ACS i.e. Australian Computer Society is an authorized leading authority association that designed ACS RPL Skill Assessment to assess the skills and knowledge of the candidates applying for Australia Immigration. ACS is the skills assessing authority for all the ICT or computing professionals for migration.

What is ACS Skill Assessment?

ACS SKILL ASSESSMENT is a pathway for the migration process. ACS assess your skills, knowledge and experience you have in the particular ICT field and if your skills are positively assessed then you will have a chance to get PR Visa in Australia.

RPL stands for Recognition of Prior Learning which is a process of assessment of an individual’s skills and knowledge acquired through formal, informal or non-formal learning and who are willing to migrate to Australia.

What is RPL for Australia Immigration?

Recognition of Prior Learning is the process of assessment of skills and knowledge of the candidates who are willing to migrate to Australia. Professionals from other countries with no ICT degree i.e. tertiary qualifications or insufficient ICT qualifications are required to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to ACS for Australia Skilled Migration by submitting RPL report form for ACS skill assessment.

Why RPL is mandatory?

If you want to migrate to Australia and get PR Visa, then RPL is the most essential. You can’t begin your permanent residency (PR) process without clearing this ACS RPL skills assessment.

What is the format for ACS RPL Report?

For Australia Skilled Migration, the applicants have to submit ACS RPL form and explain that they have necessary skills that ACS required. The ACS Skill Assessment allows the candidates without ICT or insufficient ICT qualifications to showcase the skills they have acquired. There is a section in the RPL report called “Key areas of knowledge” in which the individual can include a maximum number of areas they are skilled or they have acquired the knowledge. The ACS RPL report is mostly for those candidates who have ICT knowledge or skill but not similar to that of a degree in Australian universities but have professional experience in the ICT sector. These candidates can apply for ICT Skills Assessment via RPL assessment process. Their acquired knowledge covers ACS RPL Project Report Form and addressing as many of the areas referred to in the Key Areas of Knowledge they consider. The ACS RPL Report form must include the following two sections: Section 1 – The Key Areas of Knowledge Section 2 – The Project Report Forms

How many project report form is required to submit ACS?

For RPL Assessment, applicants are required to submit two Project Reports through ACS Project Report Form (RPL) . In one report, the project that is undertaken in the last three years should be mentioned, and in another report, the project undertaken in the previous five years. Each reports must provide a detailed description of a career episode in the employment history with sufficient detail of evidence in applying the claimed knowledge in a working situation. Sufficient detail must be provided to demonstrate the depth and breadth of ICT knowledge gained during applicant’s ICT employment.

Is there any chance to get your RPL rejected?

Yes, of course. If you don’t properly write your RPL, know all the possible reasons for RPL rejection. Despite being careful while writing your RPL report, you may commit some mistakes and those mistakes will lead to negative assessment or RPL rejection from ACS. Understand all the things you need to know while writing an RPL report positively. If you are still worried about getting your RPL rejected, you can simply hire professional RPL writers to get your RPL positively assessed.

What is ACS Key Areas of Knowledge in RPL?

The ACS Key Areas of Knowledge is SECTION 1 that you need to fill up in the RPL report form. In this section, you have to clearly mention all your experiences and qualifications that meet the selected topics of Areas of Knowledge. You need to explain clearly how your experience and qualifications match the chosen fields and explicitly how and where you obtained the information.

Can we take professional help for RPL project submission for ACS assessment?

Yes, of course, you can. ACSRPLAustralia.com has a team of professional RPL writers who help you and assist you in RPL writing and getting your RPL positively assessed.

What is ANZSCO CODE? Why it's necessary to match and mention the occupation list with the particular ANZSCO code for ACS SKILL ASSESSMENT ?

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is a skill-based classification system used to classify all occupations and jobs available in the Australian and New Zealand labour markets. Yes, its necessary to match and mention the ANZSCO code, If the assessor finds that your application is unsuitable under the nominated occupation, a suitable ANZSCO may be suggested IF there is a clear alternative. If the recommendation is accepted it does incur an additional fee of $200.

Can changes be made to your ANZSCO nomination if your application is in the process?

Once the assessment process has commenced, it will NOT be possible to change the ANZSCO code.

What is an employment reference letter? Why it's essential?

An employment reference letter or say a recommendation letter is a written document that includes the entire assessment, professional skills, work, and experiences of an individual, thereby emphasizing his/her abilities to perform particular tasks. Employment reference is very essential for non ICT professionals to prove their level of knowledge and skill equivalent to those with ICT degrees. A perfect employment reference helps a lot in getting a positive assessment from ACS for Australia Immigration.

Do employment reference letter get rejected? If yes, Why?

Yes, the employment reference letter also gets rejected. If your employment reference letter doesn’t meet the standard of ACS then your assessment will be a failure. So, make sure the following things: ● Do not copy-paste from the websites or other resources. ● Show clear start and end dates in the letter. ● Make sure the duties you mention in the employment reference letter matches the nominated occupation (ANZSCO).

What is PTE for Skill Assessment?

In accordance with the standpoint series of this event, you can parallel undertake ACS and PTE. Both of these demands a fair amount of time which suggests completing PTE first and then begins with ACS. Approximately AUD 500 is considered as ACS skill assessment fees. Accounting the financial insights, there does not exist any point to apply for. ACS if you don’t not clear PTE which implies to score less than 65 regarding a section. To further apply for EOI, you require accounting for the PTE score even after having a positive ACS assessment. Hence, the PTE is considered a crucial element that is likely to be preferred first, followed by that they must move towards ACS. However, despite acquiring long term orientation, it is suggested as quality PTE and ACS document preparation time which is likely to be considered as crucial. In case of seeking help about ACS RPL report or discussion about migrating in Australian premises, ACSRPLAustralia.com can be contacted. ACSRPLAustralia.com has a dedicated team of the Best Native Australian Engineering RPL experts and we provide the best RPL report within a week with the assurance of 100% Positive assessment.

Is there an alternative to an employment reference letter? If yes. what is it?

Yes, If you are unable to get an employment reference letter from a company, you have to explain as to why an employment reference letter cannot be obtained. Then a third party official Statutory Declaration or Affidavit written by a work colleague can be submitted along with one of the following as supporting evidence: ● Employment certificate/statement of service. ● Leaving certificate if no longer working at the same company. A Statutory Declaration or Affidavit is written by a work colleague must describe the working relationship with you and details of your duties performed with relevant dates of employment. It must clearly state that the document was ‘Sworn Before’ or ‘Signed Before’ or ‘Witnessed Before’ the authorised witness by the referee and signed by the authorised witness, along with the date and place in which the declaration was witnessed.

What is the working hour assessed as suitable by ACS?

Full-time work is considered to be 20 hours or more per week and must be stated in the employment reference letter. Any experience less than 20 hours per week will be assessed as unsuitable.

What is Statutory Declarations and Affidavits?

A Statutory Declarations and Affidavits is an alternative to the employment reference letter, a legal written document declared as valid and signed in the presence of an authorised witness when an applicant is unable to get an employment reference letter from the company.

SkillSelect is the latest online program developed by the Australian government that enables skilled workers who are interested to migrate to Australia to be eligible for a Skilled Australian Visa. Applicants to have to submit an EOI using SkillSelect.

What is EOI for Australia Immigration? Why it's necessary?

An Expression of Interest (EOI) is a form of applying to demonstrate your interest in applying for a Skilled Visa to migrate to Australia. EOI is an online application form that the applicant must fill out using the website of the Australian Government usually referred to as Skillselect. Your EOI will be audited by the Australian Immigration and Border Protection Department and if your EOI gets accepted then they will invite you for PR application.

General Skilled Migration Visas 189/190/489/491/887/191

Candidates who have skills in demand may be qualified to apply for a skilled visa. Employer sponsorship does not apply to Skilled Visas. Requirements for general skilled migration include qualifications, work experience, English skills, and satisfaction of the points test criteria. It is essential to note that the requirements differ depending on the situation.

The General Skilled Migration Visa is the most usual visa program for overseas professionals, managers, tradespersons, international graduates in Australia who can apply for this visa. The most common visa subclass are:

Subclass 189 Skilled Independent
Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated
Skilled Regional Visa Subclass 191
Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional

Subclass 489 Skilled Regional (Provisional) is applicable from 16 November 2019.

What Are The Criteria For A Skilled Migration Visa?

To apply for Skilled Migration Visas, you need to meet the following conditions.

Age needs to be under 45 years
Need to have proposed Occupation on the Skilled Occupation List(SOL) or Consolidated Skilled Occupation List (CSOL)
Need to have English Competency Test taken such as IELTS 6.0 for all bands or equivalent(higher score may be awarded additional points
Need to have at least 65 points to be eligible for visas

Applicable from 1 July 2021, all candidates interested in applying for GSM visas need to submit an Expression of Interest(EOI) and receive an Invitation to apply for ITA before starting with the visa application. There are particular subclass necessities to be met:

A State/ Territory sponsorship or nomination is needed for the Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated Visa.
A State/ Territory nomination or relative sponsorship is required for the subclass 489 Skilled Regional Visa. However, you need to live for at least 2 years.
The Subclass 189 Skilled Independent Visa doesn’t necessarily require state/ territory or relative sponsorship.

Application Process

You need to provide the following documents for the application process

Checking eligibility points test
Apply for skills assessment along with competency test results
Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) via Skill Select
If significant, apply for State Nomination
Submit visa application within 60 days after receiving an Invitation to apply to ITA and include all supporting and necessary documents for application

Note that skill assessment is the simplified steps. So, prepare and provide the proper documents and information as required. It helps to smoothen the application processing time.

How can work visa lawyers help?

Work Visa Lawyers are highly qualified in all parts of the General Skilled Migration (GSM) Visa Applications. They can assist in all aspects of the application, also helps in resolving complications:

Skill Assessment
Choosing the proper ANZSCO Code
Territory/State Sponsorship Applications
Complexities in determining documents to demonstrate work experience or family relationships
Update-to-date with forthcoming deadlines. It affects your total points, such as age or expiring documents. It facilitates your visa application to be submitted as fast as possible

General Skilled Migration (GSM) Subclasses 189, 190, and 491 replace the 489, the most popular way for skilled migration to Australia. General Skilled Migration is a point-based visa. The points are calculated from age, English language score, qualifications, work experience, and other abilities of individuals.

Types Of Visa Subclass For General Skilled Migration

1. Skilled Independent Subclass 189 (Permanent ) Visa

This independent Subclass 189 visa can be granted based on the visa candidate’s benefits based on a points-based system, and there is no requirement for sponsorship. To be qualified for this kind of visa, you need to have:

Your age should be less than 44 years.
Need to minimum points score of 65 or higher (higher the points greater the opportunity to get invitation earlier )
Need to have taken the English Competency test securing +6 in each band, higher the score points will be added respectively as the score.

2. Skilled Regional Provisional Subclass

Notice: From 15 November 2019, the Subclass Visa invited pathway visa was closed to new applications and replaced by Subclass 491.

This visa is valid for four years, but it only allows the visa holder to live, work or study regional areas of Australia. This visa needs that you are sponsored by an Australian relative that lives in Regional Australia or by a state or territory government. To be qualified for the skilled regional provisional subclass, you need to have:

You need to be a maximum of 44 years
Need to have English Competency Result(IELTS 6+) in each band Need to meet character and health needs. Your Occupation should be listed on the ANZSCO Code and should be in skill levels 1, 2, or 3.
You also need to have skills based on the nominated skill list

To get a Subclass 489 Visa, you need to be sponsored by relative lying in the nominated area. Your reactive sponsor needs to be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand Citizen. First Parents, Brother or Sister, Uncle or Aunt, Nephew or Niece, First Cousin, or Grandparent can sponsor you for the Subclass 489 Visa.

A relative sponsor, the significant Medium and Long-term Strategic Skill List (MLTSSL), is similar to Subclass 189 Visa. It is necessary to lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI) to apply for subclass 489. And once you receive your invitation, you have 60 days to lodge a valid application.

You also can include family members in your application like Spouse, Wife, Mother, Father, dependent children up to the age of 23 years, de facto partner, and others. However, there are some limitations.

Once a visa is granted, you and your included family members can live, work, and study in the regional area. The accepted regional areas differ depending on whether you are sponsored by a State or Territory Government or relative.

State or Territory Government: You can live in a regional area or low population growth area.

Relative: You need to live in the nominated area.

3. Skilled Regional Subclass 887

Skilled Regional Subclass 887 is the permanent stage of the Subclass 489 Visa. To be eligible for a Skilled Regional Visa, you need to live in Australia for 2 years. You have to live and work full time for at least 12 months.

Cost: The visa application charge for general skilled migration primary visa applicants is $4,044, the secondary (adult) applicant costs $2025, and secondary(child) applicants $1010 till now. This cost is updated on 1 July 2020).

Skilled Migration Points Test

GSM Visas need to have a minimum score of 65 points. This point is calculated by:

Age: 18 to 24 contributes 25 points, 25 to 32 contributes 30 points, 33 to 39 contributes 25 points, 40 to 44 contributes 15 points ( upto 30 points)
English Language Test: IELTS 6+ or equivalent other test scores = 0 (doesn’t get any points), Proficient IELTS: 7+ in each band contributes 10 points, Superior 8+ in each band contributes 20 points (20 maximum points)
Overseas qualification: Acknowledge Trade Qualification including a Diploma or Trade Certificate completed at an Australian educational institution or other award or a qualification acknowledged by the applicable skills assessing authority e..g ACS= 10 points
Acknowledged Bachelor degree or higher= 15 points, perceived Ph.D. (Doctorate) contributes 20 points while Australian Qualifications will contribute (5 points), Study in Regional Australia or a low populated growth Area(5 points)
Professional Educational Qualifications (5 points)
Professional Year in Australian for related Occupation (5 points)
Overseas Work Experience: 3 years= 5 points, 5 years= 10 points, 8 years= 15 points ( 10 years in the related skilled Occupation or nominated Profession)
Australian Work Experience: 1 year contributes 5 points, 3 years equal to 10 points, 5 years equal to 15 points, 8 years equals 20 points(last 10 years in the nominated or closely related profession )
Partner’s age under 50 and English ability (IELTS 6+ in each band)
Partners skill assessment will provide 5 points if their occupations are in the nominated list.
NAATI Accredited para-professional interpreter or translator contributes 5 points
Subclass 190will contribute 5 points, Subclass 489 contributes 10 points, respectively.

Note that the GSM points eligibility system was changed in November 2019, and some visas were replaced, and the points system differs slightly.

GSM Points Test Changes

These new modifications to the GSM point test came into effect on 16 November 2019. New additions include:

1. Study in a regional area

Studying in a regional area comprises 5 points. It does not apply to those students who have undergone distance education. But the candidates have to live in a particular area; the campus also has to be in nominated regional areas. The candidates also need to meet the Australian study requisites.

2. Partners points

The partner’s points will increase by 5 to 10 points. It will be granted to Australian citizens or Australian Permanent Resident. 5 points will be granted to partners of applicants who is an applicant of the same visa. A non- Australian citizen has to submit a Competent English Test for 5 points.

3. Sponsored 491 Visa

State sponsors 491 Visa, Territory government, or an eligible relative will increase points from 10 to 15 points.

Subclass 489 Visa replaced by Subclass 491- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa.

It comes into existence from 2019, 16 November. 489 Visa is closed and replaced by new 491 visas take its place. The new visa will be listed as a General Skilled Migration(GSM) Visa.

Features Of The Subclass 491 Visa Contains The Following Points

Candidates in Australia need to hold either a substantive visa or a bridging visa A, B, or C
Subclass 491 will be subjected to a new GSM points test, and candidates must be invited to apply for a 491 visa and apply within a specific time frame.
At least 65 points will be needed as per the requirement as per all other visas.
Candidates need to propose a nominated occupation from the Sponsor list and need to be a permanent citizen of Australia, a Permanent Australian citizen, or qualified New Zealand citizen, or either the appellant or their wife or de facto partner is capable of 489 visas.
Sponsors who are relatives need to be residing in a particular regional area.
All candidates need to declare that they have honest intention to live, work and study in the particular regional area.
Other visas include partner skills, business skills, GSM Visas, 186 visa needs subclass 491 visa holders to have held thas visa for a minimum of 3 years and have extensively combined with the circumstances for this visa except certain extraordinary circumstances apply.

New visa conditions need to be forced on all visa holders, including:

Form 8578: Inform Immigration within 14 days of any change to the visa holder’s house location or address, email address, phone number, passport details, address of the employee, or address or location of a position

Form 8579: Applicants need to live, work and study in a particular regional area registered at the time the visa was granted

Form 8580: If requested, provide proof to Immigration within 28 days after the date of request of any or all of their: domestic addresses, address of each employer, address of each location of each position employed, or address of an educational institutional institution they attended

Form 8581: If requested, attend an interview with Immigration. If the visa is permitted, it will be valid for 5 years.

Looking For Help?

Are you confused about which visa types do you fit in? Don’t worry expert team of ACSRPLAustralia is ready to help you. We provide on-time delivery with 100% genuine advice. It helps you to migrate to Australia and settle here permanently.