Skilled Migration For Professionals FAQs

No, we will not ask for additional documents.
A VETASSESS skills assessment for migration purposes involves assessing your qualifications and employment against the suitability of your nominated occupation. We provide the Date Deemed Skilled and Points Test Advice as part of positively assessed applications based on the documents submitted at the time of lodgement. We do not request additional documentary evidence for this. If you want to add more employment and qualifications for Points Test Advice after receiving a positive assessment outcome, you may consider applying for a Renewal application.

VETASSESS provides Points Test Advice for applicants with employment claims in their nominated general professional occupations only. You will need to contact your relevant Skills Assessment assessing authority for information onPoints Test Advice.

Please ensure you nominate the right occupation and DAMA region before submitting your application online. If you have incorrectly chosen your occupation and/or DAMA region, you will need to withdraw your existing application and submit a new one. Change of occupation requests will incur an administration fee.

You have 10 days from the processing of payment fees for your newly submitted application to request a change of occupation without incurring an additional fee. Please note you will not be able to change your nominated occupation while your application is ‘in progress’ status with us. If you decide to use the Priority Processing option (where available), this must be selected at the time when making an application submission to VETASSESS. 

No. VETASSESS cannot provide information for occupations that are not assessed under our authority for Skills Assessment/migration purposes.

Once a renewal application has been processed and if your renewal outcome is unsuccessful, you will need to apply for review or change of occupation within 90 days. Please see further information about reassessment options here.

We will not accept doctoral studies supported only by living allowance and/or scholarships. Consistent with the Department of Home Affairs’ requirements, for skilled employment to be considered as remunerated, applicants must be engaged in the occupation on a paid basis, generally at the award or market rate of the occupation. A person receiving minimal living allowances or scholarships designed to cover study expenses would not be considered to be remunerated. 

Students whose income is derived from living allowances or scholarships designed to cover their expenses, will not meet the skills assessment requirement of “paid employment at an appropriate remuneration basis in their nominated occupation”.

For skilled employment to be considered "remunerated", applicants must be engaged in the occupation on a paid basis, generally at the award or market rate of the occupation. This requirement applies to all full skills assessment applications. Applicants are advised to provide evidence of any additional paid employment experience at the appropriate skill level to meet current assessment criteria and support the renewal of their original full skills assessment application.

We will not be able to renew your assessment if we no longer assess that occupation.

Multiple applications across various assessment types are accepted.

Application fees include GST if you (the applicant) is an Australian resident for tax purposes. Please *Refer to the Australian Taxation Office website for information regarding tax residency.

No, it is not necessary to provide all your payslips to assess your employment. You must provide at least two payslips (ideally, your first and last) for each employment position. For employment of longer duration (i.e. more than 3 years), please provide payslips from the beginning, middle, and end of each employment position held. Our assessors may ask for further payment evidence.

We no longer require applicants to provide verified copies of qualifications from HEC Pakistan or the registrar's office of the awarding body in the case of Nigeria. However, although you do not need to provide verified copies of your qualifications when you apply, we may, during the assessment process, ask you to provide verified copies if an assessor identifies this is necessary to complete an assessment. This also applies to qualifications from other regions. If our assessors ask for verified copies, you will need to arrange them. For Priority Processing, the request for verified copies may delay the assessment process beyond the standard 10 business days.

Only scanned copies of original documents will be accepted. Do not send your original copies. If you submit original documents, they will not be returned. Your documents do not need to be certified.

A skills assessment is required for applications lodged for the occupations on the DAMA Occupation Lists. This is to ensure that the individual has the necessary skills to perform the tasks of their chosen occupation under DAMA.

Each period of employment submitted for assessment must be supported by the following two forms of evidence: 

1. An employer statement known as a ‘Statement of Service’, written on the employer’s letterhead, that includes: 

• Your start and finish dates for each employment period. 
• Issue Date  - the date the statement was written 
• Your working hours per week 
• The nature of your employment (full-time, part-time, casual) 
• Your job title(s) 
• A detailed description of the tasks that you perform 
• The name and address of the business The name, position, contact details (business phone number and email address), date and signature of the person authorised to make the employer statement. This person, known as your ‘referee’, must be your manager, supervisor, or human resources department representative.

2. Payment Evidence 

• Please provide at least one of the following: 
  • At least two pay slips listing your name and the name of employer 
  • Official government tax records such as income statements, payment summaries, tax group certificates or tax notices of assessment (listing your name and the name of your employer) 
  • Superannuation (pension) documents citing your name and the name of your employer 
  • Bank statements clearly showing your employer’s name and income deposited (please highlight relevant deposits). 
• Please note: 
  • For some occupations, there are additional occupation-specific requirements such as an organisational chart, project list, evidence of research, etc. These requirements are listed under the occupation requirements on the 'Check My Occupation’ and Eligibility Criteria pages. 
  • We cannot accept statutory declarations (affidavits) about your employment experience if we do not have third-party evidence such as an employer statement or financial records. 
  • We must be able to verify your employment evidence. Ensure that the contact details provided on your employer statements are up to date and correct. 

Evidence of self-employment 

• You can still apply if you are, or have been, self-employed, by submitting different types of documents 
• You must provide the following evidence for any self-employment claimed: 
  • Business registration documents 
  • A Statutory declaration listing your main duties during self-employment 
  • Payment evidence showing regular income from self-employment, such as client invoices together with corresponding bank statements and/or official taxation records 
  • Supplementary evidence, such as contracts with clients or suppliers, client testimonials, evidence of projects completed etc. 

A notarial certificate with English translation is required.

VETASSESS has categorised its professional occupations into groups A, B, C, D and E for assessment purposes according to the indicative skill level on ANZSCO.

Skill Level 1 Australian Bachelor degree or Master degree or Doctoral degree (Group A or B)

Skill Level 2 Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Associate Degree or AQF Advanced Diploma or AQF Diploma (Group C or E)

Skill Level 3 AQF Certificate III (with additional years of employment) or AQF Certificate IV (Group D)

Each group provides one or more pathways to meet the criteria for a positive outcome for occupations in that group. While not all groups allow for a pre-qualification methodology, a pre-qualification methodology is mentioned where applicable after describing the pathways for the post-qualification methodology on the occupation page and information sheet. For a positive outcome, applicants must meet the requirements for a pathway in full and on its own. The assessment criteria from one or more pathways cannot be combined or considered together.

The group's criteria are applied uniformly to all occupations in the group unless the occupation has special criteria (e.g., Diver, Beekeeper, etc.). In these occupations, the special occupation criteria take precedence over the group criteria.

VETASSESS has categorised its professional occupations into groups A, B, C, D, E & Ffor assessment purposes according to the indicative skill level on ANZSCO.

Skill Level 1 Australian Bachelor degree or Master degree or Doctoral degree (Group A or B)

Skill Level 2 Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Associate Degree or AQF Advanced Diploma or AQF Diploma (Group C or E)

Skill Level 3 AQF Certificate III (with additional years of employment) or AQF Certificate IV (Group D)

Group F occupations require a qualification comparable to Certificate II or higher AQF level in a highly relevant field of study along with appropriate employment. If the field of study is not relevant, applicants must have either an additional qualification comparable to Certificate I in a highly relevant field or additional years of employment.

Each group provides one or more pathways to meet the criteria for a positive outcome for occupations in that group. While not all groups allow for a pre-qualification methodology, a pre-qualification methodology is mentioned where applicable after describing the pathways for the post-qualification methodology on the occupation page and information sheet. For a positive outcome, applicants must meet the requirements for a pathway in full and on its own. The assessment criteria from one or more pathways cannot be combined or considered together.

The group's criteria are applied uniformly to all occupations in the group unless the occupation has special criteria (e.g., Diver, Beekeeper, etc.). In these occupations, the special occupation criteria take precedence over the group criteria.

We will not accept an application unless we are sure we can meet the 10-day timeline. We need up to two business days to review an application before we accept it for Priority Processing. We will email you once the review is completed, so you will know if your application is accepted.

Find out more information on our refund policy here.  

In order to process your DAMA skills assessment, it is required that you nominate the area you will be working in under the DAMA agreement. Please visit DAMA websites for more details.

You must upload your evidence online as part of the application process. You must submit all relevant evidence before you pay for your assessment.

You must upload colour scans of original documents. The minimum scan resolution is 150 dpi (dots per inch).

A negative or non-genuine verification result, meaning that either the qualification is not recognised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in China, or is not recorded in MOE's or the educational institution's database, will normally mean that a qualification cannot be assessed for skills assessment purposes and, there will be an unsuccessful VETASSESS skills assessment outcome. A positive verification result can be used for skills assessment purposes but does not automatically guarantee a positive skills assessment outcome. A positive (verified) qualification from P.R. China will be assessed by our assessment guidelines in order to determine equivalence to qualifications currently listed in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

The end date for ongoing employment is determined from the official documentation provided with your application, rather than, for example, the dates that you or your agent may enter into our application portal. When lodging your application, please provide your most recently dated employment evidence to establish the latest end date. This can be provided in the form of your most recent payslip or a recently dated statement of service.

Three years from the issue date.

VETASSESS skills assessments are currently valid for three years from the original issue date for skilled migration purposes. It is recommended that applicants seek confirmation from the Department of Home Affairs in regard to their requirements for visa applications.

This will depend on the available booking you select. It is an expectation that the earliest booking date available should fall within 10 -12 business days from the date of confirmation.

Processing time varies depending on the skills assessment program and other factors, such as whether all required documentary evidence has been provided. You can find the approximate processing times here. 

Points Test Advice applications are generally processed within four weeks, however it may take longer when the qualification claims require further research or investigation.

The renewal process normally takes about four to six weeks once we receive all of the required documentation evidence. This may take longer depending on the complexity of the application.

The approximate time is 10 business days once we have received all the documentation we need for the assessment and conducted any interviews that are required.

Most Chinese Qualification Verification applications are completed within 8-10 weeks, with a small number of cases taking longer (for instance, any qualifications awarded before 1995).

Please allow at least 8 weeks before making any status inquiries with VETASSESS. In addition, failure to submit all required documents when you apply may cause considerable delays in completing your Chinese Qualification Verification application. Your Chinese Qualification Verification cannot be completed until we receive all required documentation. Please refer to the Required Documents section of our website before submitting your application.

If any additional information is required you will be contacted by email. Once your application is completed, you will receive an email notification to download the outcome letter from the online application portal.

All full skills asssessments require both qualifications and employment experience.

Our skills assessment outcome letters for occupations with DAMA specific criteria specify the relevant DAMA region. Please contact the relevant DAMA authority to confirm the validity of the letter.

For occupations with DAMA specific criteria, you will need to re-apply under the DAMA category. For other occupations which do not have DAMA specific criteria, yes. Please ensure that your chosen occupation is available under the relevant DAMA agreement.

VETASSESS Skills Assessment applications require an assessment of both qualifications and employment against the criteria for your nominated occupation. Highly relevant employment cannot compensate for lack of qualification at the required educational level for the nominated occupation.

VETASSESS Skills Assessment applications require an assessment of both qualifications and employment against the criteria for your nominated occupation. Highly relevant employment cannot compensate for lack of qualification at the required educational level for the nominated occupation.

You can ask us to convert your application to Priority Processing. We consider these requests on a case-by-case basis so please tell us why you want Priority Processing. You can email your request, with your evidence, to migrate@vetassess.com.au.

We will consider requests if:

• You have received an invitation from the Department of Home Affairs or a state or territory government that will expire by a set date
• Your visa expires in six weeks and you cannot obtain another visa
• You are turning 33, 40 or 45 in six weeks
• Your English Test Result (IELTS or PTE) expires in six weeks
• Your Partner Skills Assessment or English Test Result expires in six weeks.

Other requests may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Yes, and you can lodge your application for the Chinese Qualification Verification and Points Test Advice together online.

When applicants hold multiple employment positions simultaneously, we do allow the combined hours from these relevant employment positions to meet the 20-hours-per-week requirement. For instance, if you have been working for two employers at the same time, and the total hours from both employments amount to at least 20 hours per week, we may consider this concurrent employment as meeting the 20 hours per week requirement.

For applicants who require the Chinese Qualifications Verification for VETASSESS skills assessment purposes, you only need to apply for verification of the qualification that meets the minimum requirement of your nominated occupation. However, if that qualification includes credits granted from any previous studies, the earlier qualification/s will also need to be verified together with the later or higher qualification.

If you are submitting a Professional Master Degree (被授予学位，毕业证书和成绩单的专业硕士), a Master Equivalent Degree (同等学历硕士) or a Master (Professional) (仅被授予学位和成绩单的专业硕士) qualification for CQV for subsequent VETASSESS skills assessment purposes, you must also include the underpinning Bachelor Degree for the CQV process.

If you are submitting a Professional Doctoral Degree (专业博士学位，且非8年本博连读) for CQV for subsequent VETASSESS skills assessment purposes, you must also include the underpinning Bachelor and Master Degree for the CQV process.

Please note you may use the verification reports again when you lodge a subsequent application for skilled migration purposes with the Department of Home Affairs. We suggest that you submit both the verification results and any VETASSESS result letters together with your other visa-related documents when lodging an application to the Department of Home Affairs. 

For applicants referred to us by other skills assessing authorities/ professional bodies, please ensure you have read the latest information regarding the verification process before applying to VETASSESS.

No discount applies to Skills Assessment applications lodged to VETASSESS. No discount or credit notes apply to any subsequent services provided by VETASSESS.

Certificates for professional development are only necessary if they are crucial to the performance of your employment, such as in regulated occupations where specific licences or course completion may be required. Otherwise, you do not need to provide evidence of continuing professional development, such as short online courses, conference participation certificates, webinars, seminars, and workshops. However, you may include these in your resume or CV to show your continuing professional development.

Please note that there is no refund for completed SAS applications. Refunds are available in very limited circumstances.

For VETASSESS refund policy click here.

Refunds are available in very limited circumstances. Our refund policy is available here.

As part of the assessment process, we may contact you to clarify information in your application, and to discuss your occupational skills.

We cannot accept a request to change the occupation for this service because of the limited timeframe to deliver Priority Processing.

One recent passport-sized colour photograph is required. The photograph must be no more than six months old and of good quality (self-taken photographs are not acceptable). The photograph needs to be certified, signed and dated by the applicant. 

If you have any forms of professional registration, please provide evidence for the assessment. The evidence must show the country of registration, name of registration board, type of registration, registration number and expiry date.

As proof of your identity, we require your passport biopage showing your name, photo and date of birth. If you do not have a passport, you will need to provide your full Birth Certificate.

Provide us with your complete academic transcript. Transcripts are the official records from the institution outlining the courses / units of study as well as the final grades achieved as part of your academic qualification. If you attended a college affiliated to the awarding institution, the academic transcripts must be issued by the awarding institution authorised to award the qualification.

The qualification award certificate is the official document confirming the completion of an awarded course of study. If you have not yet received your qualification award certificate, a provisional award certificate issued by the awarding body or an official statement of completion issued by the Registrar's department of the awarding institution will be accepted.

Please read notes about additional requirements for qualifications obtained from specific regions of the world below, to determine if they apply to your circumstances.

Qualification evidence includes your qualification award certificate accompanied by the academic transcripts.

Award Certificate:

The award certificate is the official document confirming the completion of an award course of study. If you have not yet received your qualification award certificate, a provisional award certificate issued by the awarding body or an official statement of completion issued by the Registrar's department of the awarding institution will be accepted.

Academic Transcript:

Provide us with your complete academic transcript. Transcripts are the official records from the institution outlining the courses / units of study as well as the final grades achieved as part of your academic qualification. If you attended a college affiliated to the awarding institution, the academic transcripts must be issued by the awarding institution permitted to award the qualifications. If your transcripts do not provide sufficient information regarding the units of study undertaken, please provide additional evidence, such as a course syllabus, to clarify this. You can also detail major projects and other significant features of your studies on a cover letter.

Additional notes for qualifications obtained from specific regions of the world:

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA (PRC)

If you hold qualifications that have been awarded by educational institutions from China, you will be required to have your qualification documents verified by VETASSESS.

You can read more about the Chinese Qualifications Verification process on our website.

EUROPE

Applicants with European qualifications should supply Diploma Supplements for these if available. Generally, these are only issued by educational institutions from countries participating in the Bologna Process. A Diploma Supplement will be accepted in lieu of an award certificate and transcript if it includes all the necessary information.

PHILIPPINES

Please supply evidence of passing the Professional Regulation Commission's Licensure Examinations if available.

LEBANON

Most qualifications awarded by University Colleges and Institutes in Lebanon require evidence of approval by the Equivalence Committee of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Please supply this evidence confirming equivalency to a qualification awarded by a Lebanese university.

If applying for a formal skills assessment, you must include your CV. A resume / CV allows you to outline both your academic studies (describing the major focus of your studies, including providing details of any major projects undertaken as part of course requirements) as well as describing your employment / career history in your own words.

Once you have submitted the online application, download the application declaration page from the application status page via our portal so it can be signed by you (the applicant) and your migration agent/lawyer (if applicable).

The following documents can be submitted as supporting evidence of your skills, knowledge and experience, in addition to the mandatory employment documents:

• Employment contract listing your job title, salary and other information.
• Position description outlining duties performed.
• Licences related to your trade.
• Resume / CV.
• Photos and videos of you performing work tasks.

A broad range of occupations that reflect the state/territory skilled and semi-skilled shortages, with no caveats to apply but, rather, concessions that may apply. › English language, age and salary concessions for some occupations.

For occupations with DAMA specific criteria, refer to the individual DAMA information sheet on our website. For other professional occupations that are listed on DAMA Occupation Lists, please refer to the professional occupations list. The process is the same as the standard skills assessments and when applying online, please select the ‘Skills Assessment for Migration’ category. When applying online, select the ‘DAMA’ category.

We will continue with the assessment for suitability against your selected occupation.

If you do not meet the requirements for your nominated occupation, you will be issued with a letter that states that you have not met the pre-migration skills assessment requirements. The letter will indicate the assessment components where your application did not meet the requirements.

If you disagree with the outcome, you should discuss your case with the assessor who will advise you on the options available for a reassessment where applicable.

If you do not meet the requirements for your nominated occupation, you will be issued with a letter that states that you have not met the pre-migration skills assessment requirements. The letter will indicate the assessment components where your application did not meet the requirements.

If you disagree with the outcome, you should discuss your case with the assessor who will advise you on the options available for a reassessment where applicable.

As part of the working arrangement with the Chinese government, VETASSESS requires all qualification documents awarded in P.R. China to be verified through our Chinese Qualifications Verification service. You are required to apply through VETASSESS even if you have already obtained Credential Reports from the relevant verification authorities.

If your application does not meet the eligibility criteria, or cannot be assessed within the timeframe, we will email you and refund the Priority Processing fee, less an administration fee of AUD $161. The fee will be refunded within four weeks of our notifying you. We will then process your application under our standard full Skills Assessment service.

If your documents are not in English, you will need to have them translated into English. You need to submit copies of the original documents as well as the English translations. Please note that a registered translation service must be used.

Employment that is outside of the last five years cannot be accepted and will not meet the skills assessment requirements.

You can try locating the occupation on the Department of Home Affairs website. Details of the relevant assessing authority will be listed there too. 
 

A Designated Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) is a formal agreement between the Australian Government and a regional, state or territory authority, providing flexibility for regions to respond to their unique labour market needs. DAMA allows employers to sponsor skilled and semi-skilled overseas professionals for positions they are unable to fill with local workers. Each state/territory DAMA is tailored to address current and emerging labour market shortages and local terms and conditions of employment.

• The Goldfields, WA – City of Kalgoorlie Boulder 
• Great South Coast, VIC – Warrnambool City Council 
• East Kimberley, WA › Pilbara, WA 
• South West, WA 
• Goulburn Valley, VIC 
• Townsville, Qld 
• Orana, NSW – Regional Development Australia: Orana, NSW 
• Far North Queensland – Cairns Chamber of Commerce DAMA.

VETASSESS does not offer skills assessments for the Northern Territory Designated Area Migration Agreement. Please approach the Northern Territory government or the Department of Home Affairs with any queries in regard to this. 

For all visa types:

• You will need to ensure that you meet the assessment requirements for your nominated occupation for both the VETASSESS assessment, and for your visa.
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that they nominate an appropriate occupation for their visa/sponsorship requirements.
• For information about visa requirements, applicants should visit the Department of Home Affairs website at http://www.homeaffairs.gov.au. For more specialised visa advice, applicants may wish to contact the Department of Home Affairs or a MARA registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

For all general enquiries correspondence via phone or email, VETASSESS can only provide information regarding our assessment process, and cannot tell you which visa is best for you, which state or territory list your occupation appears on, or whether you will meet the visa requirements.

For all visa types:

• You will need to ensure that you meet the assessment requirements for your nominated occupation for both the VETASSESS assessment, and for your visa.
• It is your responsibility to ensure that you nominate an appropriate occupation for your visa/sponsorship requirements.
• For information about visa requirements, you should visit the Department of Home Affairs website.  For more specialised visa advice, you may wish to contact the Department of Home Affairs or a MARA registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

For all general enquiries correspondence via phone or email, VETASSESS can only provide information regarding our assessment process, and cannot tell you which visa is best for you, which state or territory list your occupation appears on, or whether you will meet the visa requirements.

The Points Test Advice is an opinion only and will be taken into consideration by the Department of Home Affairs when assessing your eligibility for points. Determination of the points remains at the discretion of the delegated officers of the Department.

The information provided to VETASSESS may be used for data matching with other Australian Government agencies such as the Department of Education, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Taxation Office.

Please ensure that you understand the eligibility requirements before submitting your points test application. A refund is not possible after the assessment has commenced and can only be paid in limited circumstances. Please find more information about VETASSESS refund process here.

Please ensure that you understand the eligibility requirements before submitting your renewal application. A refund is not possible after a renewal assessment has commenced and can only be paid in limited circumstances. Please find more information the VETASSESS refund process here.

Yes. You will be assessed in exactly the same way as other applicants in your occupation.

You must provide complete information and required documents when lodging your application. The exact start and end dates (DD/MM/YYYY) of your employment must come from the official evidence. We are not obligated to seek further information from you and can make a decision based on the evidence provided.

While you are strongly advised to provide exact dates for each employment position, we will not request the exact day if only the month is stated on the official documents. For assessment purposes, we will take the start date as the end of the month on your document and the end date as the first date of the month. For example, if the statement of service mentions employment duration from March 2018 to November 2020, we will consider the start date as 31 March 2018 and the end date as 1 November 2020.