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By Jessica Thakur
February 4, 2024
If you are an ICT professional who wants to migrate to Australia under the skilled migration program, you may need to have your skills and qualifications assessed by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). The ACS is the authority that evaluates the ICT skills and qualifications of applicants who want to apply for certain visas, such as the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190), or the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491).
One of the most important aspects of the ACS skills assessment is the work experience requirement. The ACS requires applicants to demonstrate that they have relevant and recent work experience in the ICT field that matches their nominated occupation. The amount and type of work experience that you need to show will depend on your qualification level, ICT course content, and relevance of your qualification to the nominated occupation.
In this blog post, we will explain how to meet the ACS work experience requirements for skilled migration, and answer some of the common questions that applicants may have.
## How much work experience do I need to demonstrate to meet ACS requirements?
The ACS does not have a fixed number of years of work experience that you need to demonstrate to meet the requirements. Instead, the ACS will determine the amount of work experience that you need based on your qualification level, ICT course content, and relevance of your qualification to the nominated occupation.
This means that the ACS will look at your qualifications and see how closely they match the skills and knowledge required for your nominated occupation. The more relevant and ICT-focused your qualifications are, the less work experience you will need to show. Conversely, the less relevant and ICT-focused your qualifications are, the more work experience you will need to show.
For example, if you have a bachelor degree in computer science and you nominate software engineer as your occupation, you will need to show at least two years of relevant work experience in the last 10 years. However, if you have a bachelor degree in business administration and you nominate business analyst as your occupation, you will need to show at least six years of relevant work experience in the last 10 years.
The ACS has a summary of criteria that outlines the minimum requirements for each qualification level and ICT content. You can refer to this summary to get an idea of how much work experience you will need to demonstrate to meet the ACS requirements. However, please note that this summary is only a guide and the actual amount of work experience that you need will be determined by the ACS at the time of formal assessment.
What kind of work experience do I need to demonstrate to meet ACS requirements?
The ACS does not only look at the quantity of your work experience, but also the quality. The ACS requires you to demonstrate that your work experience is relevant, recent, and paid.
- Relevant: Your work experience must be at an ICT professional level and closely related to your nominated occupation. The ACS will assess your work experience based on the duties and responsibilities that you performed, not just the job title. You will need to provide detailed employment references that describe your role, tasks, and achievements in each position. The employment references must be on a company letterhead and signed by your employer or a senior colleague. If you are unable to obtain an employment reference on a company letterhead, you may provide a third party official statutory declaration or affidavit written by a work colleague, along with supporting evidence such as employment certificates, statements of service, or leaving certificates.
- Recent: Your work experience must be within the last 10 years from the date of your application. The ACS will only consider work experience that is after the skill level requirement met date, which is the date when you have met the suitability criteria based on your qualifications and work experience. The ACS will seek to find the earliest skill level requirement met date possible for each assessment. Any work experience that is before the skill level requirement met date will not be counted towards your assessment.
- Paid: Your work experience must be paid and commensurate with the skill level for your position. The ACS requires you to provide sufficient evidence of paid employment to verify your employment and salary. You may provide payslips, tax returns, bank statements, or contracts as evidence of paid employment.
Can I have part-time work assessed?
Yes, you can have part-time work assessed by the ACS, as long as it is relevant, recent, and paid. However, the ACS considers full-time work to be 20 hours or more per week, and any work experience that is less than 20 hours per week will be assessed as unsuitable. Therefore, you will need to ensure that your part-time work is at least 20 hours per week and that this is stated in your employment reference letter.
Can I have work experience that I gained while studying assessed?
It depends. If your work experience was a requirement of your qualification, such as an internship, a placement, or a project, then it will not be counted towards your assessment. The ACS does not consider work experience that is part of your qualification as relevant work experience.
However, if your work experience was not a requirement of your qualification, such as a casual or part-time job that you did while studying, then it may be counted towards your assessment, as long as it meets the criteria of being relevant, recent, and paid.
Can I have work experience that I gained from more than one job at the same time assessed?
No, you cannot have work experience that you gained from more than one job at the same time assessed by the ACS. The ACS only accepts one work experience episode within the same time period. If you have concurrent employment, meaning that you worked in more than one job at the same time, the ACS will only consider the more favourable of the two work experience episodes and list the other episode as unsuitable 'Concurrent Employment'.
How can I apply for an ACS skills assessment?
If you want to apply for an ACS skills assessment, you will need to follow these steps:
- Choose your nominated occupation from the list of ANZSCO codes that the ACS assesses.
- Prepare your documents, such as your qualifications, transcripts, employment references, evidence of paid employment, and identity documents. You will need to scan and upload your documents in PDF format. You may also need to have your documents certified or translated if they are not in English.
- Create an account on the ACS website and fill out the online application form. You will need to provide your personal details, contact details, nominated occupation, education history, employment history, and declaration.
- Pay the application fee, which is AUD 500 for most applicants. You can pay by credit card, PayPal, or bank transfer.
- Submit your application and wait for the ACS to process it. The ACS will send you an email confirmation and an application ID number. You can check the status of your application on the ACS website.
- Receive your ACS result letter via email. The ACS will issue your result letter within 8 to 10 weeks from the date of submission. Your result letter will state the outcome of your assessment, the ANZSCO code, the ICT qualifications, the skill level requirement met date, and the work experience.
How can I contact the ACS or query the outcome of my assessment?
If you have any questions or queries about the ACS skills assessment, you can contact the ACS via email at assessment@acs.org.au. You will need to quote your application ID reference number in your email.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your assessment, you can request a review or an appeal. A review is when you submit additional information or documentation that was not included in your original application. An appeal is when you dispute the outcome of your assessment or the review. You will need to pay a fee for a review or an appeal, and you will need to submit your request within 60 days from the date of your result letter. For more information, please refer to the ACS Review & Appeal Information.
Conclusion
The ACS skills assessment is a crucial step for ICT professionals who want to migrate to Australia under the skilled migration program. The ACS requires applicants to demonstrate that they have relevant and recent work experience in the ICT field that matches their nominated occupation. The amount and type of work experience that applicants need to show will depend on their qualification level, ICT course content, and relevance of their qualification to the nominated occupation.
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