The Skills Assessment is a mandatory process all applicants under Skilled Migration categories must undertake prior to submitting a visa application with DIAC. Some 457 work visa & 121 ENS applicants are instructed to undertake one as well.

These assessments are made by organisations appointed by DIAC and judged to be the most appropriate according to the occupation applied under. They take some time to complete, have a cost attached, (payable by the applicant) and may be based upon documents only, live video technical interview or even practical assessment as well.

The SOL lists the occupations that are able to submit skilled visa applications and details of the appointed assessing body. The body must provide an assessment of the applicant's skills for migration purposes, indicating that they are equivalent to an Australian working in that occupation.

The assessment process is different for each occupation and on occasions, a different assessment process will exist for individuals from different countries. Some occupations require the applicant to undertake practical testing at a test centre in their home country or a live video technical interview at a location in their home country. This is especially true if the occupation is one requiring licensing or registration to legally work in Australia. The 4 occupational categories that are of interest for those seeking Australian visas are Managers, Professionals, Technicians & Trades.

Under subclass 121 (Employer Nomination Scheme) or 457 Temporary Work Visa applicants may be required to undergo a skills assessment with the relevant body.

This process is frequently mishandled by applicants attemting to put forward their own visa applications and they often take far longer than necessary, due to a poor submission by the applicant. To save yourself time, wasted money & unnecessary stress, call us to help you do it right.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Some people wanting to move to Australia have many years experience in a trade, but no paper qualifications to prove their skills. We are often able to help these people have their skills assessed as equivalent to an Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Certificate and be awarded adequate points for skills in the subsequent points test. If you want to know more about this process, call us now.

DIAC have appointed a number of organisations to undertake skills assessments on their behalf. These organisations are usually industry recognised authorities and employ skilled assessors to implement the process they have designed. The applicant has to pay substantial non-refundable fees to undertake the skills assessment. The better the quality of the submission, the greater the chance of a positive result and the quicker the assessment is usually finalised.

Applicants who fail to reach the required standard can pay for a review of their assessment, but this is at an extra cost and usually the assessment can only be reviewed once. Due to the number of people needlessly failing these assessments, we strongly recommend contacting us for guidance prior to submitting an application for assessment. Don't risk your future in Australia, call us for advice now.



The SOL (schedule 1 & schedule 1&2) are lists of those occupations under which applicants may apply for a skilled migration visa. The difference between the two is dependent on whether the applicant seeks State or Territory Nomination by participating states / territories.

On the left hand side, you will see the major groupings used under the ANZSCO and by the States & Territories. Find your occupation and assessing authority details.

Call us if you require any guidance on your specific situation.





The SOL (schedule 1 & 2) shows you the appropriate assessing authority for all potential skilled migration applications & for occupations required to undergo assessment if seeking certain other types of visa for Australia. The requirement for a skills assessment is likely to increase in the future for those seeking an Australian visa, whether for migration or simply a temporary work visa. See the pdf files below for full details of the lists or contact us for relevant advice.