International students guide to Australian skills assessments

Many international students studying in Australiaqualifications only:
dream of one day becoming permanent residents- 40-point occupation: this in general requires you
and staying on in Australia for good. The mostto have a qualification at the level of an Australian
common pathway for students is to apply fordiploma
General Skilled Migration on completion of their- 50-point occupation: you would need a
studies.qualification equivalent to an Australian degree
Whilst there is a lot of information on immigrationIt may seem strange, but the assessing authority
on the internet, sometimes it’s difficult tois only interested in the level of the qualification
figure out in practice what your chances are andfor 40- and 50-point occupations. The actual
what you need to do next. You could ask a friendsubject matter of the qualification and your work
who has applied before, but the rules change soexperience does not matter for assessment in
quickly that this can be dangerous. As thethese occupations.
processing time for General Skilled Migration gets60-Point Occupations
longer, chances are you won’t find out thatRequirements for 60-point occupations vary
you’ve made an error in your application forwidely depending on the occupation:
a year or more after lodgement.- Trades (eg cook, hairdresser, graphic pre-press):
This guide is intended to provide an easy to followyou either need to have an Australian certificate
outline of the main things international studentsIII plus 900 hours of relevant work experience, or
need to be aware of in applying for General Skilledoverseas qualifications and a significant amount of
Migration.work experience
Nominated Occupation- Accounting: you need a degree covering at least
The first decision you will need to make is which9 of the 12 core accounting subjects, or
occupation to nominate in your application. You willmembership of a recognised overseas accounting
need to pass skills assessment in this occupation.body
Your occupation must be on the critical skills list.- Computing/IT: you would need a degree,
You will be awarded a certain number of pointsmasters or graduate diploma in IT from an
for your occupation – either 40, 50 or 60Australian university. If you have overseas
points.qualifications, you would need at least 4 years and
Choosing the right occupation is very importantin some cases up to 8 years of work experience
for the following reasons:- Teaching: graduate diploma in education, or
- You have to be able to pass skills assessment inoverseas qualification and high level of English (7 in
the occupationAcademic IELTS)
- To lodge an “onshore” application and- Nursing: degree in nursing, plus high level of
stay in Australia during processing, you mustEnglish (7 in Academic IELTS)
nominate a 50- or 60-point occupation- Manager: 5 years of experience at a very high
- Your studies must be “closely related”level of management
to your nominated occupationTiming of Skills Assessment
- Some occupations are in demand for stateThe timing of skills assessment will depend on
nomination, which makes the application muchwhether you are applying for an onshore skilled
faster and more likely to succeedvisa or an offshore skilled visa. For offshore skilled
To apply for skills assessment, you must makevisas, you must have a positive skills assessment
an application to the relevant assessing authoritybefore you apply for the visa.
for your occupation. The assessing authority willFor an onshore skilled visa, you need to have
then evaluate your qualifications and in manylodged your application for skills assessment
cases work experience and give an assessmentbefore you apply for your visa. The skills
as to whether your skills are suitable for migrationassessment does not need to be finalized before
in your occupation.you apply, but you will need a positive skills
40- and 50-Point Occupationsassessment before you can be granted the visa
These occupations are assessed based on(even for the skilled graduate temporary visa).