What is the cost & validity of ACS Skills Assessment?
If you want to move to Australia for a job that needs certain skills and qualifications, the ACS Skill Assessment is a crucial step in the immigration process. This assessment helps to determine whether an applicant’s qualifications and experience meet the standards required for their nominated occupation.
Australian Computer Society(ACS) is the skill assessment authority that assesses ICT skills, knowledge, and expertise. You must submit an RPL Report to the ACS for the skill assessment, mentioning your skills, experiences, and qualifications. It is a must to submit for skilled migration by selecting the proper ANZSCO Code.
It is essential to know the ANZSCO Code mentioned on the skilled occupation list, and you also need to find a suitable occupation as per your work and educational qualifications. In this blog, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the ACS Skills Assessment processing, including the price and how long it lasts.
Table of Contents
What is the ACS Skills Assessment?
The ACS Skills Assessment is a process created to check the qualifications and work experience of people who want to move to Australia for information and communication technology (ICT) jobs. It’s essential for various visa types, including popular ones like the Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) and Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) visas.
The ACS is the organization responsible for looking at ICT skills and qualifications. They review if your qualifications and work experience match the standards set by Australia for the job you want. Passing this assessment is crucial because it affects whether you can apply for certain skilled migration visas.
For Australian PR, you need to score at least 60 points currently. Once you have chosen the correct track for the suitable occupation as per the ACS Skills Assessment, then ACS Skills Assessment Processing time can be reduced by considering the mind documents requirement as ACS demands.
Why is the ACS Skills Assessment Important?
The ACS Skill Assessment serves several crucial purposes:
- Occupational Suitability: It ensures your qualifications and experience are suitable for the job you want in Australia.
- Visa Eligibility: To be eligible for many skilled migration visas, it’s essential to have a positive ACS Skills Assessment. This assessment serves as a requirement for visa approval.
- Job Opportunities: Passing this assessment can help you find job opportunities in Australia because many Australian employers look at it when hiring from other countries.
- Points for Skilled Migration: This assessment can also give you points in the Australian immigration system. These points are essential for meeting the requirements for some visas.
Now that we understand why the ACS Skills Assessment processing cost is vital.
Learn More: Can an Engineering technologist get a PR Visa? ⏱⌛️
Types of ACS skills assessment processing
The ACS skills assessment processing offers different types of assessments, and each comes with its own fee:
1. Skills Assessment
This is the usual assessment for most ICT jobs. It looks at your qualifications and work experience to see if they meet the Australian standards for your chosen occupation.
2. RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) Assessment
If you don’t have formal qualifications but have a lot of work experience in ICT, you can go for an RPL assessment. This kind of assessment focuses on your work experience and requires you to give detailed information.
3. Fast-Track Assessment
If you need your assessment done more quickly, you can choose the fast-track option, but it costs extra.
Please remember that these are approximate fees, which may have changed. To get the most accurate and up-to-date fee information, visiting the official ACS website or contacting them is a good idea.
Learn More: How effectively write and lodge an Expression of Interest (EOI)? 🧑🏽✈️🏆
Documents required for ACS Skills Assessment
Ensure the following important documents for the faster ACS skills assessment processing time in 2021 for the ACS Skill Assessment.
1. Personal Documents
You need to provide colored scanned copies of your passport to ACS with identity pages showing your name, address, and other documents. Mention if you have changed your name with proper documentation providing the same in the submitted report.
2. Curriculum Vitae/Resume
The Curriculum Vitae is an important document that needs to be provided to the ACS for the skill assessment. Ensure you provide complete information about your academic qualification and work experience that explain your roles and responsibilities against your selected occupation list.
It ensures your skill assessment can be done per your Australian skill standards. If the assessor finds it challenging to understand your documents, they will ask for additional documents to clarify doubts.
3. Qualification Documents
You need to include all your professional qualifications gained throughout your life, like diplomas, bachelor’s, master’s, and any other training. Provide all these documents in highly scanned copies. You must also provide transcripts, a mark sheet, and other certificates.
Also, mention the degree or title you completed, the University or college from where you completed the degree, the degree competition date, marks, and grades for each subject.
4. Work Experience
Work experience is vital in amplifying your ACS skills assessment processing time. A proper calendar, documents like salary slips, appointment letters, offer letters, and roles and responsibilities must be mentioned. Also, you must provide the total working hours per week, work location, and information if they need any information from your workplace.
5. Third-Party Statutory Declaration
The authorized person must verify the documents with the proper data and place. These working relationships with the applicant and the duties must be verified. The statement needs to provide:
- Employment Certificate
- Leaving Certificate if they are not working anymore
- Payment Proof includes two types of documentary-like tax records, payment summaries, and group certificates.
- Also, Payslips and Insurance or allowance documents stating names of the applicant and employer and bank statements showing salary records from the employer.
Validity of ACS Skills Assessment
The ACS Skill Assessment is valid for 24 months from the date of assessment approval. Usually, it takes 5-8 weeks for the processing. However, if the assessing authority is unsatisfied with your provided documents, they will ask you to provide additional documents, and the processing time will be unknown.
If your visa expiry date is less than 12 weeks from the date of application, then the applicant can seek priority or fast-track ACS skills assessment processing. Provide all the proof of the visa deadline. It includes the following document:
- Visa stamps displaying the deadline on their passport
- Visa entitlement verification
Learn More: How to Write an ACS RPL Report for Database Administrator? ✈️✈️
Cost of ACS Skills Assessment
- For Temporary Graduate Subclass 485 Visa – Skills Assessment: AUD585
- Post Australian Study Skills Assessment: AUD560
- Skills (general application): AUD560
- Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): AUD605
- Review Application: AUD 420
- Appeal Application: AUD420
Reference: Migration Skills: Individual Applicants | ACS
Each skills assessment fee covers eight assessment episodes for one application. An assessment episode can consist of either qualifications or employment documents. It means you can provide a mix of qualifications and employment records as long as the total doesn’t exceed eight episodes per application.
If you submit more than eight qualifications or employment records, there is an extra fee of $50 for each additional episode. The fees are in Australian dollars (AUD).
Payment Methods
ACS accepts various payment methods for their assessment fees, including credit/debit cards and bank transfers. The payment process for the ACS Skill Assessment is easy. You can pay a skill assessment fee via a credit card or bank transfer, and ACS accepts Visa Card, MasterCard, and American Express. ACS fees are not fixed. It fluctuates.
Be sure to follow their guidelines for ACS skills assessment processing payment to ensure your application is processed smoothly.
Fee Waivers and Discounts
In some cases, individuals facing financial hardship or sponsorship by an Australian employer may be eligible for fee waivers or discounts. Check the ACS website for information on eligibility and application procedures if you qualify for such considerations.
ACS Skill Assessment Status
With the recommendations provided by the Australian Computer Society(ACS), you can directly log in to your dashboard and track the current status of your report.
ACS Skill Assessment Validity
The ACS Skill Assessment is valid for two years, and the evaluation cycle is 12 weeks.
Renewal of ACS Skill Assessment
The ACS Skill Assessment evaluation expires after two years of the ACS skills assessment processing. If your skill assessment expires before the visa lodgment process, applicants need to renew their ACS Skill Assessments, and the renewable process needs your experiences to be updated.
Applicants can indeed reuse their transcripts and degrees for their previous skill assessments. For fast-tracking, applicants need to send their old assessment reference ID.
Why choose CDRReportWriters?
Australian General Skilled Migration involves several steps, including skills assessment from a relevant authority such as ACS or Engineers Australia. This includes applying for a state nomination, completing the necessary documentation, preparing an RPL Report, CV, employment reference letter, detailing work experience, and awaiting an invitation.
For this, if you need professional expert advice and guidelines, then contact CDRReportWriters. We have an expert team to write RPL reports with 100% genuine content and plagiarism-free.
Learn More: How to prepare CPD for your CDR Report? 🧑🏽✈️🏆
Conclusion
The ACS SkillS Assessment is crucial for professionals aspiring to work in Australia’s tech industry, ensuring qualifications match job standards. Submitting an RPL Report and selecting the correct ANZSCO Code is essential for skilled migration, requiring a minimum score of 60 points for Australian PR.
To reduce processing time, prepare the necessary documents. Typically, the ACS skills assessment processing assessment is valid for two years, but stay updated on changes. Fast-track processing is an option if your visa is expiring soon.
Costs vary based on assessment type and location; check the latest fees on the ACS website and explore potential discounts. Fees cover eight assessment episodes, be they qualifications or employment records, with a $50 fee per additional episode.
For guidance and assistance, including RPL reports, turn to CDRReportWriters. We offer expert support for a successful journey into Australia’s tech sector. Good luck!
