VETASSESS

Updated on 23 Nov 2020

Description : 

VETASSESS full skills assessment involves assessing your qualifications and employment against the suitability of your nominated occupation. Qualification assessment involves assessing the educational level comparability of your qualifications on the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and determining the relevance of your qualifications for your nominated occupation. Employment assessment involves determining whether your work experience (obtained either in Australia or overseas) is at an appropriate skill level and relevant to your nominated occupation. 

A positive assessment of both qualifications and employment is required for a successful skills assessment for migration purposes.

Skills Assessment for Professional Occupations

Our Skills Assessment for General Professional Occupations is for you if you are planning to migrate to Australia and your occupation is classed as a general professional occupation

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

ANZSCO Skill Level	VETASSESS Occupation Group
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

Follow these steps
The application process for Skills Assessment of General Professional Occupations consists of the following steps:

Step 1 Choose an occupation against which you wish to be assessed and select the visa purpose for which the skills assessment is required. For information on the occupations available for migration to Australia and different visa categories please refer to www.homeaffairs.gov.au

Step 2 For information on the ANZSCO description of your chosen occupation, log on to http://www.abs.gov.au and enter the ANZSCO code for your selected occupation.

Step 3 If VETASSESS is the designated assessing authority for your chosen occupation, please refer to Nominate an Occupation for detailed information on VETASSESS assessment criteria for your chosen occupation. In summary, the VETASSESS Skills Assessment considers the relevance of qualifications, and employment to the nominated occupation. The qualification/s assessment assesses the general educational level of the qualification in Australian terms and the relevance of the major area of study. Only a qualification/s assessment is required for 485 visa purposes. An assessment of both qualification/s and employment is required for permanent residency purposes.

Step 4 Log on to Apply or continue assessment

Step 5 Click on Apply or Track Application and complete the online application form. When you apply online, please upload high quality colour scans of the required documents. PLEASE NOTE - If you want to have your application processed under Priority Processing you need to select this option on your application when submitting.

Step 6 Your application will be allocated to an assessment officer and if there are additional documents required you will be notified online.

Step 7 Once your skills assessment application is complete, you will be able to view and download your skills assessment outcome letter from the online portal. A hard copy of the outcome letter will not be posted to you, unless otherwise indicated in the postage payment section of your application.
Priority Processing
VETASSESS Priority Processing is available only for new prospective applicants who require a Full Skills Assessment for General Professional occupations. Please note that applicants who have a previous full skills assessment application with VETASSESS are not eligible for Priority Processing.

The Priority Processing service provides applicants/agents with the option to fast-track the assessment of their application, for an additional fee. VETASSESS commits to completing the Priority Processing skills assessment within 10 business days for applications that meet the Eligibility Criteria.

The 10 Business Days will commence after:

VETASSESS has confirmed that the application meets the Eligibility Criteria for Priority Processing; and
Fee payment including the appropriate GST (if applicable) is received.
VETASSESS requires up to 2 business days upon receipt of an application to review for suitability. A status update will be communicated to the applicant via email once this process is complete.

Applications that are confirmed as eligible will be assessed within 10 business days. For applications that do not meet the Eligibility Criteria, or eligible applications that cannot be completed within the nominated timeframe, the Priority Processing fee will be refunded.
Eligibility Criteria

In this section you will find a list of documents that you will need to submit as part of your application. Please note that VETASSESS is under no obligation to seek further information from you at any time and can make a decision based on the evidence provided with your application. Therefore, please make sure you include complete documentation for assessment purposes.

When applying for Priority Processing, you must have sufficient evidence supporting correct fee payment, proof of identity, qualification and employment claims ready to upload to the online form.

For applicants who meet the skills assessment criteria, we will then determine the date that you were deemed skilled in your nominated occupation within a ten year period. The Date Deemed Skilled is the date you have met the VETASSESS skills assessment criteria. Only employment undertaken after the Date Deemed Skilled will be counted as skilled employment that is eligible for points test purposes. Years of work experience required to meet the skills assessment criteria is not counted as skilled employment eligible for points test purposes.

The list of document  required :
All documents must be high quality colour copies of the original documents. If your documents are not in English, you must submit copies of the original documents as well as the English translations made by a registered translation service.

1. Application Fee

Pay the correct application fee at the time of submitting your application. Application fees are tax-inclusive. If you are not in Australia at the time of lodging the application you may be exempt from paying GST for your application fees. If you show an Australian address on your application form, you must provide evidence to support your claim for GST exemption. Acceptable evidence includes:

• a Statutory Declaration;
• A Notarial Certificate; OR
• A Declaration signed by a Registered Migration Agent.
The declaration or certificate must clearly state that you are not in Australia at the time of lodging the application.

Declarations made by Registered Migration Agents must be on the Agent's business letterhead and be signed by the Agent (not by their representative).

Priority Processing: GST exemption evidence must be supplied at the time of submitting your application online.

2. Photograph

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).

3. Proof of identity

As proof of your identity, we require your passport biopage showing your name, photo, date of birth and gender. If you do not have a passport, you will need to provide your full birth certificate together with evidence of your driver's licence or national identity card. You must also read and sign the declaration on the application form to affirm that the information you have provided is true and correct, and to acknowledge that you understand how your personal information will be handled by VETASSESS. If you have nominated an agent representative to act on your behalf, their name and signature must also be included on your signed declaration form.

4. Change of name

If applicable, evidence of name change must be provided to address any naming inconsistencies in the documents submitted. This is to support your identity.

5. Qualification evidence

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

As part of determining your eligibility for Priority Processing, VETASSESS will need to determine if your qualifications are comparable to the Australian Qualifications Framework as outlined in the Australian Government’s published Country Education Profiles (CEPs). If your qualification(s) require in-house assessment, your application will not be eligible for Priority Processing.

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 award certificate 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 in your CV.

6. Employment evidence

It is important that you provide us with the required employment evidence for each employment position listed in your formal skills assessment application.

As part of determining your eligibility for Priority Processing, VETASSESS will need to determine if your employment claims can be verified within 10 business days. Therefore, please ensure that you have all the required evidence listed below at the time of applying for Priority Processing.

Statement of Service:

A Statement of Service is a written statement by your employer confirming your employment on official letterhead. Official letterheads should include the organisation's full address details, telephone, email and website addresses. The content of the letter must be signed by your direct supervisor or the manager of the human resources department.

The Statement of Service must include the following:

1. a)   Issue date for the Statement of Service
2. b)   The company letterhead
3. c)   Your full name
4. d)   The working hours per week
5. e)   Your official position title(s) held at the organisation
6. f)   The exact period of your employment in each position held
7. g)   Description of your main duties for each position held
8. h)   The salary earned
9. i)   Full name, position title, official contact details and signature of the person writing the statement of service – references from colleagues at the same level or below will not be accepted. Please note that your referee may be contacted for further information.

Payment evidence:

Payment evidence can include one of the following types:

• Pay slips (ideally your first and last payslip);
• Taxation Records of Assessment (bearing company and applicant name)
• Bank Statements showing at least two salary payments, your name and the employer's name; OR
• Employment-linked insurance / superannuation records (bearing company and applicant name).

Self-employed:

If you are self-employed, you are required to provide the following:

1. a) Evidence of self-employment such as sole trading or business registration details and /or official statements issued by your (registered) accountant and/or legal team. The statement from your accountant or solicitor must include the accountant's or solicitor's letterhead, your full name, how long you have been continuously self-employed including official dates in each role, the nature of the business conducted, the signature and contact details of the accountant or solicitor. 
2. b) Statutory declaration listing your main duties during self-employment;
3. c) Payment evidence showing regular income from self-employment, such as client invoices together with corresponding bank statements and/ or official taxation records;
4. d) Supplementary evidence, such as contracts with clients or suppliers, client testimonials, evidence of projects completed etc.

Organisational Chart:

If you are nominating a managerial occupation or one of the following occupations: Management Consultant, Internal Auditor and Program or Project Administrator, you must submit an organisational chart. An organisational chart should include the company letterhead, your job position and those of your superiors and subordinates as well as all positions reporting to your immediate supervisor and to your direct subordinates. If you are unable to obtain an organisational chart from your employer, please provide a statutory declaration outlining the required information and the reasons why this information cannot be provided.

Other Supplementary Employment Evidence:

In addition to the above, other supplementary employment evidence may include:

• License or Registration documents and details of the requirements for obtaining the license or registration
• Evidence of professional development completed during applicant’s employment
• Prizes / Certificates or other forms of commendation
• Notice of establishment for employment in Iran

Statutory Declarations and Affidavits:

Statutory Declarations should provide any information you are unable to supply through official documents such as, for example, a description of the tasks associated with a particular period of employment. Please note that skills assessments cannot be conducted based on the contents of a statutory declaration or affidavit alone. VETASSESS will require a range of official employment documentation as evidence to support any claims made through the use of statutory declarations. Examples of the range of employment evidence that may be produced by applicants include official taxation documents, signed contract documents, appointment letters and official job descriptions.

A statutory declaration cannot be accepted as evidence of your employment dates, position title(s) or as payment evidence - such relevant information should be provided in the form of official documentation.

7. Resume / curriculum vitae

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.

Skills Assessment for trade occupations

A Trade Skills Assessment is an important part of the process when migrating to Australia. The assessment determines if you have the skills and knowledge required to work in your occupation in Australia.

At VETASSESS, we assess 25 trade occupations. This includes occupations such as an electrician, welder, plumber, carpenter, cook or motor mechanic.

Assessment Process
Your assessment process (either Pathway 1 or Pathway 2) depends on whether you have or don’t have an accepted Australian qualification or current Australian occupational licence.

Pathway 1:
Pathway 1 evidence requirements
If you are applying for a Pathway 1 assessment, you must provide evidence showing you meet the minimum employment experience requirements for your nominated occupation:

Licensed Trades - 6 years' employment experience (with no formal training)
Licensed Trades - 4 years' employment experience (with relevant formal training)
Non-licensed Trades - 5 years' employment experience (with no formal training)
Non-licensed Trades - 3 years' employment experience (with relevant formal training)
Your evidence must show you have worked in your occupation for at least 12 months (full time) within the last 3 years and must be able to be verified. Full time employment is defined as at least 38 hours per week.

Pathway 2:
Pathway 2 evidence requirements

If you are eligible for a Pathway 2 Trade Skills Assessment, you can apply online.

As part of the application process, you must provide:

• a copy of your Australian qualification (including a Statement of Results) OR your current Australian occupational licence. Refer to Frequently Asked Questions on this page to see what qualifications and licences are accepted - you must submit an accepted qualification/licence at the time of application.
• evidence you have worked in paid employment in your occupation for at least 3 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) at the skill level required. This evidence can include taxation records, annual payment summaries, group certificates, payslips and/or bank statements.
• evidence you have worked full-time in your occupation for 12 months in the last 3 years. For applicants applying with a current Australian occupational licence, this 12 months employment must be in Australia.

After you have uploaded all relevant and verifiable evidence, you will pay for the first stage of the assessment. You will be required to submit payment directly to Trades Recognition Australia.

Apply Online: 

Application Fee:

Application Fees – Full Skills Assessment Full Skills Assessment (GSM with Points Test Advice) for both qualifications and employment - Australian or Overseas
Application method		Applying from within Australia (includes GST)	Applying from outside Australia (excludes GST)
Online application		AUD $968.00	AUD $880.00
*Priority Processing Fee (available for online applications only)		AUD $660.00	AUD $600.00

*This fee is in addition to the Full Skills Assessment fee

Points Test Advice (pending or returning VETASSESS applicants)

Application Fees Points Test Advice (pending or returning VETASSESS applicants with a Full Skills Assessment)
Application method	Applying from within Australia (includes GST)	Applying from outside Australia (excludes GST)
Paper based application	AUD $418.00	AUD $380.00

Reviews and Reassessment appeals:

FAQ

Contact Details: 

East Melbourne - Headquarters
Level 5, 478 Albert Street
East Melbourne Victoria 3002
Australia

Phone: [phone]
             1300 VETASSESS (1300 838 277)
             [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Opening hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m except Public Holidays.

Postal Address
VETASSESS
GPO Box 2752
Melbourne Victoria 3001 Australia