Skills assessments for skilled migration: what to prepare

Most skilled visa pathways require a positive skills assessment before an application can be lodged. It is carried out by an assessing authority for your nominated occupation, not by the Department, and it looks at whether your qualifications and employment history match that occupation as it is defined in Australia.

It is a separate process with its own evidence requirements and its own timeframes. Starting it late is one of the more common reasons a skilled application slips by months.

The occupation you nominate shapes everything that follows: which assessing authority handles your case, what evidence they expect, and which visa subclasses remain open to you.

Job titles are not decisive. Assessors look at the duties you actually performed, so a position description and references that describe day-to-day work carry far more weight than a title alone. Where two occupations look similar, the difference is usually in the detail of those duties.

Most skilled pathways require evidence of English ability, and the accepted tests and required scores differ between visa subclasses. Some applicants are exempt, but exemptions are narrower than people expect.

Test results also expire. Booking early matters, because a result that lapses partway through a process can hold up both the assessment and the visa application behind it.