Everything You Want To Know About ACS Australia Skill Assessment

Types of Applications in ACS migration assessment

There are 4 types of Applications that are present for migration purposes to Australia namely:

1. Temporary Graduate – 485 Skills Assessment

Applicants who have obtained a bachelor degree or higher from Australia and want to obtain 485 Visa can opt for this skills assessment.

2. Post Australian Study Skills Assessment

Applicants who have obtained a bachelor degree or higher from Australia and want to get a skill assessment for general migration purposes can pot for this skills assessment.

3. Skills Assessment

This skill assessment is conducted on a general basis for assessing ICT employment and tertiary ICT qualifications.

4. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Applicants that do not have a tertiary qualification or have obtained insufficient ICT have to submit an RPL application.

Applicants with non-ICT or insufficient ICT qualification should have at least 6 years of experience in the ICT field. For those who hold no qualification should have a work experience of 8 years.

With their RPL application, the applicants have to submit two project reports demonstrating their work in the ICT field. The applicant must prepare the RPL report by themselves and should reference the paraphrased materials mentioned in the report. Through this report, the applicants get a chance to showcase their knowledge gained in the ICT field in the course of their employment.

Qualifications Requirements in the ACS assessment Process

For the Temporary Graduate – 485 Skills Assessment and Post Australian Study Skills Assessment the applicants must have an Australian qualification.

For General and RPL application assessment, applicant’s overseas and Australian applications both are assessed.

Based on this assessment the qualifications of the applicants are assigned, ICT Major or ICT Minor. Any qualification less that ICT Minor criterion is termed as a Non ICT qualification. Consider the ACS skill assessment requirement given below:

ICT Major

ICT Minor

If the ICT content of a qualification contains a minimum of two-thirds of the requirements of the ICT Major, then it is regarded as ICT Minor.

Insufficient ICT Qualification

Qualifications that contain less than the requirements of the ICT Minor criteria is regarded as Non-ICT Qualification or Insufficient ICT Qualification.

ANZSCO Content Requirements

The ANZSCO code information includes the list of closely related ICT units with each ICT occupation. The applicants must make sure that their qualification’s ICT content must match with 65% of the ICT content mentioned by ANZSCO.

Vendor Certificates and Employment References

The applicants may submit suitable vendor certifications in place of ICT Major Qualification in the ACS immigration process. Here is the list of certifications accepted by ACS:

Microsoft Certifications

1. Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert Certifications
2. Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer Certifications

However, ACS does not accept Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) & Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) certifications.

CISCO Certifications

1. Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP)
2. Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP)
3. Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert (CCIE)
4. Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE)
5. Cisco Architect:
6. Cisco Certified Architect

However, ACS does not accept the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).

The work experience that the applicant has provided to meet the suitability criteria is NOT counted as Skilled Employment. This means it cannot be used to calculate the migration points. Once, the applicant meets the suitability criteria, the employment after that is considered as a Skilled Employment and is used to calculate the migration points.

The ACS assesses the work experience of an applicant based on their employment reference. It has to be provided by the employer and should include precise information about the applicants. The employment references provide with the job duties of the applicant and the skills that that job role requires. Otherwise, ACS may term it as unsuitable due to deficient information. There must be clear information about the dates of joining and duration of work along with working hours. All the references must be produced on the company’s letterhead and should be certified. You may find ACS skill assessment sample reference letter in the ACS skill assessment guidelines booklet.

Suitability Criteria for ACS skill Assessment

Below a brief explanation of the ACS skill assessment work experience requirements for different qualification types that will enable the applicant to meet the ACS Suitability Criteria.

ACS skill assessment document checklist

Applicants have to upload all their documents and provide correct information in the online application form of the ACS. The applicants must make sure that they are fulfilling all the requirements of the ACS. Any misleading information can lead to an unsuccessful outcome of their application. The applicants have to get the copies of their documents, get them certified, scan them and then upload them in a PDF format. Here is a list of ACS skill assessment documents requirements:

1. The Birth Certificate or Passport which can depict the details of the applicant
2. Degree or Award Certificate which contains details about the title of the award, the institution, date of completion.
3. Degree or Award Transcript which contains the information about the subjects studied and marks obtained in them.
4. Employment References
5. ACS Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Form if submitting an RPL
6. Curriculum Vitae or Resume

The ACS skill assessment processing time for those applicants who have submitted the application correctly and have provided all the relevant documents is around 8 to 10 weeks. The ACS provides a member login password to the applicants along with a confirmation email regarding their successful submission of the application. Hence, the applicants can check the application status anytime.