In 2023, Australia has been more welcoming for its immigrant, specially Engineers from abroad. There are visa categories like 189 visa, 190 visa and 491 visa for skilled Immigrant Engineers. These visa categories are point based and they have points ranging from 5 points to 20 points.
The full point that a person can get for the work in Australia is 20 points. It doesn’t matter whether a person gets full 20 points for overseas work experience or Australian Work Experience. For working at least 8 years overseas, the Engineer will get 15 points. For working 8 years in Australia, the Engineer will get 20 points. For example, if an applicant has worked for 9 years overseas and has completed 8 years working in Australia, he won’t get 35 points for his work experience. He will only get 20 points at most.
For claiming 5 points for working Experience, you can either work upto 5 years overseas or work for 3 years in Australia. Australian experience is given more importance than overseas experience because Engineers in Australia have specific work ethics and technical requirements.
Your work experience must also be assessed by relevant bodies according to the ANZSCO codes. For most of the Engineering related professions, Engineers Australia does the task of assessing the work experience. If Engineers Australia doesn’t find your application suitable or rejects the application, you can apply to assess your qualification through VETACCESS.
Demonstration of Work Experience for Engineers Australia for People doing Jobs
To demonstrate your work experience in order to claim 5 points for the work experience, you have two pathways. In case of demonstrating your work experience in a job, you have to submit two kinds of documents namely Primary documents and secondary documents.
Primary Document
Primary document consists of an official letter of reference on company letterhead. The official letter should indicate 5 main specific duties undertaken, job title or position. It should indicate the exact duration of employment ( with dates in the format dd/mm/yyyy ).The letter should be endorsed by supervisor, The number of hours of job should be indicated along with the pay rate. The company should have stamp if available.
Secondary Document
Secondary document consists of Income Tax Return Acknowledgement or Receipt or Social Security Insurance/ Superfund/ Provident Fund/ Retirement Contribution Statement Reports or both. Alternative it can consist of Work Permit/Residence Permit and Official Contract Document from the Ministry of Labour etc.. (indicating your wage, title and employer’s name)
Alternate Way of Primary & Secondary Document
There is an alternative way of demonstrating the work experience through job. In this pathway, the primary document will consist of reference letter on official company letterhead to indicate the exact period of employment (commencement and completion dates in dd/mm/yyyy format); The reference must be endorsed and dated by the manager/ direct supervisor/ HR Section (with official telephone & email address). In addition to this, either the job offer letter with main position/ duties descriptions on employer’s official letterhead or the annual performance review of the applicant on the employer’s official letterhead must be submitted.
The secondary document to this alternative pathway are Income Tax Return Acknowledgement or Receipt; and/or Social Security Insurance/ Superfund/ Provident Fund/ Retirement Contribution Statement Reports. AND/OR Work Permit/Residence Permit; and Official Contract Document from the Ministry of Labour etc.. (indicating your wage, title and employer’s name).
Engineer’s Australia mentions in its website that Relevant skilled Employment will not be recognized for applications submitted without all required documents. The secondary evidence of employment must cover the entire period of employment and mention the name of the applicant and the name of his/her employer.
Demonstration of Work Experience for Engineers Australia for People doing Business
Primary Document
For the people who give the proof of their employment as self- employed, the primary document consists of letters from clients or contracting employers on their official letterheads stating the name of the employer, the engineering duties and task performed, the exact period of employment with dates in the format dd/mm/yyyy, number of hours worked per week and the pay rate. The invoice issued for the service should also be provided. The Number of the staff employed by the applicant should also be mentioned along with their profession and organization chart.
Secondary Document
The secondary document for the self employed applicant will consist of Business tax report covering the period of entire business operation, personal income tax return if applicable, payroll tax receipts of the employees (if applicable), social security contribution covering the period of self employment (if applicable), business registration as an engineering company, compliance letter issued by the relevant authority if applicable and if possible, the business financial report of the period of self employment.
If Engineers Australia gives a positive assessment, you get your skilled assessment done and this will be valid for two years. While applying for visa categories, you must also submit the same work experience documents which you submitted to Engineers Australia for skill assessment and you will claim 5 points for 3 years of work experience done overseas.
For writing your CDR Report, CDR Expert will help you with their expertise of filling the gaps in your career overseas. You can message us for getting the most appropriate service package.