ACS skills assessment - why not just upload original documents?

[Kurt]

I've collected employment references, university degrees and transcripts and I now need to produce certified copies of those in order to upload them to ACS.

 

My question is: Since I'm not sending the paperwork by post, do I really need certified copies? Statutory declarations bear notary seals since they have been witnessed and transcripts have university stamps on them. Perhaps it makes sense to have certified copies of my university degree since this is original and the embossed seal may not make it to a scanned PDF. Also, employment references are on official company letterhead so can these not be tracked as company details are on the letters themselves? The way I see it, having copies certified adds just another layer of indirection since all of the paperwork can already be traced.

 

Many thanks,

Kurt

[Ozmaniac]

Your logic is impeccable and and when you're applying for the actual visa, DIBP accepts uploads of colour scans of originals and doesn't require them to be certified (even though the document checklists still say they need to be certified). Skills assessment authorities make their own rules however and if the ACS says the documents need to be certified, that's what you'll need to send unless you have confirmation from them that uncertified scans are acceptable. You'd think the ACS (of all authorities) would appreciate what nonsense it is to add another layer, but they've never been known for their logic.