versions of the documents and do not provide the original documents. Please submit high quality copies of the official documents (both original language and English translations). However, if the official document has been issued electronically, we still require high quality copies of these documents too.  
6. Take care with scanning, so you don’t cut out information.

The team often see documents scanned carelessly, leading to cropped or low- resolution images. They also warn against documents that are photographed with a mobile phone camera, as the images are of poor quality. 

Ensure your Statement of Service is detailed 

7. Applications are often delayed because a Statement of Service is not included, or the statement or reference letter has incomplete employment details. 

   The Statement of Service needs to include: 

• Working hours per week, 
• The exact start and end date (dd/mm/yyyy) of your employment in each position held, 
• Main duties and responsibilities for each position held, 
• The salary earned. 

A Statement of Service needs to be issued by your direct supervisor at the organisation, or by the HR department. We don’t accept statements issued by a colleague at the same level as you, or by a referee whose designation cannot be determined in terms of seniority. You can find a Statement of Service template here 

Incomplete Payment Evidence 

8. You must provide at least two examples of payment evidence that can confirm your paid employment and which represent at least two salary payment transactions for each employment position held. 

If you’re planning to apply for a Skills Assessment, start gathering your documents so you have everything you need when you are ready to apply. You might consider who to contact if you need to supply evidence from a previous employer or ask for a qualification to be reissued.  

You can also find on our website fact sheets for trades and information sheets for professional and other non-trade occupations that we assess. They tell you the qualifications and experience you will need for the assessment. Also check our blogs and social media for more tips to help you. 

Don't forget that you can also contact our Customer Service team for help or use our Skills Assessment Support service before you lodge your application.