Home > Migrate to Australia > Applying for a general professional occupation > Am I eligible?

Am I eligible?

To be eligible to apply for assessment, you must:

currently be a permanent resident of a country other than Australia and wish to migrate to Australia under the General Skilled Migration (GSM) or the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) program, or be applying for a Skilled – Graduate (Temporary) visa (subclass 485)
nominate a general professional occupation – managerial, technician, community, personal service, clerical, administrative or sales occupation for which VETASSESS is the relevant assessing authority. For additional information about nominating an occupation for 485 visa purposes please click here
hold post-secondary or higher educational qualifications at the required educational level, in a highly relevant field to your nominated occupation.
have at least one year of employment experience out of the last five in a closely related field to your nominated occupation, at the same skill level as your nominated occupation.

For some occupations, additional years of relevant employment may compensate for qualifications which are at the required level but which lack content relevance. Please see nominating an occupation.

Note: The Skills Assessment to support an application for a Skilled – Graduate (Temporary) visa (subclass 485) does not require an assessment of employment.

If your nominated occupation is an Australian trade, please see Assess my trade skills, as you will be required to undertake a different assessment process.

How your qualifications and employment are assessed

VETASSESS assesses both your qualifications and employment against your nominated occupation.

1. Qualifications

VETASSESS assesses your post-secondary educational qualifications against the educational level requirements of your nominated occupation. In addition to this, we also assess whether your qualifications are in a highly relevant field to your nominated occupation.

We take the following factors into consideration to assess the educational level:

the education system of the country where qualifications were obtained
the accreditation of the awarding institution and the qualification
the level, structure, length and content of the program of study undertaken
quality indicators for the country concerned – education system, awarding institution and program of study.

We take the following factors into consideration to assess whether your qualification is in a highly related field of study to your nominated occupation:

whether you hold a specialised qualification or whether your qualification has a major area of study which VETASSESS has identified as being suitable for the occupation in Australia
the number of units completed in the related field (for example, this is usually at least 33% for a 3 year Bachelor degree course, or 25% for a four year Bachelor degree course)
the progression of studies throughout the course
the depth and breadth of studies in the field of study relevant to the nominated occupation
the outcomes of the qualification for employment in the country concerned
course requirements - thesis, major projects, internships/work placements

2. Employment

We also assess your post qualification employment against the employment requirements of your nominated occupation. For information on Pre and Post-qualification Employment please refer to nominating an occupation

We take the following factors into consideration to assess employment against the nominated occupation:

the total length of relevant employment experience
the relevance of the major tasks completed during this employment experience
the skill level required for the highest/most relevant position in your career progression.

Generally, only paid employment experience in a related field and at the appropriate level will be considered as part of the assessment.

Please click here to see a list of evidence required for your employment.

The assessment is an indication of your job readiness, and an assessment of whether you meet the occupational requirements for migration purposes.

It is not an assessment of:

your suitability for employment
the quality of your work
the likely success or failure of you obtaining Australian residency status.

What we provide you

VETASSESS will provide you with a written assessment of whether your post-secondary qualifications (such as university or polytechnic qualifications) and employment history meet the educational and employment requirements of your nominated occupation.

DIAC has introduced a new SOL effective from the 1st of July 2010. Please refer to the table below for an overview as to how current/prospective VETASSESS applicants for different immigration visas are affected by the new SOL:

Applicant Status	Pre July 2010 GSM	Pre July 2010 GSM (Group A + B occupations only)	Pre July 2010 ENS	Post July 2010 GSM	Post July 2010 GSM (Group A + B occupations only)	Post July 2010 ENS
Obtained Full Skills assessment (Pre July 2010)	Yes		Yes	No		No
Old 485 - held a 485 visa at/before 8th of February 2010	Yes	Yes	No
Post 485 -held a 485 visa at/before 8th of February 2010	Yes		Yes	Yes		Yes
485 for those who held a student visa on or before 8th of February 2010	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Post 485 -held a student visa at/before 8th of February 2010	No		No	Yes		Yes
485 Skills Assessment for Current new students who did not have student visa at 8th of February 2010	No		No	Yes	Yes	No
Full Skills Assessment Current new students who did not have student visa at 8th of February 2010	No		No	Yes		Yes

More information

How to apply for your assessment
Find out how your application is progressing
What are the fees involved
Get your assessment reissued, reassessed or appeal a decision
Read our frequently asked questions