On 12 September, the Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for Immigration released a joint media statement:announcing the launch of skills-assessment reform targeting migration and local business.

The government has released a discussion paper on the [New Standards for Skilled-Migration Assessing Authorities], which is now open for public submissions.It notes that the current skills-assessment process is complex, expensive and lengthy, and that the existing system needs to be improved and simplified.

Public consultation period: opens 11 September 2023 and closes 23 October 2023

You can visit the link below ↓ and scroll to the bottom to find the button for lodging a submission

https://consultations.dewr.gov.au/best-practice-principles-and-standards-for-skilled-migration-assessing-authorities

The Seven Principles of the Reform

As a starting point for discussion, the Department has provided a draft setting out principles and standards across seven areas

Principle 1: A good user experience

In short: timely updates, useful and easy-to-understand information, and information provided in multiple formats

Principle 2: A reasonable fee structure

Fees should correspond to the cost of assessment and should not impose unreasonable cost barriers on prospective migrants;applicants should receive value for money, and the new rules may include:

– Providing transparency on how fees are set and what they include

– Innovating through collaboration to identify and implement cost-effective strategies, and pursuing opportunities and practices to remain cost-competitive in the global market

– Conducting regular and strategic reviews of fees to ensure that skills-assessment services remain appropriate and commensurate with demand in an evolving skilled-migration environment

For example: current assessing authorities demonstrate transparency through information on their websites by providing a clear fee structure that outlinesthe various service products applicants can choose according to their needs. Applicants can obtain certain discounts or concessions by freely combining different assessment services.

Principle 3: Assessment standards based on fair, reasonable and highly relevant information, ensuring they are forward-looking

The new rules may include:

– Ensuring that skills-assessment standards do not exceed industry requirementsor any registration or licensing requirements of the employer and the occupation.

–English-language requirements should be aligned with visa and industry standards, so as to reduceinconsistency and confusion during the migration application process.

– Reviewing skills assessments regularly, and consulting regularly withkey industry stakeholders such as employers and unions, to ensure ongoing relevance and competitiveness in the global market

For example (they posed a scenario): an industry peak body advises an assessing authority that setting a bachelor’s degree as the minimum qualification exceeds the skill level required, so the assessing authority lowers the qualification requirement to a Certificate III/IV plusrelevant work experience.

Principle 4: Fair and impartial assessment

Applicants are not treated differently because of their background;the new rules may include:

– Rules that are fair, objective and consistent
– A flexible skills-assessment process tailored to different applicants

–Providing a clear and fair complaints, review and appeals process

For example: where work experience or qualifications cannot be provided for assessment, practical experience may be used for assessment or alternative approaches may be offered.

Principle 5: Efficient and timely delivery of outcomes

The new rules may include:

– Adopting an efficient and streamlined assessment process,to minimise unnecessary delays or backlogs at any stage

– Using technology to monitor case volumes and to systematise and streamline administrative tasks

–Developing robust contingency plans to respond to fluctuations in demand and the continuallyevolving scale of skilled migration

For example,establishing a client-relations team, ensuring the completeness of applications, communicating and reviewing regularly, removing redundant requirements, and eliminating duplicate exams and occupational registration/licensing requirements

Principle 6: Making assessment outcomes useful in practice

Helping prospective migrants “convert” their assessment outcomes into genuinely meaningful work.

Principle 7: Operational integrity and transparency

–Engaging and collaborating with government on an ongoing basis by providing skills data, assessing case volumes, trends and outcomes — including data disaggregated by gender — and developing and testing policy solutions to meet the needs of migrants and employers

Skills assessment is the first step in most of Australia’s skilled-migration pathways; if you can’t get past the first step, there is generally little prospect of going further.For a long time, the assessing authorities for different occupations have each held something of a monopoly, so their rules and processing have long been the subject of criticism.

Some bodies had previously called for the skills-assessment requirement to be scrapped altogether.But to be honest,scrapping skills assessment would fundamentally change the entire requirements of Australia’s skilled-migration system, and even if it could be done, it would be extremely time-consuming and labour-intensive.So for now, it looks like the government wants to reform it rather than abolish it outright.

The seven principles set out in this discussion paper are very broad and rather formal, and the examples are quite general — though that’s understandable, since being broad leaves more room for discussion.On fees, delivery, flexibleassessment standards, andresponding sensibly and scientifically to fluctuations in application volumes, the paper really does “hit the nail on the head”.。

All major reforms begin with a draft and a call for submissions, which is very much in keeping with the Australian style — and it also means this will take a while to play out. We applicants don’t ask for much:we just want to know whether it can be cheaper? faster? clearer?

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