Skills assessment for skilled migration
The mandatory first step for most skilled visas, and the one people treat as an afterthought. The occupation you nominate here decides your visa options, your points and your eligibility — and changing it later is expensive.
At a glance
- What it is
- An assessment of your skills and qualificationsAgainst the standard for a nominated occupation
- Who assesses
- The assessing authority for that occupationNot the Department of Home Affairs
- Why it matters
- It gates the skilled visa pathways189, 190 and Direct Entry 186 among them
- Our fee
- AUD 500*As published on our pricing page
- Consultation
- AUD 150 for 60 minutesCredited towards your professional fee
Step one
Why this is the decision, not the formality
Almost every skilled migration plan that fails late failed here. The occupation determines which lists you appear on, which authority assesses you, what evidence they want, and how many points your experience earns. It is worth getting right before anything else happens.
Choosing the occupation
Assessors read the duties you actually performed, not your job title. The closest-sounding occupation is often not the right one, and the right one is sometimes not obvious.
Assembling employment evidence
Payslips, tax records, contracts, organisation charts and references that agree with each other on dates, hours and duties. Contradictions are what sink assessments.
Qualification recognition
Whether your qualifications are assessed as comparable to the Australian standard for the occupation, and what to do when part of your study is not recognised.
Trades and health occupations
Often have additional steps, practical assessment or registration pathways that run alongside — and in a particular order.
How it works
What an assessment involves
The detail varies considerably by authority and occupation. What follows is the shape of it; your consultation covers the specifics for yours.
- 01
A nominated occupation
Chosen against your actual duties and your visa strategy, not just your job title.
- 02
The correct assessing authority
Each occupation has one. Applying to the wrong body wastes months and the fee.
- 03
Evidence of qualifications
Transcripts and award certificates, sometimes with verification directly from the institution.
- 04
Evidence of employment
References on letterhead setting out duties, dates and hours, corroborated by payslips and tax records.
- 05
English evidence
Where the authority requires it, which is separate from the visa English requirement.
- 06
Sometimes a practical or technical assessment
Common in trades, and it may need to happen in a particular sequence with other steps.
How we work
What we actually do for you
You should know whether an application is viable before you spend money on it. If it is not yet, we say so and set out what would change that.
- 01
Consultation and occupation strategy
We map your duties to the occupations realistically open to you, and what each one does to your visa options and points.
- 02
Evidence review before you lodge
We look for the contradictions an assessor will find, while they can still be fixed.
- 03
Lodge with the correct authority
Complete, in the format that authority expects.
- 04
Respond to requests
Assessors frequently ask for more. Answering precisely is faster than answering fully.
- 05
Then the visa strategy
A positive assessment is the beginning of the skilled pathway, not the end of it.
Where it goes wrong
Why these applications fail
Refusals are rarely a surprise in hindsight. These are the patterns we see most, and all four are avoidable with advice before lodgement rather than after a decision.
Nominating the occupation that matches the job title
And discovering the duties assessed do not support it.
References written by a friendly manager without the required detail
Warmth is not evidence. Duties, dates and hours are.
Employment evidence that contradicts itself
Payslips that do not match the reference dates, or hours that imply part-time work claimed as full-time.
Doing the steps out of order
Particularly in health and trades, where registration and assessment interact. The wrong sequence costs months.
Fees
What we charge
General information, not personal advice. This page explains how the visa works in general terms. It is not immigration assistance for your circumstances, and reading it does not create a client relationship.
Requirements, thresholds and processing priorities change. The Department of Home Affairs is the authority on current settings, and we confirm them against your case in a consultation. Reviewed August 2026.
Advice on this page is provided by a MARA-registered migration agent, MARN 1793706. In Australia only registered agents may lawfully give immigration assistance for a fee.
Migration agent consultation
60 minutes, in person or online
Full assessment of your options with customised advice. Credited towards your visa professional fee if you proceed.
AUD 150Free for Scholar Hub students
Skills Assessment for Australian Migration
Our professional fee
Document preparation, drafting and lodgement, and responses to the Department through to a decision.
AUD 500*As published on our pricing page
Our professional fees only. They exclude Department of Home Affairs visa application charges, skills assessment fees, English test fees and medical examinations.
See the full pricing page for other services.
Related pathways
Other visas we advise on
Most people are choosing between two or three of these. The immigration services page compares them side by side.
Skilled Independent
189Points-tested permanent residence with no employer and no state involved.
Skilled Nominated
190Permanent residence with state nomination, which adds points to your score.
Employer Nomination
186Permanent residence nominated by an employer, in one of three streams.
Skills in Demand
482Employer-sponsored temporary work, and the usual route into a 186.
Questions
What people ask about the Step one
General guidance only, and policy changes. Your own circumstances are assessed in a consultation.