Skills assessments are a mandatory process for skilled visas and some employer-sponsored visas. Skills assessments ensure that an applicant has the competency to perform their job effectively. They confirm an applicant’s qualifications, work experience and skill level.
The process for obtaining a skilled visa requires applicants to obtain a skills assessment prior to lodging their visa application. The issue at the moment is there are significant delays in the skills assessment process which in turn is delaying the visa application process.
There are two main skills assessment authorities in Australia that are responsible for processing skills assessments for migration purposes – VETASESS and Trades Recognition Australia (TRA). In addition, there are a number of registered training organisations (RTOs) that are authorised by the Australian Government to conduct skills assessments for specific occupations.
VETASSESS is the largest provider of skills assessments in Australia. Authorised by the Australian Government, VETASSESS is an independent assessment provider specialising in assessing the qualifications and work experience of prospective migrants with professional and trade occupations.
Processing times for skills assessments with VETASSESS can take up to 10 weeks depending on the type of assessment required.
Trades Recognition Australia is a skills assessment authority with the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. As the primary assessing body for most trade occupations, it offers assessment pathways for both onshore and offshore applicants.
Assessments with TRA are usually completed within 15 weeks from the date of submission of the required documentation.
Read more about Skills Assessment Authorities
Why Do Skills Assessments Take So Long?
While the high volume of applications is the main contributor to the delays in the skills assessment process, other aspects of the skills assessment process can be time consuming and impact processing times.
The following factors can impact skills assessment processing times:
- Incomplete or Inaccurate Documentation – Missing documents, incorrect information or a failure to provide the necessary evidence for qualifications or employment can significantly delay an assessment.
- Complex Verification Processes – Often information needs to be verified with external sources. Delays can occur if these external entities are slow to respond to requests for verification.
- Complexity of Occupation – For complex occupations or those with limited information available, the verification process may take longer leading to delays in the overall skills assessment process.
The Impact of Excessive Skills Assessment Processing Times on Skills and Economic Benefit
Excessive skills assessment processing times impact skills and economic benefit greatly. The goal of the skilled migration program is to fill occupations that can’t be filled by local workers.
In industries requiring skilled foreign workers, their skills needs can vary between being structural or cyclical. Regardless of their requirements, there is usually some urgency when it comes to requiring foreign workers.
Often, and more so in the case of industries that experience cyclical movement or a boom, the need for foreign workers is acute. These long skills assessment processing times can put a strain on businesses as they need to get through these peak times while they wait for the visa approvals of skilled foreign workers.
The delays in skills assessment and the subsequent delays in the visa application process are frustrating for employers who rely on the skilled migration program to fill labour shortages at any given time. The Visa Solutions Australia (VSA) team sees the challenges the excessive wait times the skills assessment process presents, often having to explain to the businesses relying on foreign workers (i.e., their clients) that the backlog is in the skills assessment process, not in the visa application process.
How Can These Delays Be Addressed?
A lack of competition among skills assessing authorities exacerbates the issue of long skills assessment wait times. This lack of competition creates complacency and no need to improve internal processes to cut down these excessive wait time.
More competition, recognising reputable foreign bodies and expanding mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) across countries in the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) can help reduce the number of full skills assessments required by skills assessment authorities in Australia and speed up migration for high-demand skills.
The issues surrounding skills assessment processing times and visa processing is complex given the Australian Government’s support of the current authorised skills assessment bodies. Implementing measures that will see greater competition and create a need to provide an above par service could see these processing times reduced.
To learn more about skills assessments or any aspect of migration, contact the team of experienced registered migration agents at Visa Solutions Australia. Book a consultation.
