Skills Assessment Requirements
Requirements to

Pass a Skills Assessment

Anyone who is looking to apply for General Skilled Migration Visas (Skilled Independent – Subclass 189 and State Sponsored – Subclass 190), will require to obtain a positive skills assessment first before they can apply for the visa.

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The Skills Assessment

The Skills assessment will measure your – Education, Work experience, English level etc.. The skills assessment is done by an assessing body. Different professions are assessed by different assessing bodies.

Below is a brief overview of some of the most common requirements that are needed to pass a skills assessment in several professions. This list if by no means everything you will need, but rather a brief overview of common requirements. For more information contact the Skills Assessor directly. For a full list of the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List  – All profession have the Assessing Authority next to it.

Please note – This article is not meant to be a full outline of what is required, but rather a link on where to find the best info. To ensure you are eligible to pass a skills assessment always consult with the relevant assessing authority. Applicants will also need to pass a points test, obtain a positive skills assessment and meet the other eligibility requirements, to be able to apply for general skilled migration.

Professions

Check out the skills assessment requirements for the following professions.

Engineering

Skills Assessor: Engineers Australia

Nursing

Skills Assessor: ANMAC

Accounting

Skills Assessor: CPA/IPA

Teaching

Skills Assessor: AITSL

Electrician

Skills Assessor: Trades Recognition Australia
Common requirements for Engineering Skills Assessment Pathway to Aus

Engineering

Education:

4 year Bachelor Degree minimum

Work Experience:

No set years of experience required. Although it may be difficult without work experience to demonstrate the competencies by referring to your undergraduate professional engineering qualifications and the project/work experience elements of your academic study

English Level:

Band 6 or above in all 4 modules of academic or general IELTS (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking). Alternative English Tests will not be accepted.

The following applicants may be exempted from the requirement for IELTS:

  1. applicants who are native English speakers;
  2. applicants who have successfully completed an Australian engineering qualification or a 2 years Masters degree or PhD level program at an Australian university.

Processing Time:

about 11 – 13 weeks as indication on the Engineers Australia Website

Common requirements for Nursing Skills Assessment Pathway to Aus

Nursing

Education:

Internationally qualified nurses and midwives must meet the educational standard set for Australian qualified registered nurses and midwives. The applicant has a minimum qualification of a Bachelor degree, or qualification combined with experience that is comparable in duration and content to the nationally agreed minimal educational standard for nursing and midwifery in Australia.

Work Experience:

The Standard is met when the applicant has practised as a nurse or midwife in the 5 years preceding their application date. Newly registered Australian nursing and midwifery graduates do not need to meet this standard but they must have obtained AHPRA registration.

English Level:

Band score of 7 in all bands of the IELTS academic IELTS or a B pass in all bands of the OET for nurses

Education:

A qualification that is assessed by CPA Australia as equivalent to at least an Australian Bachelor degree and  Successfully studied in at least 9 of the 12 “core knowledge areas”, including the four mandatory core knowledge areas. The core accounting subjects cover topics such as accounting theory, financial accounting, cost and management accounting, auditing etc, but also more general topics such as business law, information systems, statistics, economics and finance. This means that even if you do not have a major in accounting, it may be possible to pass assessment as an accountant.

Work Experience:

Not necessarily, although in some instances relevant experience and/or on-the-job training may be required in addition to the formal qualification.

English Level:

Listening Reading Writing Speaking
CAE* 185 185 185  185
IELTS Academic  7.0  7.0  7.0 7.0
TOEFL iBT  24  24  27 23
PTE Academic  65  65  65  65
Common requirements for Teacher Skills Assessment Pathway to Aus

Teaching

Education:

Applicants must have completed a minimum of four years, full time higher education level study and one of those years involved completion of an initial teacher education qualification. For example, you may have completed a three year Bachelor of Science degree and a one year Post Graduate Diploma in Education

Work Experience:

Apart from the supervised teaching practice, there is no additional work experience required. However supervised teaching practice is required. Supervised teaching practice is the compulsory component of an initial teacher education program. This teaching practice is under the supervision of a qualified teacher and university education staff and is formally assessed. A minimum of 45 days of supervised teaching practice with the age range of the students relevant to your nominated occupation is required.

English Level:

Academic IELTS test report showing:

  • a score of at least 7.0 for both Reading and Writing; and
  • a score of at least 8.0 for both Speaking and Listening.

or   An applicant has completed at least four full years of study in higher education (university) in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America.

Education:

You must hold a relevant Australian qualification achieved through study or recognition of prior learning or hold a comparable international qualification. Your qualification will be recognised as comparable to the relevant Australian qualification if TRA is able to validate that the qualification is:

  • at a level comparable to the Australian qualification required for the occupation (Cert III in Electrotechnology Electrician is the most relevant in Australia)
  • at a quality standard comparable to Australian qualifications
  • relevant to the nominated occupation.

Work Experience:

  • three years of full-time paid employment in the nominated occupation at the required skill level, and
  • at least 12 months of paid employment in the nominated occupation in the three years immediately before applying.

English Level:

No level required (but you will need to have competent English to apply for General Skilled Migration Visas)

Processing Time:

Around 3 months

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Common Requirements to Pass a Skills Assessment was last modified: January 20th, 2023 by Nick Yock