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ICT
ACS
Australian Computer Society. ICT, data science and cyber security occupations.
Visit ACSSkills assessment · The assessing authorities
Your skills assessment, and who actually does it.
Almost every skilled and employer sponsored visa turns on a positive skills assessment from the authority named for your occupation. The authority is set by legislative instrument, not by choice, and picking the wrong one wastes months and the fee. This page lists every assessing authority with a direct link to its own site.
Before you pay a fee
Three things people get wrong
A skills assessment is the step where the most time and money is lost, almost always for the same three reasons.
Choosing the authority instead of reading the instrument
The authority is fixed for your occupation by legislative instrument. You cannot choose a different one because it looks faster or cheaper. Where the instrument names more than one, as it does for the accounting occupations, the choice is real and worth advice.
Employment references in the wrong form
Every authority sets its own evidentiary standard for duties, hours, dates and payment. A reference that satisfies your employer will not necessarily satisfy the assessor. This is the single most common cause of a negative outcome.
Assessing the occupation you have, not the one you need
The nominated occupation drives the visa, the points, the state nomination and the assessment. Getting a positive outcome for the wrong occupation is a costly way to start again.
The directory
Every assessing authority, with its own link
Find your occupation on the Department's skilled occupation list, which names the assessing authority against each occupation, then open that authority here. We do not reproduce the occupation lists, because they change and the Department's own list is always current.
Showing all 38 authorities.
Engineering
Engineers Australia
The Institution of Engineers Australia. Most professional engineering occupations.
Visit Engineers AustraliaTrades
TRA
Trades Recognition Australia. Licensed and technical trade occupations. A Commonwealth service, and the body that runs the Job Ready Program and the offshore and onshore trade assessment programmes.
Visit TRAOther professions
VETASSESS
Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services. A very broad range of general professional occupations, plus a defined set of trade occupations.
Visit VETASSESSAccounting and finance
CPA Australia
CPA Australia Ltd. Accounting, auditing and finance occupations.
Visit CPA AustraliaAccounting and finance
CA ANZ
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. Accounting, auditing and finance occupations.
Visit CA ANZAccounting and finance
IPA
Institute of Public Accountants Ltd. Accounting, auditing and finance occupations.
Visit IPATeaching
AITSL
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. School teaching occupations.
Visit AITSLTeaching
ACECQA
Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority. Early childhood education and child care occupations.
Visit ACECQAHealth
ANMAC
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council. Nursing and midwifery occupations.
Visit ANMACHealth
Medical Board
Medical Board of Australia. Medical practitioner occupations.
Visit Medical BoardHealth
ADC
Australian Dental Council. Dental occupations.
Visit ADCHealth
APharmC
Australian Pharmacy Council. Pharmacy occupations.
Visit APharmCHealth
APC
Australian Physiotherapy Council. Physiotherapy.
Visit APCHealth
OTC
Occupational Therapy Council of Australia. Occupational therapy.
Visit OTCHealth
APS
The Australian Psychological Society. Psychology occupations.
Visit APSHealth
SPA
Speech Pathology Australia. Speech pathology.
Visit SPAHealth
Dietitians Australia
Dietitians Association of Australia. Dietetics. The instrument still uses the legacy name; the body trades as Dietitians Australia.
Visit Dietitians AustraliaHealth
ASMIRT
Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy. Medical imaging and radiation therapy occupations.
Visit ASMIRTHealth
AIMS
Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists. Laboratory medicine and pathology occupations.
Visit AIMSHealth
ANZSNM
Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine. Nuclear medicine technology.
Visit ANZSNMHealth
ACPSEM
Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine. Medical physics.
Visit ACPSEMHealth
OCANZ
Optometry Council of Australia and New Zealand. Optometry.
Visit OCANZHealth
Podiatry Board
Podiatry Board of Australia. Podiatry.
Visit Podiatry BoardHealth
CCEA
Council on Chiropractic Education Australasia. Chiropractic. Note the correct domain is ccea.com.au; a .org.au link is out of date.
Visit CCEAHealth
AOAC
Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council. Osteopathy.
Visit AOACHealth
AVBC
Australasian Veterinary Boards Council. Veterinary science.
Visit AVBCHealth
AOPA
The Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association. Orthotics and prosthetics. Named in the instrument. Confirm the current process with the Association before you apply.
Visit AOPAOther professions
AASW
Australian Association of Social Workers. Social work occupations.
Visit AASWOther professions
ACWA
Australian Community Workers Association. Community and welfare services occupations.
Visit ACWAOther professions
AACA
Architects Accreditation Council of Australia. Architecture.
Visit AACAOther professions
AIQS
The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. Quantity surveying.
Visit AIQSOther professions
ISNSW
Institution of Surveyors New South Wales. Land surveying. ISNSW replaced the Geospatial Council of Australia as the assessing authority for Surveyor on 27 March 2026.
Visit ISNSWOther professions
NAATI
National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. Translating and interpreting occupations.
Visit NAATIOther professions
CASA
Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Aviation flight crew occupations.
Visit CASAOther professions
AMSA
Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Seagoing maritime occupations.
Visit AMSAOther professions
IML ANZ
Institute of Managers and Leaders. Senior management and leadership occupations.
Visit IML ANZOther professions
Legal admissions authority
The legal admissions authority of a State or Territory. Legal practitioner occupations. There is no single national body: you deal with the admissions authority of the relevant State or Territory, so contact us and we will point you to the right one.
Contact us for the right authorityNo authority matches that search. Your occupation may be assessed by a body listed under another profession, or it may not require an assessment at all. Send us an enquiry and we will check.
Some occupations name more than one authority, and the choice is a real one: the accounting occupations may be assessed by CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand or the Institute of Public Accountants, and Engineering manager may be assessed by Engineers Australia or the Institute of Managers and Leaders. A small number of occupations require no assessment for a particular visa. The authority that applies to you is confirmed from the current instrument before any fee is paid.
How we work
How we run a skills assessment
Every matter runs under a written agreement that sets out the work and the fee before anything begins.
01
Occupation first
We settle the nominated occupation against your actual duties and the visa you are aiming at, before anyone pays a fee.
02
The right authority
We confirm the assessing authority from the current instrument, and where more than one is named, we advise on which suits your history.
03
Evidence to that authority's standard
We prepare the employment references, qualification documents and, where required, the skills assessment forms to the form that authority expects.
04
Outcome to visa
We diarise the validity period, and plan the expression of interest or nomination so the assessment is still valid at invitation.
What is required
What an assessment usually requires
The detail differs by authority. These are the elements common to almost all of them.
- A nominated occupation, identified by its ANZSCO code, that matches your actual duties rather than your job title
- Qualifications assessed as comparable to the Australian standard for that occupation, with certified copies and translations
- Employment references on letterhead stating duties, hours, dates and salary, in the form that authority requires
- Evidence that the employment was paid and, for most authorities, that it was at the required skill level
- English language evidence where the authority requires it, which is separate from the visa English requirement
- For several trade occupations, a practical or technical assessment, and for Australian trade graduates the Job Ready Program through Trades Recognition Australia
- The authority's fee, which is paid to the authority and is not refunded if the outcome is negative
The law we apply
The assessing authority for each occupation is specified in the Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019 (Cth). The list on this page reflects Compilation No. 5, compilation date 28 March 2026, as amended by the Migration Legislation Amendment (Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2026 (Cth), which commenced 27 March 2026.
That amendment replaced the Geospatial Council of Australia with the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales as the assessing authority for Surveyor, and added Data scientist, assessed by the Australian Computer Society.
Skills assessment requirements sit in the Schedule 2 criteria for each visa in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). A positive assessment is a criterion for the visa; it is not itself a visa decision.
Authorities, their names and their processes change. This list was checked against the instrument and every link opened on 17 September 2026. Confirm the current authority for your occupation before you pay a fee.
Honest assessment
Where skills assessments go wrong
These are the issues that most often decide a skills assessment. We raise them before anything is lodged.
Duties that do not match the ANZSCO description
Assessors compare your references against the ANZSCO description line by line. A senior title with duties one level below is the most common reason for a negative outcome.
Unpaid, part time or family employment
Most authorities require paid employment at the required skill level, and several will not count work for a family business without independent corroboration.
Documents that cannot be verified
Authorities contact employers and institutions directly. A reference the employer will not stand behind is worse than no reference at all.
An assessment that expires before invitation
The outcome must be valid when the invitation is issued, not when the expression of interest is lodged. Long waits in the pool catch people out.
Common questions
Skills assessment questions
How do I know which authority assesses my occupation?
It is set by legislative instrument for each occupation, and the Department publishes the current skilled occupation lists showing the assessing authority against each occupation. Use the link above to the Department's occupation list, then find your authority in the directory on this page. If more than one authority is named, the choice matters and is worth advice.
Can I choose a different authority if one is faster?
No. The authority is fixed for your occupation, unless the instrument names more than one, which it does for several accounting occupations and for a small number of others.
What is the difference between Trades Recognition Australia and VETASSESS?
They are different bodies. Trades Recognition Australia is a Commonwealth service that assesses licensed and technical trades and runs the Job Ready Program for Australian trade graduates. VETASSESS is a non government body that assesses several hundred general professional occupations and a separate, defined group of trades. The instrument names one or the other for your occupation, so the answer is never a matter of preference.
How long does a skills assessment take?
It varies by authority and by how complete the evidence is, from a few weeks to several months. Each authority publishes its own processing times on the site linked in the directory above.
My assessment was negative. What now?
Most authorities offer a review or an appeal, usually within a short window and often on the papers already lodged. Whether to seek review, reapply with better evidence or change the nominated occupation depends on the reasons given. Send us the outcome letter and we will tell you candidly.
Do I need a skills assessment for a subclass 482?
Only where your occupation or your passport requires one. It is not universal for the 482, unlike the points tested visas and the subclass 186 Direct Entry stream.
Related pathways
Next step
Get the occupation and the authority right the first time
Send us your qualifications, your employment history and the visa you are aiming at. We will confirm the nominated occupation, the assessing authority that applies and what that authority will want to see, before you pay anything.
07 3519 5619Office, Monday to Friday
info@migrationstar.com.auEmail us any time
Level 2, 8 Clunies Ross CourtEight Mile Plains QLD 4113, Brisbane
The information on this page is general in nature, current as at 17 September 2026, and does not take account of your individual circumstances. It is not immigration assistance or legal advice. Assessing authorities, their fees, processing times and evidence requirements change, and the authority that applies to your occupation is confirmed from the current legislative instrument at the time of advice under a written agreement. No agent can guarantee a visa outcome or a skills assessment outcome. Migration Star, Registered Migration Agents, MARN 1797395.