VETASSESS Skills Assessment: Professional and General Streams

What is VETASSESS?

VETASSESS (Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services) is the skills assessing authority appointed by the Department of Home Affairs for more than 360 occupations in the Australian migration program — mostly professional and managerial occupations that do not have their own assessing body such as ACS (IT), Engineers Australia (engineering), TRA (trades), or ANMAC (nursing).

Common occupation groups assessed by VETASSESS:

• Teachers (except those teaching in Australia — teachers working in Australia use AITSL; VETASSESS is for the migration visa)
• Senior managers (HR managers, marketing managers, project managers and so on)
• Related social-service roles (community workers, welfare workers — note: the formal social worker occupation uses AASW)
• Scientists and researchers in certain fields
• Specialist professional occupations without their own assessing body
• Mid-level occupations (diploma level) across many fields

To find out whether your occupation is assessed by VETASSESS, look up the ANZSCO code on the relevant occupation lists or on the VETASSESS website.

The two main assessment streams

Professional Assessment

For Group A occupations — the professional group that requires a degree-level qualification. This is the most common type of assessment for migrants.

Assessment criteria:

• Qualification: a qualification equivalent to a Bachelor degree or higher in a field relevant to the occupation, from an institution recognised by VETASSESS
• Experience: at least the required relevant work experience in the occupation within the most recent 5 years — this is a hard requirement that cannot be skipped

Important point about experience: VETASSESS requires work experience gained after obtaining the relevant qualification (post-qualification experience), with some exceptions. Experience before graduation is usually not counted.

Outcome: VETASSESS issues an Assessment Outcome stating the occupation and ANZSCO code recognised. A “Positive” outcome can be used to lodge a visa.

General Assessment

For Group B occupations — the mid-level group that requires a Diploma or Certificate III/IV. Less common than the Professional Assessment in points-tested visas, but still used for some regional visas.

Criteria: a relevant Diploma or Certificate plus work experience in the occupation. The specific requirements depend on the occupation.

Experience — the most important factor

Most VETASSESS files are refused because the experience does not meet the criteria, not because of the qualification. Specifically:

• Less than 1 year of experience in the occupation (within the most recent 5 years) → an automatic “Negative”
• Experience not directly relevant to the specific ANZSCO code → may be refused or assessed under a different ANZSCO code
• Experience before graduation is usually not counted for the Professional Assessment

If you hold a business administration degree but worked in general business (sales, admin, operations), VETASSESS will consider whether that experience genuinely corresponds to the “Manager” role in the specific ANZSCO code. A concrete description of duties in your CV and employer reference letters is extremely important.

Cost and timing

VETASSESS fees and processing times vary by occupation and assessment type — check the VETASSESS website for current fees and timeframes. On top of the base fee, VETASSESS charges additional fees for:

• Assessing qualifications from institutions not in its database (rare qualifications)
• Additional experience assessment
• Review (appeal)

A VETASSESS outcome is valid for 3 years from the date it is issued.

Appealing a Negative outcome

If you receive a “Negative” outcome, VETASSESS allows you to lodge a Review within a set timeframe. The review file needs to set out clearly why you disagree with the decision and provide additional evidence (if any).

Note: a review is not an opportunity to lodge a brand-new file — you are arguing about the decision based on the same set of documents already lodged (you may add explanation). If the underlying problem is insufficient experience or an inadequate qualification, a review usually will not change the outcome; in that case, waiting until you have more experience and then lodging a new application will be more effective.

Detailed document guidance

See the VETASSESS document checklist guide for the full list of documents, how to write a CV in the VETASSESS format, and how to obtain reference letters from employers.