*Time of invitation requirement
At the time of invitation to apply for a points-tested GSM visa, the relevant assessing authority must have assessed your skills as suitable for your nominated skilled occupation.
Skills assessments are normally valid for three years from the date of assessment unless a shorter period is specified in the assessment.
If the skills assessment is for a trade occupation issued by Trades Recognition Australia for applicants who study in Australia and apply for their visa after January 2011, the assessment should specify whether the applicant has come through the Job Ready Program.
If the skills assessment was made based on a qualification obtained in Australia while the applicant held a student visa, the qualification must have been obtained because of studying a registered course
*Please note Subclass 485 skills assessments are not acceptable
Please be aware that assessing authorities may set different standards for skills assessments for the same occupation. Temporary and permanent visa programs may have differing purposes, and the different standards of skills assessments reflect those purposes.
A Subclass 485 skills assessment does not require employment in the applicant’s occupation at the skilled level.
Skills assessments for the following are suitable for points-tested GSM visa applications:
- Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)
- 457 Skills Assessment Program
- Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP)
- Migration Skills Assessment (MSA)
- Job Ready Final Assessment (JRFA)
Applicants who hold a successful Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) outcome have been deemed by TRA to have a qualification comparable to the relevant minimum Australian qualification required for their nominated occupation.
* Exceptions for medical practitioners and legal practitioners
For medical practitioners, DHA accepts evidence of the applicant’s:
- full/unconditional/general medical registration; or
- conditional specialist registration – where this registration allows the person to practise in their specialty, with no further training or supervision requirements issued by the relevant assessing authority, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency as evidence of full registration.
For solicitors and barristers, DHA accepts evidence of the applicant’s:
- admission to the relevant State or Territory Legal Admissions Authority; or
- admission to the Supreme Court of a state or territory as a suitable skills assessment.
Evidence of admission to the Supreme Court of a state or territory demonstrates that an applicant has been deemed as suitable to practise as a solicitor or barrister in that jurisdiction. Applicants must continue to be on the roll at the time of invitation.
*Professional membership or registration is not a skills assessment
Evidence of membership of an Australian professional society (for example, membership of the Australian Institute of Management) is of itself a skills assessment and does not meet the time of invitation skill related criteria.
*Skills assessment made based on a qualification obtained in Australia
The applicant who undertook study in Australia as the holder of a student visa the course they studied, and relied on to obtain their skills assessment, must have been a registered course.
