ACS Migration Skills Assessment

For information on the different kinds of visas available and requirements for migration to Australia, visit the website of the Department of Home Affairs. 

Please note that ACS provides details on the eligibility requirements in applying for a skills assessment under the Migration Skills Assessment program but does provide specific information on migration or visa requirements. 

If you are a skilled IT, Data Science or Cyber Security professional or international student who wishes to migrate to Australia, you will need to have your skills and knowledge assessed through the ACS Migration Skills Assessment BEFORE you can apply for a visa.  

For applications that do not require any requests for additional documentation or information, please allow between 4 - 6 weeks for the skills assessment to be completed.  

Application for ACS Migration Skills Assessment can be made through the ACS Application Migration Skills Assessment portal. 

That depends on the Application Pathway you choose to follow. Explore the different Application Pathways.

The ACS Migration Skills Assessment will review your personal identification documents and then assess if your educational qualifications and/or work experience are at a professional ICT level and closely related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) for migration purposes.

ACS will review your qualification(s) to determine the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) comparability. The course units of your qualification are assessed to determine whether the professional ICT content is considered an ICT professional unit or not. The outcome of the Assessment will note if your qualification is a Major, Minor or if the ICT content is Insufficient.

An ACS Assessor will review which ICT units are considered closely related to your nominated occupation. Once your qualification(s) have been assessed as outlined above, the assessor will then determine the amount of relevant work experience required to meet the suitability criteria. Your employment episode(s) are then assessed to determine if they are considered closely related and at the appropriate skill level, to your nominated occupation, underpinned by SFIA (Skills Framework for the Information Age). 

Please Note: Due to the complex nature of the assessment process, ACS cannot advise if your qualification or work experience is suitable UNTIL AFTER a full assessment has been completed.

Due to the extensive and complex nature of an ICT skills assessment, it is not possible to offer pre-assessment advice. A formal assessment needs to be completed before any advice is provided. 

If your IT, Data Science or Cyber Security occupation is on one of the following lists, ACS is your correct assessing authority: 

IT Occupations and ANZSCO assessed by ACS

Data Science Occupations and ANZSCO assessed by ACS

Cyber Security Occupations assessed by ACS

If your occupation is not on one of the above lists, visit the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA) List of Eligible Skilled Occupations to find your correct assessing authority. 

For information regarding skilled occupations, visit Australian Bureau of Statistics.

ACS conduct skills assessment on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs as part of the overall visa application process. ACS determines if an applicant has the required ICT qualifications and experience needed for employment in Australia. 

Check with the Department of Home Affairs if you need a skills assessment before you apply for your visa.  

Once you understand your requirements and have read and understood the Skills Assessment Guidelines for Applicants, you can start your ACS Migration Skills Assessment application.  

If you decide to reapply and you have a previous completed assessment and/or have an existing account with the ACS, you will need to log into the applicant portal, and start a new application.   

Login via the applicant portal using your email address and password.  

No. ACS does not require any English language tests for skills assessments. 

Each applicant is assessed on an individual basis and must meet the ACS assessment criteria. 

Only professional ICT work experience undertaken from 18 years and over is applicable. 

A priority request is ONLY available for Australian visa deadlines less than 12 weeks from the date of application. Applicants must allow at least 2 weeks’ notice of the deadline. If your visa is due to expire, this will be automatically checked when you submit your application, and your application will be accepted for priority processing.  

No. This is a courtesy service to help applicants with visa deadlines for priority processing.