Skills Assessment When Freelancing or Self-Employed

If you freelance, work as an independent consultant, or run your own business — rather than being a full-time employee — the skills assessment process still applies, but you need to prepare your evidence differently.

The core issue: assessing authorities usually require confirmation from an employer or client. When you are your own principal, you cannot write a reference letter for yourself — and there are no payslips from any employer to submit. Instead, you must prove your case with other kinds of evidence.

Alternative evidence

Contracts and invoices: Service contracts with clients, paid invoices, and purchase orders are strong evidence of the nature of the work and the period over which it was performed.

Reference letters from clients: Instead of an “employer reference letter”, you obtain a “client reference letter” from a client who engaged you. The content is similar: a description of the nature of the work, the period, and the specific role you carried out.

Portfolio and project outcomes: Design documents, reports, a code repository (if ICT), products delivered to clients — anything that can demonstrate the nature and quality of the work.

Financial records: Tax returns, or business tax records, showing income from that occupational activity.

Business registration: A business licence, ABN registration (if in Australia), or the equivalent from the country where you work — proving you operated lawfully in that field.

By authority

ACS (ICT): ACS accepts self-employment where there is sufficient evidence of the nature of the work. The key point is that your Work Task Description must clearly state your specific ICT skills — frameworks, technologies, types of project. Client references and an ICT project portfolio are strong supporting evidence.

VETASSESS (Professional): VETASSESS usually accepts self-employment experience if you can demonstrate genuine business activity and that the nature of the work matches the nominated ANZSCO code. Client letters, contracts, and invoices are the main evidence.

Engineers Australia (CDR): The CDR describes the specific engineering projects you worked on — including private projects as an independent consulting engineer. Client evidence and specific engineering project outcomes are important.

TRA (trade occupations): TRA is particularly difficult for the self-employed because the Job Ready Program requires work in a supervised environment in Australia. Self-employment experience overseas may be considered in the initial Skills Evaluation step, but you still need to complete the JRE (Job Ready Employment) stage under a qualified supervisor in Australia.

ANMAC (nursing/midwifery): ANMAC requires supervised clinical hours. Working entirely independently (private practice) without a registered practice facility usually does not meet the requirement. Direct advice from ANMAC is needed if your situation is complex.

The most important thing

Record everything as you go: When you finish a project for a client, ask for a reference letter at that moment, or keep the contract and invoice. Do not wait several years and then go back to former clients — many will have changed positions, the company may have closed, or they may simply be hard to reach.

With self-employment overseas, the paper trail is often thinner — this is a real challenge. Investing time in building your file early is the one thing that helps you when it comes time to apply.