Skills Assessment Requirements

Time of Invitation Requirement

At the time your invitation was issued, your skills must already have been assessed as suitable for your nominated occupation by the relevant assessing authority. The assessment must not be a provisional or Subclass 485-specific assessment. The assessing authority provides a written outcome confirming whether your skills are suitable.

For trade occupations assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) — for applicants who studied in Australia and applied after January 2011 — the assessment should specify whether the applicant came through the Job Ready Program.

Skills assessments are generally valid for 3 years from the date they were issued, unless a shorter period is specified on the assessment itself. The validity rules work as follows:

• If no expiry date is shown on the assessment, it is valid for 3 years from the date of issue
• If the expiry date shown is less than 3 years, the assessment is valid for the period stated on the assessment
• If the expiry date shown is more than 3 years, the assessment is still capped at 3 years from the date of assessment

If your invitation was issued after your assessment had already expired, or if more than 3 years had passed since the assessment was issued, it will not satisfy the requirements.

Subclass 485 Skills Assessments Are Not Acceptable

A skills assessment done for the purpose of a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa cannot be used for a Subclass 189 application. These two visas have different purposes and different standards. The Subclass 485 visa is designed to help graduates gain skilled work experience in Australia, whereas the Subclass 189 is for applicants who already have proven skilled work experience in their occupation. Importantly, a Subclass 485 skills assessment does not require employment in the occupation at the skilled level — which is why it is not acceptable for a permanent visa.

Which Skills Assessments Are Acceptable?

The following types of assessments are suitable for Subclass 189 points-tested applications:

• Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) skills assessment
• 457 Skills Assessment Program
• Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP)
• Migration Skills Assessment (MSA)
• Job Ready Final Assessment (JRFA)

Applicants who hold a successful Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) outcome have been assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) as having a qualification comparable to the relevant minimum Australian qualification for their nominated occupation.