The skills assessment: who assesses your occupation, and why that step has to come first
Before Australia looks at your visa application, an assessing authority must establish that you really master your occupation. This is the longest processing time in the preparation phase — the step you therefore start first, and a result valid for at most three years.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
The skills assessment is the test of whether your education and work experience are equivalent to what your occupation requires in Australia. Without a successful assessment there is no application.
Australia doesn't take your degree on your word. Before you may claim any points at all for your occupation, a designated assessing authority must establish that.
Who assesses your occupation
Every occupational group has its own authority: ACS for IT occupations, Engineers Australia for engineers, VETASSESS for a broad range of professional occupations, TRA for trades, ANMAC for nurses. And there are more.
Which authority applies to you is listed next to your occupation on the occupation list. So you don't choose this yourself, and Home Affairs only accepts an assessment from the authority belonging to your occupation. It is your responsibility to approach that authority. Every authority has its own procedures, timeframes and charges.
That difference isn't cosmetic. With most authorities count on 8 to 16 weeks, and on costs ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand Australian dollars, depending on your route.
Why this step has to come first
The assessment is the longest processing time in your whole preparation phase, and almost everything waits for it. Without a result you have no reliable points count, because the assessment can recognise fewer years of experience than you counted yourself. And without a result there is no Expression of Interest, the registration with which you compete for an invitation. Whoever saves the assessment for last has a journey standing still for months.
Home Affairs is precise about the moment: you must have the assessment at the time you are invited, and it must be valid at that moment. Since a court ruling the department also accepts an assessment obtained within the 60 days after the invitation, but it reserves the right to contest that position in court. So build nothing on it. Start it as soon as your occupation and route are settled, and use the waiting time for what can run in parallel: collecting documents and preparing for the language test.
Reference letters are the real work
The most common reason for delay is not complicated regulation but an incomplete application, and above all the reference letters from employers. The authorities want letters that name concretely:
- your job title;
- your tasks (and those must fit the task description of your chosen occupation);
- the period;
- the number of hours per week;
- the type of employment.
On letterhead, signed, with contact details.
Start early on the letter from your former employer. A company that has been taken over, a manager who has left, an HR department that "doesn't issue such things": each of those situations costs weeks, and you only find out when you ask. This is the step with the most dependence on others, so request those letters first.
The result has a best-before date
Home Affairs calculates the validity of an assessment in a fixed way:
| What the result says | How long it is valid |
|---|---|
| No validity period | 3 years from the date of issue |
| A validity period shorter than 3 years | the period stated on the result |
| A validity period longer than 3 years | still 3 years from the assessment |
Three years seems generous, but the clock keeps running while you wait for an invitation, and that invitation can come up to two years after your Expression of Interest. Your assessment must still be valid at the moment you submit after your invitation. So note the end date somewhere you'll come across it. This is exactly the kind of deadline that quietly expires while you're waiting for something else.
And one thing that only becomes apparent after arrival: the assessment for the visa isn't automatically the registration or licence you need to practise the occupation in your state. For occupations with a registration requirement Home Affairs refers to the recognition service of the Department of Education, and for trades to Trades Recognition Australia. What that means for your first job is in the article on working in Australia.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Australia or go straight to step 2.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Home Affairs — skills assessment, how it works, when it has to be valid and how long it lasts — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs — occupation lists, with the assessing authority per occupation — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Home Affairs — employment for new arrivals: recognition of qualifications and Trades Recognition Australia — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
Read on
- AustraliaOrientation5 min
The three visa routes to Australia, explained
189, 190 or 491 — which one fits you determines your whole journey. And why the difference between "may take part" and "gets invited" costs most people time and money.
Updated 26 September 2026
- AustraliaOrientation4 min
The points system: how to calculate your Australian score
Age, English, work experience and education — the points system decides whether you get an invitation. This is how you add up your score, and this is the difference between being allowed to take part and being invited.
Updated 26 September 2026
- AustraliaOrientation4 min
Is your occupation on the list? This is how you look it up
Without an occupation on the skilled occupation list there is no route — this is the very first check of the whole journey. How the lists work, which of the four lists belongs to which visa, why your job title doesn't count, and what else the list tells you.
Updated 26 September 2026