Richard Gregan

Yes, it's pretty difficult for primary teachers right now. In terms of a visa application, Victoria is sponsoring if you have teaching experience in one of their designated languages. But even with a visa, it's tough to get work. Regards, Richard

Hi Lindsey, You should email them and explain the situation. If errors have been made then they will rectify them at no cost and issue a replacement letter. They can even email it to you if you ask them (although this appears to be at their discretion - sometimes they insist on posting it). This has been our experience. You can also call ANMAC with your reference number. I wouldn't go lodging an EOI until you have rectified the dates issue on the result letter. Remember, you should only be claiming points in an EOI for experience that you can actually verify. If the ANMAC result letter contradicts your employment evidence then you're asking for trouble. Regarding the multiple nursing classifications depending on your role, this is ok as they are all closely related (first four digits of the ANZSCO are the same), so it can all be counted. Regards, Richard

ANMAC's result letter will positively assess all relevant employment taken since registration, as long as the applicant has also taken further training to top up the diploma to degree level. So with that in mind, immigration can go with ANMAC's advice (and have done so in the past), but one of the things about 'points test advice' is that it's exactly what it says: advice. Immigration are free to go with it, or make their own mind up. As DukeNinja says, the case officer may decide to only count post-degree experience as this is more in line with the Department's guidelines. As usual, there's no guarantees here. You may wish to err on the side of caution if you have the option to do so. Regards, Richard

An NVQ 2 is not at the required level for a plumber. However, as a result of doing the Vetassess skills assessment, he will be given an offshore technical skills record (OTSR) which can be used to apply for a provisional licence onshore. Although not a formal qualification as such, the OTSR can be used to generate 10 points in a visa application and is therefore equivalent to a level 3 qualification for assessment purposes (at least it has been so for our clients). However, bear in mind that Immigration will deduct the first three years of his work experience to count as an 'informal training period', the remainder being counted for points. He could generate additional points for Australian work experience also. Regarding the gas or roofing work. He'll need to demonstrate knowledge of one or the other. If he's done some recent learning on the gas side, and can demonstrate this to the assessor's satisfaction then he should be alright, but no guarantees. I advise doing some research into his overall visa options, or contact a registered agent for a no obligation assessment of his options. Regards, Richard

Sure he can. Vetassess and ACTS can assess carpenters and both are experience based. He'll need to investigate how many points he can generate for a skilled visa more generally as well of course. There's no point in passing a skills application, if it turns out you don't have enough points to apply for a visa in the first place. Due to his age, he'll be looking at taking an English language test as well to generate extra points. So I would suggest doing your own research on this, or contacting a registered agent for a no obligation assessment of his options. Regards, Richard

I would recommend Vetassess over Victoria University. Vic uni haven't provided a very good service in our experience. Regards, Richard

You can check the immigration website for the dates of the next invitation rounds. Regards, Richard

I would advise you to go to the ACS website. The ACS Guidelines there also include a reference template upon which you can base your employment statement. You should not be looking to plagiarise already existing reference statements as this is frowned upon by ACS and immigration in general. Regards, Richard

When it comes to a permanent skilled visa, you've got the choice of getting AHPRA registration first and then applying to ANMAC, or applying to ANMAC first and then getting your AHPRA later. The second option is easier in terms of visa process, unless you want the hassle of a flight to Australia purely to activate your registration. Regards, Richard

You can also contact a Registered Migration Agent for a free, no obligation assessment of your chances. After that, depending on whether you think the application will be tricky or not, you can choose to engage their services, or do your research and undertake the visa yourself. Regards, Richard

If you have a UK passport then your skilled visa option is via Vetassess. 4 years' full time paid work experience plus whatever qualification you have (if any). Of course, you'll also need to see if you qualify for a visa more generally. Regards, Richard

No problem. Make sure your evidence is comprehensive for the IELTS exemption. AASW are known to be quite stringent about this. Regards, Richard

Yes! Some of our clients from the West Coast of Scotland have had a few problems as well with PTE. Regards, Richard

Yes, I've come across it. As Verystormy says though, even if you manage to avoid IELTS for the skills assessment, you will still very likely need it for points at the visa stage - it will be the General version of the IELTS test for points though - PTE is another popular option. Regards, Richard

Immigration requires a minimum of 20 hours per week. They should accept an average of this. Some people work one week on one week off for example.

An NVQ 2 is not listed as a Level 3 equivalent on the Country Education Profiles (CEP), which is what I and other Registered Agents use (and pay an annual subscription for!) to assess the equivalency of qualifications. This is the same CEP that the Department uses, as well as the skills assessing authorities. When a qualification is not listed, then the qualification will be assessed on its own merits. A level 2 is almost guaranteed NOT to be accepted. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! At the moment, length of work experience is an issue. you've only just started in real terms. Regards, Richard

Some people find IELTS 'easier' (not sure that's the right word), others find PTE a better test for them to get their head around. It depends what environment you prefer. IELTS is a strict school exam style setup. It's quite severe, you even need to put your hand up to go to the loo (seriously). But PTE is a different sort of environment which some people also find challenging: it's essentially a language lab where you're sitting in rather a noisy room talking into a mic, along with a lot of other people doing the same - the PTE test is assessed by a machine, so if you have a strong regional accent then the system sometimes thinks you've got it wrong. I don't want to totally dismiss PTE, but I would just offer an alternative experience of it as we've heard it from our clients. There's a bit of a myth out there that PTE is a breeze compared to IELTS. It's more the case that they're different: 'horses for courses' as they say. Regards, Richard

It will be up to immigration to decide what level it compares to. The grading will depend on the university it's from, how many years it took to complete, and what country it's from. A Registered Migration Agent may have a paid subscription to the Country Education Profiles and be able to look up the qualification to see what the comparison is, but you would need to engage their services. Alternatively you can actually apply yourself to the Country Education Profiles for a subscription - it isn't cheap however: https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Services-And-Resources/services-for-organisations/Pages/Services-for-organisations.aspx Regards, Richard

ANMAC are not accepting any new applications from 15th December so you're too late to apply now anyway. You need to wait for the new system to go online on 15th January. Regards, Richard

The NVQ 2 is still below the required level. Hopefully you are looking at this as a stepping stone to a Level 3, which is at the right level. Even then, you still need 4 years full time paid employment experience as a plumber to apply for a skills assessment through Vetassess. Regards, Richard

It means exactly what you have listed. If an occupation requires a Level 2 qualification level, then whatever qualifications you submit from your own country will be assessed with the Level 2 Australian qualification requirement to see if it compares. If your qualification is deemed to be below the Australian requirement then your application will fail. Regards, Richard

Great job, well done!

Yes, and the letter must explicitly state that YOU (the named applicant) undertook this supervised practice. General statements such as 'students will typically have completed x number of days' etc are not enough, and indeed will still result in a rejection. Regards, Richard

Typically, AITSL says that the assessment takes 10 weeks from the receipt of all required documents. It's up to the case officer whether they strictly enforce this though. Also, assessments can be finalised earlier than 10 weeks. Hopefully it won't be too much longer. Regards, Richard

Certainly is. Certified copies are a pain, as is physically posting documents overseas. This will be much more straightforward and in line with immigration generally. Regards, Richard