SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROCESS OF ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA (EA)

NEW USER-FRIENDLY CHANGES INTRODUCED TO SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROCESS OF ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA (EA)

 

Changes have been introduced recently to the portal and process of Engineers Australia – the designated authority for assessing skills and competencies relating to engineering occupations in Australia. The portal is primarily used by large number of migration agents around the world to lodge Skills Assessments with Engineers Australia on behalf of their clients. October 2018 will witness new and more user-friendly features in the portal which will assist the migration agents more intuitively. In addition to all the previous features, the migration agents who have registered at the portal will have complete access to the new functions.

One of the newly-introduced features is the ability to add a secondary agent to an application. Yes, migration agents will now be able to add a secondary agent to their application by selecting the ‘Add Agent’ button from tools page. It must be noted that in order to add a secondary agent, the migration agent must have a valid EA ID number and an account with EA. This account can be created for free! The migration agent will then need to search the secondary agent that is to be added using their EA ID and date of birth, and finally selecting the person from the list.

In addition to the above, lead agents will now be able to transfer an application from a registered agent with their agency to another registered agent within their agency. This can be done using the ‘marked’ button. In order to do this, one will require to put in the Application ID that is to be transferred and name & ID of the agent to which the application is to be transferred to. Furthermore, issues like ‘Time Out’ error and ‘Gateway’ error have been addressed, in particularly, as number of online customers and assessors complained about it. All such issues have been rectified completely, and this has come as a big relief to all the online users.

The new portal will now also allow access to ‘eQuals’, allowing graduates from the Australian Universities to voluntarily share their qualification with Engineers Australia, which will lead to quicker verification of documents and quicker processing times. Also, EA has confirmed that all the major communication in relation to skills assessment must be done via myPortal. One of the best parts is that myPortal will now allow to enter information from agent/agency, including agent/agency’s postal and email address, applicants’ personal details like phone number, postal and e-mail address, etc. Having the application lodged through an agency or linked to one will assure that all the communication is made through the agent.

Another great news is the fast tracking of EA skills assessments. The Registered Agents will now be able to request for their clients’ applications to be fast-tracked., ensuring client’s application gets picked up by an assessor within five business days. Of course, the completion of the skills assessment application will depend on how much part of the application is completed, with no final timeline mentioned. Fast track option will be available against a reasonable fee. The current waiting times for Migration Skills Assessments by EA applications, however, vary from process to process, a brief of which is mentioned below.

• Australian Qualifications & Accords Qualifications Assessment: 7 weeks
• Australian Qualifications & Accords Qualifications Assessment with Fast Track: 15 working days
• Competency Demonstration Report: 9 weeks
• Competency Demonstration Report with Fast Track: 15 working days
• Fast tracked applications: 5 business days

Pathways to apply Permanent Residency of Australia

Permanent Migration can be done by following pathways:

• Skill stream – which is designed to fill the skill shortages in the labor market and improve the productive capacity of the economy.
• Family stream – which is mainly made up of Partner visas that enables Australians to reunite with family members from overseas and provide them with pathways to citizenship.
• Special Eligibility stream – which covers visas for those in special circumstances that do not fit into other streams.

Below is the table of the 2018 – 19 Migration Program Planning levels which is set annually with the total places available capped at a ceiling of 190, 000 that is the same from 2017-18. Skill stream represents most places offered which has 128, 550 places in 2018-19 and family stream which has 57, 400 places offered in 2018-19 while the special Eligibility is the smallest stream which has 565 places in 2018-19.

Stream and Category	2017-18	2018-19
Skill stream
Employer Sponsored	48,250	48,250
Skilled Independent	43,990	43,990
State & Territory & Regional Sponsored	28,850	28,850
Business Innovation & Investment Program	7,260	7,260
Distinguished Talent	200	200
Skill Total	128,550	128,550
Skill % of Program	68.9%*	68.9%*
Family Stream
Partner	47,825	47,825
Parent	8,675	8,675
Other Family	900	900
Family Total	57,400	57,400
Family % of Program	30.8%*	30.8%*
Special Eligibility	565	565
Total	186,515	186,515

The above table shows that Skilled Migration continues to remain Australia’s priority that represents 68.9% of the total migration intake.

Source:

https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/20planning

Skilled Graduate Visas Explained

A skilled Graduate Visa is designed to extend an applicant’s stay in Australia for a period of up to two years. On successful grant of subclass 485 visa an applicant is able to remain in Australia for a further two years on completion of their studies. Many use this time to gain further employment experience in order to qualify for another visa.

The type of graduate visa you apply for depends on the qualification you completed.

Graduate Work Stream 

The Graduate Work stream is one of the streams which is open to graduates with an eligible qualification, including those from the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector, who graduate with skills and qualifications that relate to an occupation that is considered in demand in the Australian labour market on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL).

Certain common criteria must be addressed in order for an application to be submitted, regardless of the stream, and must be “fully documented” in order to be assessed by the Department of Home Affairs.

Importantly, this stream of graduate subclass 485 application must have be accompanied by evidence the applicant has applied to a relevant assessing authority for an assessment of their skills in their nominated skilled occupation.

It is advisable to check with the skills assessment authority for the approximate length of time it will take to process a skills assessment application. There are a number of additional requirements that vary depending on the skills assessing body conducting the skills assessment including evidence of obtaining a character check.

Post Study Work Stream

The regulatory requirements are almost identical to the former stream. Lack of awareness of the subtle difference can be fatal to the application.

Under the Post Study Work Stream the visa lasts for two to four years, depending on the highest qualification you used to apply. For example, doctoral degree can secure a four-year visa.

Further good news includes that there is no associated skills assessment process with this stream, therefore the preparation time can be significantly reduced. Nonetheless, time of application criteria continue to apply, therefore it is important to obtain immigration advice and assistance where there is uncertainly relating to any of the requirements associated with this visa to avoid disappointment.

Summary

Applying for a skilled graduate visa is a complicated, document heavy process and can be a stressful experience. If you are thinking of applying for this visa, professional advice from a Registered Migration Agent is highly recommended.

Skilled Migration Australia

Home Affairs updated their Skilled Migration Occupation Ceiling quota recently.  The skilled migration occupation ceiling affects applicants wishing to apply for a permanent subclass 189 visas. 

Occupation ceiling values are based on a percentage of stock employment figures for each occupation. Stock employment figures are provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and represent the number of people employed in Australia in each occupation.  It is worthwhile mentioning that occupation ceilings do not apply to 190 State/Territory Visas.

The following occupations are given the highest priority by the Department:

Registered Nurses - 17,322

Electricians - 9,303

Carpenters and Joiners - 8,372

Secondary School Teachers - 8,480

Software and Applications Programmers - 7,271

Metal Fitters and Machinists - 6,989

Motor Mechanics - 6,099

Civil Engineering Professionals - 3,510

Accountants - 3,753

Management consultant - 3,894

Livestock Farmers - 4,841 

Construction Managers - 5,982

The process of receiving an invitation for General Skilled Migration somewhat complex process given the there is no information published regarding ranking of applicants who file their expression of interest. The highest ranked clients by points score are invited to apply for the relevant visa. For applicants who have equal points scores, the time at which they reached their points score for that subclass (referred to as the date of effect) determines their order of invitation. Expressions of Interest with earlier dates of effect are invited before later dates.

The second round of invitations was issued on 11 August. Whilst slightly lower in comparison to last year’s August intake, there were a total of 2490 Skilled Independent Visa Invitations issued and a total of 10 Subclass 489 Skilled Regional Invitations issued.

Skills select first allocates places available to subclass 189 visas followed by provisional regional subclass 489 visas.  The current points cut off for subclass 189 visa is 70.  Provisional regional 489 visas points cut off is 80.

There is current no information available on any states or territories issuing subclass 190 nominations for the new financial year.

Key2VisasSummary

Home Affairs will continue to issue invitations for General Skilled Migration visas once a month.  Therefore, applicants with pending visa expiry who are in Australia may benefit from applying for another visa as an interim solution to remain in Australia whilst their expression of interest is processing. 

Contact one of our consultants today to discuss your circumstances.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein is of a general nature only and does not constitute immigration advice. For more detailed and case specific information or advice, please contact  Key2visas

Training Visa - Subclass 407

Restrictions around sponsored subclass 482 visas is forcing migrants to look at alternative visa options to remain in Australia.  These options may include subclass 407, Training Visa.

Subclass 407 visa aims to promote international goodwill by allowing Australian organisations to sponsor persons to travel to Australia to participate in occupational training activities, including classroom-based professional development activities. Whilst the visa is not designed to fill labour shortages and is, therefore, not an appropriate visa for persons whose sole intention is to undertake work. However, it does allow the visa holder to undertake occupational training with a sponsoring organisation that is consistent with the purpose of the visa granted.  This type of training may lead eligibility for another visa at a later date such as sponsored subclass 482 visa.

Briefly, subclass 407 visa allows persons who want to improve their occupational skills through participation in training in Australia with an Australian organisation, government agency or foreign government agency, including:

• training in the workplace that is required to obtain registration to be employed in the occupation of the visa applicant; or
• a structured workplace training programme tailored to enhance the existing skills of the visa applicant in an eligible occupation; or
• training programme that promotes capacity building overseas which includes the following subcategories:​

1. overseas qualification
2. government support
3. professional development

It is important to keep in mind that subclass 407 visa applicants must be sponsored by an organisation who is either an approved temporary activity sponsor.  An applicant is unable to apply for this visa without an employer.

Where a sponsoring organisation is not a Commonwealth agency, the sponsor is required to nominate the subclass visa applicant to undertake the proposed occupational training

Occupational training must be provided directly by the sponsor unless an exemption exists.

The duration of stay should be consistent with the training requirements of the visa holder and nomination type.  Generally, the visa is valid for a period of two years.

Key2visas Summary

There are currently over 90 visa subclasses available for applicants to travel to or remain in Australia.  The complexity of our immigration framework makes it important to determine the right visa type depending on the purpose of stay.  Subclass 407 visa is an excellent alternative to more complex visas such as subclass 482 (TSS Visa) as it allows less experienced migrants to gain further experience in order to qualify for skilled migration.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein is of a general nature only and does not constitute immigration advice. For more detailed and case specific information or advice, please contact Key2visas.