Adam Grey

1) Be very careful with this aspect. Engineers Australia have strict guidelines and it very much depends on whether your qualification is on the Sydney or Washington accord or if you go down the CDR route it can get quite complicated. Just because it's a bachelor degree, it doesn't mean they will assess it as at the required level for a professional engineer and may assess you as a technologist instead. 2) No 3) Yes - But you can also take the easier general training IELTS for points purposes 4) State lists and requirements change constantly. Better to concentrate on the skills assessment first

Hi Tubs, It's definitely worth sending your CV into some specialist nursing recruiters, a lot of the positions are found this way and they will also give you advice on completing the AHPRA registration process. All the best,

It's nothing to worry about, everyone got the same email. The DIBP published information regarding points test factors has been revised (probably just added some extra info/clarifications), but no regulations have been changed.

Something is getting a bit confused here. If you submitted an EOI for a 189 Visa in that occupation with 60 points or more, you would have had an invitation within a couple of weeks. If you submitted an EOI for a 190 Visa (which looks like the likely scenario) then you must apply for Sponsorship from the chosen state and if approved you will receive an automatic invitation to apply for a 190 visa. How many points do you have without considering State Sponsorship?

I wouldn't read anything into it. If you tick certain boxes (like yes to a health question or yes to military service) the system just flags it up as needing a case officer rather than automatically processing it. It then takes a little while because there's human involvement. You should still get a decision or some correspondence within a week.

Hello Clough, I work for a migration agency so am obviously in a biased position, but this is my honest opinion. The process can be done on your own and lots of people make successful applications without agents, but it does need a lot of research on many different processes. If you are methodical and take your time to fully understand everything then you should be fine, if you go into it without researching there's lots of things that can and often do go wrong. A good agent takes away all that research, tells you exactly what you need to provide them and can give peace of mind that the application is in good hands. There's still a lot of work involved for the applicant in terms of gathering documents, taking the tests etc, but an agent does provide a large benefit (albeit at a cost). A lot of people can tell you that they made an application on their own, they found it easy and an agent is completely unnecessary. Other people will say they found the agent invaluable and they couldn't have done it without them. It really boils down to how much work/study you're prepared to do yourself, how confident you are of being successful and the financial aspect. It's a personal decision. What I would recommend for absolutely everyone is that lots of Migration Agents offer free initial consultations/assessments. It is always worth taking advantage of this and getting and a professional opinion of your eligibility before moving forwards. In answer to your questions: 1) I can't see this specific question on the application form, but post-license employment is employment undertaken after obtaining a licence to perform plumbing work in whichever state you're in. 2) Have you taken the tradeset self-evaluation yet to see the type of experience that will be expected for that occupation and whether it fits your own experience? This should be the first step. Actual job/position titles aren't really important, it's the tasks and duties of the position that matter. All the best,

A 1st WHV with no complications is usually an instant automatic decision.

Hi Rink, Most of the companies we deal with in NSW are in the IT/Marketing/Medical/Recruitment/transport industries so I'm not really up to speed with the current climate for that particular occupation. 'Job Outlook' provides a good indication of employment prospects and it's always worth checking the number of vacancies on sites such as Seek.com.au. You can also get an indication of market trends using the start of fiscal year prospective summaries and salary surveys from Hays, Michael Page, Hudson, Robert Walters etc. Hope it works out for you.

Sorry to hear that CJenky. It's rough when the goalposts are moved halfway through the process and it's happening far too frequently now. Occupations are added and taken away depending on the current industry demand level in that state. Industry representatives are constantly in contact with the State Government and advising them of the current skill shortages/abundances so occupations can be added or taken away quite often. WA is feeling the pinch from the downturn in the mining industry which is now having a knock on effect to other support/service occupations. This is the reason why their occupation list has been dramatically reduced from the same period last year. If you let us know what your occupation is perhaps someone can help you with alternative options. All the best,

Im a little confused, are you the main applicant or a partner that was taking the skills assessment to claim partner skill points? Does the main applicant have a positive skills assessment yet? This must be prior to invitation so if you don't have it, even if you do receive an invitation from NSW or the DIBP you wouldn't be able to accept it and make a visa application. It's essential to make sure that if you're invited you can provide documentary evidence during the actual visa application to score at least the number of points you were invited under. If you're not 100% sure you really shouldn't submit the EOI. Gaining extra points after submitting the NSW SS application is not an issue.

Well if your experience closely matches the ANZSCO description the occupation of Quantity Surveyor has more options because it's on the SOL and the assessing authority are very efficient. If not and it matches the occupation of Construction Estimator, this appears on the CSOL so would require a State Nomination. It's currently on WA's schedule 2 list which would require a job offer to be successful with that state. Theres lots of other considerations too, but have a look at the tasks of similar occupations in ANZSCO first to see which best fits your previous experience. All the best,

This may help: http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/EnergySafety/Content/Licensing/Electrical_contractors_and_workers/Licensing.html

Or construction estimator as listed here: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/1220.0~First+Edition,+Revision+1~Chapter~UNIT+GROUP+3121+Architectural,+Building+and+Surveying+Technicians

Would the tasks and duties of your work experience closely match the tasks expected of a Quantity Surveyor as listed here? http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Product+Lookup/1220.0~First+Edition,+Revision+1~Chapter~UNIT+GROUP+2332+Civil+Engineering+Professionals

Hi Diana, Yes you can just update/amend the EOI by checking the 189 box. This can be done at any point up to invitation. I would suggest doing it quickly because there is a round of invitations next week and depending on your occupation and your EOI score you could get a quick invitation. Good luck,

Hi Catkins, My personal choice would be to go for the IELTS again if the result is that close. Its a £130 IELTS fee which can be completed as soon as there is an available place, against an AUD 1,000 TRA fee that can take 3 months and involves a lot of extra work/documentation. There's lots of IELTS tutors and training material that can help prepare him for the exam.

The best way to do it is to go on the ANZSCO website and carefully compare the skill level & tasks and duties of the different engineering occupations against the skill level & tasks and duties of your own previous work experience. Engineers Australia also have occupation profiles on their website and information on the criteria required for their assessment. Your qualification is also very important when it comes to determining the occupation as it may be accredited under the Washington or Sydney accords which EA use in their assessments.

You should fill out each question accurately and to the best of your knowledge. On the form 80 all employment and unemployment periods should be included. It should also have been mentioned on the application itself, although as you never claimed any partner skills points it is unlikely to cause any issues. Form 80s are part of the 'character assessment' and while they're not mandatory it is increasingly common for them to be requested for all PR applications, so it's easier just to complete them as standard and upload it.

Hi Catkins, Partner skills points can be obtained if the partner: 1) Gets a positive skills assessment in the occupation (TRA in your case) 2) Has competent English 3) The occupation is on the same occupation list as the main applicant's nominated occupation You'll have to weigh up whether it's worth going down that route because the TRA assessment is expensive and can take up to 3 months. In most cases people prefer to undertake a course of study and re-attempt the IELTS. Just to check, are you including in your assessment the 5 points you would obtain for State sponsorship?

Hi Angie, There's not really enough information to be able to make a definitive assessment, it really depends upon the specific details of both your previous work experiences, qualifications etc. I've seen a lot of demand recently for good ICT Sales Reps, account managers and marketing specialists, especially in the SEO/Adwords market. If your partner has over 5 years relevant experience in this field a 457 visa should be a consideration. All the best,

Hello Demmu, The process is a lot more complex than that. The position tasks/duties need to be inline with the ANZSCO occupation that is nominated and you need to be able to show through qualifications and/or previous experience that you meet the ANZSCO defined skill level. For the occupations you mentioned: a) Production Manager (manufacturing) has a skill level of a bachelor degree (or higher) or at least 5 years relevant experience. b) Primary Products Inspector NEC has a skill level of an AQF diploma (or higher) or at least 3 years relevant experience. There's a lot more involved in other aspects of the SBS, nomination and application too.

No problem. Yeah it could take up to 12 weeks, but if they're processing Oct 3 applications it would suggest 8 weeks would be a better estimate. If you're making the application from within Australia on a valid substantive visa then you will be issued with a bridging visa.

Hi Joe, It means that NSW are processing your state sponsorship application. If they approve, you will automatically receive an invitation to apply for your 190 visa through the SkillSelect system. All the best,

Only need to upload your marriage certificate and then long-form birth certificates for the children.

Each health question should be answered truthfully and accurately. A temporary bout of high blood pressure alone is no cause for concern with this assessment.