Australian Immigration Points

When can you claim skilled Employment Points towards your General Skilled Migration Application?

Wondering about Australian Immigration points? Here's how it works.

The onus is on the applicant to provide proof to the relevant skill assessing authority about the period of employment along with any other pre-requisites laid out by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

The regulations require only that an applicant be employed in a nominated skilled occupation for a particular period.

The provision does not require the applicant to have skills of a particular standard during that period of employment. Relevant Australian and Overseas skilled employment in the past 10 years before the date of application can be considered for the purpose of awarding (receiving) points to facilitate skill assessment.

If the skills assessing authority’s opinion would result in the applicant being awarded less points than the applicant claimed in their EOI, then the department would normally consider the information in ANZSCO and apply the more beneficial outcome in determining when the applicant was working at a skilled level. This can be confusing at times as the Skills Assessing authorities such as TRA and ACS (Australian Computer Society) have different requirements to the ones stipulated in ANZSCO. One prime example of this is for the Chefs. Chefs are deemed skilled for migration purposes after Cert IV according to the TRA but according to ANZSCO applicants require a relevant Diploma Qualification. None the less the department will accept skilled employment after cert IV.

Combining Australian And Overseas Employment

Meaning of employed for Australian Immigration Points

For the claimed employment to meet the requirements the employment must have been for at least 20 hours a week.  Applicants must have been engaged in the occupation on a paid basis. Mere emotional or psychological satisfaction or the acquisition of useful, but unpaid, professional experience, is not considered ‘remuneration’ for points-tested purposes. To evidence employment applicants must provide a combination of Employment reference letters, financial and tax documents.

Is it possible to combine Australian and Overseas employment for immigration points?

It is not possible for applicants to combine shorter periods of skilled employment gained while working in and outside Australia to meet one of the Australian or overseas skilled employment experience factors. For example, an applicant cannot claim 3 years’ Australian employment by adding together 6 months’ overseas employment experience and 30 months’ Australian employment experience

Periods of employment do not have to be continuous, and applicants may also be eligible for points for the employment factor if they have both Australian and overseas skilled employment experience.

Related Post: VETASSESS – Trade Skills Assessment

Closely related employment for Australian Immigration

Applicants can claim points for employment in their nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation in the 10 years immediately preceding the date of the invitation to apply for the visa. Although skilled employment experience within the 10 years immediately before the time of invitation to apply for the visa, would generally involve work in the applicant’s nominated skilled occupation, it is also policy to award points to applicants if their career has advanced, or the occupation has evolved in the relevant period. In these circumstances, to be awarded points, the claimed employment will need to be in a skilled occupation that is closely related to the applicant’s nominated skilled occupation.

Under ANZSCO, occupations are grouped together to form “unit groups”. Generally, all unit groups are at one skill level. Skill level is defined as a function of the range and complexity of the set of tasks performed in a particular occupation, and is generally measured by the required level or amount of formal education and training, previous experience in a related occupation, or on the job training.

Closely related skilled occupations are those occupations that fall within one-unit group classified under ANZSCO. For example, if an applicant’s nominated occupation is Accountant (General) (221111) and the applicant has provided evidence of skilled employment in the occupations of Management Accountant (221112) and Taxation Accountant (221113), decision makers should consider these periods of employment as closely related for the purpose of awarding points.

For the purpose of awarding points, an applicant’s skilled employment experience can be in their nominated occupation or any closely related skilled occupation that appears on the skilled occupation list/s applicable to the visa subclass for which they have applied.

Unlawful employment excluded from consideration

If an applicant has breached the conditions of their visa by working when they had no work rights, or by working in excess of the amount of work allowed, the period of employment in breach of visa conditions cannot be counted under the employment experience factor in the regulations.

For example, a Student visa holder who was subject to a condition that they not work more than 40 hours a fortnight but who was employed in their nominated skilled occupation for 45 hours a fortnight while their course was in session, could not use that period of employment to claim points under the regulations.

Claiming points and assessing your eligibility is not as simple as it sounds. For example, claiming wrong periods of employment and/or claiming periods which are not at a skilled level, will affect your visa application outcome or skills assessment outcome.

Our migration agents have years of experience in this and will be able to assist you in assessing whether you meet the requirement or not.

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About Anu

Anu is a passionate provider of migration and education services and understands the challenges of undertaking education and migrating to Australia on a personal level. This is why she believes that the best service comes from clear communication and understanding of her client’s needs.