Q. I have worked several years as an accountant, but I do not have any formal qualifications. How will my skills be assessed for the purpose of migration?
A. You must have formal tertiary qualifications to be considered as a skilled Accountant for the purpose of migration to Australia. If you do not have qualifications, which are assessed as at least comparable to the educational level of an Australian Bachelor degree, your qualifications will be assessed as not suitable for the purpose of migration under your skilled migration occupation. For example, if you have completed an Australian TAFE diploma only, you should not apply for skills assessment with the Institute.
Q. I do not have a university handbook/course outlines, what can I do?
A. Most universities keep information about their courses. This information can be in the form of lecture notes, detailed course outlines or brief descriptions in the university calendars or handbooks. If you have not retained your course outlines, you must contact your university and ask them to provide you with the description of the subjects. If you studied in recent years, the information may also be available on the university website and you may print out the relevant sections of the handbook.
Without course outlines we cannot fully assess your qualifications, as we cannot determine what you studied. We cannot accept a statutory declaration in lieu of course descriptions certified by the university.
Q. I am a member of a professional organisation/accounting body, which is highly regarded in my country. However, I did not find my qualification in the list of recognised or partially recognised accounting bodies. Will my membership be recognised?
A. If the accounting body of which you are a member is not listed as a recognised or partially recognised accounting body, the Institute does not recognise any studies undertaken through this organisation. In this case your qualifications will be assessed based on your tertiary studies.
Q. I am a member of a fully or partially recognised accounting body – do I need to supply my tertiary documents?
A. If you would like your degree noted on your skills assessment letter, you must provide evidence of your degree completion (a degree certificate or a note on your academic transcript noting that you have completed all the requirements of the degree).
Q. I am an overseas student and currently completing an Australian Masters degree. Will my Masters course be recognised by the Institute for migration purposes?
A. The first requirement to be recognised as a skilled migrant in all occupations assessed by the Institute is that a person holds a Bachelor degree, which is assessed as at least comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree. This may be in any discipline. Next, the person’s level of core knowledge areas is assessed. Generally, if you have a non-accounting Bachelor degree recognised by the Institute, you can qualify by completing an accredited conversion course or Masters course through an Australian university to satisfy the minimum core knowledge areas.
If your Bachelor degree is assessed by the Institute and/or AEI-NOOSR as not being comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree, you can only qualify by completing an Institute accredited Masters degree through an Australian university. In this case the degree must consist of at least 16 semester subjects which includes all the subjects listed by the Institute plus optional postgraduate subjects to make up a total of 16 subjects. Please note that you should only apply for migration when you have finished the 16 subjects, and the Masters degree has been awarded to you. If you are unsure whether your undergraduate degree from overseas is comparable and recognised by the Institute you should contact the Qualifications Coordinator.
Q. Can the Institute please return the documents I submitted for skills assessment?
A. The Institute has an obligation to keep on file all documents submitted for the purpose of pre-application skills assessment. This is because DIAC may at a later date during the migration process, ask to refer to documents we have on file.
As we do not return documents, please ensure that you are aware of the documents that are required to be submitted with your application to DIAC following your skills assessment by us.
However, if you have given us original academic documents, we can return them to you. Please note that:
- Notarial Certificates from China are not considered original documents and cannot be returned to you. If you need to submit a Notarial Certificate to DIAC when lodging your migration application, you must have another Certificate prepared by a Notary Public.
- Original letters of good standing from Professional Accounting Bodies cannot be returned to you.
Q. I don’t have all the documents required yet – can you start my assessment while you are waiting for them?
A. The Institute is unable to start assessing an application without all the relevant documents. If you are missing documents, we will advise you which ones we need so we can finalise your assessment.
Q. Why does the assessment take so long? Is there anything I can do to expedite the assessment?
A. Applications are processed in the order of date received of all required documents. The Institute is continuously receiving a large number of applications. It would be unfair to the other applicants to complete your application before the others. There is no “urgency fee”. However, we will do our best to attend to applicants with special circumstances quicker than the usual assessment time (for example if the applicant is nearing 45 years of age).
Q. Will I get 60 points for my skills from the Institute? How many points will I get for my work experience?
A. The Institute does not award any points for skills or work experience. The points are administered by DIAC. You should consult the General Skilled Migration booklet available from DIAC about the current number of points attributed to a particular occupation.
Q. I have a finance degree and wish to be assessed as a finance manager (ASCO Code 1211-11) for the purpose of migration. How will the Institute assess my qualifications?
A. All occupations assessed by the Institute are assessed against the same set of criteria.
Based on ASCO definitions finance managers oversee the financial operations of the organisation. They direct the collection of financial accounting information and the preparation of budgets, reports, forecasts and statutory returns. Finance managers coordinate the development, implementation and monitoring of accounting systems. They also advise on investment strategies, sources of funds and distribution of earnings as well as assess capital finance proposals. Australian employers generally expect finance managers to be Chartered Accountants or CPA qualified.
Therefore, if you are majoring in finance, and have not completed sufficient studies in the core knowledge areas required by the Institute, it is likely that you would be assessed as not suitable for the occupation of finance manager for the purpose of migration to Australia.
Q. Do I need a migration agent when applying for a skills assessment?
A. No. Applications can be made by individuals as well as migration agents.
Q. Can Institute provide me with a list of recognised universities and degree qualifications?
A. The Institute can provide you with a list of Australian universities that have Institute accredited courses/subjects only.
Q. I do not know what ASCO occupation to nominate. Will you provide assessment results with more than one ASCO code?
A. No. DIAC will only allow you to nominate one occupation. If you wish to change your ASCO Code you can apply for a review after your initial letter has been forwarded to you. This will incur a Review Fee.
Q. I do not agree with the assessment of my qualifications – what can I do?
A. You may apply to have your qualifications reassessed. This assessment will be completed by a different assessor than the one who provided the original assessment and will independently go through the documentation submitted with the original application together with any new documentation. This will incur a Review Fee.
Q. I have lost my skills assessment letter and I need a new one – what can I do?
A. You may apply to have your letter reissued. This will incur a Reissue of Letter fee.
Q. I have an undergraduate degree from China. Do I need to have my qualifications verified by Vetassess?
A. Applicants that hold an undergraduate degree from China need to firstly apply to have their Chinese degree awards and academic transcripts verified through the Vocational Educational Training and Assessment Services (VETASSESS). Vetassess will send the original verification report directly to the Institute or to you. If you receive this please forward the original report to us so we can continue with your assessment. Please refer to the VETASSESS website for further information including details of the procedure for lodgment of an application for Chinese Qualification Verification. Notarial documents will not be accepted in lieu of the original verification report from VETASSESS.
|
The Institute’s education and training pathway is the preferred choice for industry professionals.
Considering a career as a Chartered Accountant? Looking for the next step in your professional life?
The Institute is leading the debate in the areas that matter most to business and the accounting profession. 
The Institute produces an invaluable suite of tools, guidance, products and services to help members in their work. 
Print this Article
Email this Article
