Skilled migrants in Australia are seeking certification in occupations outside of their own, causing a mismatch between the skills Australia thinks it is getting and the roles migrants are actually filling.
In one case uncovered by SmartCompany, a medical lab technician secured a positive skills assessment as a science technician ‘not elsewhere classified’.
Those occupations are assessed by two different skills assessment authorities that have differing English language requirements.
Immigration law experts say the skills assessment system is “inflexible” and a “simplification of the real world”, with the potential to funnel applicants towards the ‘wrong’ immigration pathway.
Efforts to strengthen and simplify the system, championed by the Albanese government, are underway.
But progress is slow going, even as immigration policy becomes a major political issue ahead of the next federal election.
Skilled migrants can become permanent residents of Australia through several visa subclasses, which require candidates to secure a skills assessment and show proof of their English language skills.
These skills assessments are governed by dozens of industry authorities, overseeing more than 650 occupations with varying eligibility criteria.
Different skills assessments also require varying English language skills, above and beyond what is required by the Department of Home Affairs for its temporary and permanent visa pathways.
In many cases, assessing authorities oversee closely related or overlapping occupations.
This odd situation means some individuals who do not meet the requirements for their actual occupation can become certified in a similar but separate occupation, pushing the limits of Australia’s skilled migration system.
SmartCompany understands at least one skilled migrant, who worked overseas in medical labs, could not obtain a skills assessment for their primary occupation because they did not meet the English language requirements set by the Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists (AIMS).
However, they successfully applied for a skills assessment under the ‘Science Technician not elsewhere classified’ occupation, overseen by Vocational Education and Training Assessing Services (VETASSESS), which does not test for English language skills.
They now successfully work in Australia in a medical lab – even though they did not obtain a skills assessment in that specific occupation.
SmartCompany does not suggest this individual is unqualified or incapable of performing the medical lab role, only that they secured a positive assessment for a different occupation than the one they’re employed in.
Further, skilled migrants are not bound to work in the occupation for which they secured a skills assessment.
However, the medical lab example shows an imperfect overlap between the skills assessment system and the standards expected by some real-world employers.
Some immigration law experts believe the structure and complexity of the skills assessment system is encouraging candidates to select occupations outside of their own for migration purposes.
Jordan Tew is a partner at Hannan Tew Lawyers, and an accredited specialist in immigration law.
“In certain situations, the inflexibility of the requirements also means that candidates are unable to obtain skills assessments in their correct occupations, which can lead them to seek alternate occupations that are a mismatch,” Tew told SmartCompany.
There are about 39 approved assessing authorities “who can set their own criteria including requirements around qualifications, work experience, English level, and others,” he added.
Tew added that here is an obvious need to ensure prospective migrants are suitably skilled to perform work in Australia, .
However, “some of these processes are quite complex, and in many instances are quite administratively heavy and lengthy,” making it difficult for some candidates to secure the skills assessment that best fits their occupation.
While some skilled migrants are obtaining skills assessments in occupations outside of their own, others are confused about which occupation they should select in the first place, owing to the overlap and similarities in the skills assessment system.
Each occupation correlates to a code within the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).
But ANZSCO does not capture the nuance of every possible occupation, and some assessing authorities build this uncertainty into their operating model.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS), the professional association for occupations in the technology sector, advises candidates to nominate not one, but three occupations and ANZSCO codes they would like to be assessed against.
Jackson Taylor, managing partner at Roam Migration Law, agrees with ACS’ ‘multiple choice’ approach, saying jobs in the real world don’t always correlate to specific occupation codes.
“The ANZSCO ‘jobs dictionary’ was initially developed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for statistical purposes… It was not intended for immigration purposes and has a number of ‘design constraints’ as set out in the ANZSCO introduction,” Taylor told SmartCompany.
“It is a simplification of the real world.
And in the real world people and jobs don’t fit into neat little boxes.
“It is not uncommon at all for people to be performing parts of all sorts of different ANZSCO occupations or even occupations that simply do not appear.”
The Albanese government has committed to reform with its Migration Strategy, recognising the complexity of the skills assessment process.
“The migration system is currently regarded by many who have to negotiate its complexities as lacking in efficiency and fairness,” according to the strategy, released in December 2023.
“It is a common refrain across almost all elements of the system, from occupation lists, to skills assessments, to the visa application process.
“Untangling the drivers of complexity requires improved policy and process, and greater flexibility and responsiveness.”
But efforts to reform the notoriously complex system are slow going.
In an attempt to “raise the integrity, quality and timeliness of migration skills assessments,” the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) opened a consultation on new best practice guidelines for skills assessment authorities in September 2023.
The consultation closed in October of that year, leading DEWR to declare the new guidelines “will be published in the coming months”.
Those guidelines are yet to be published.
SmartCompany understands that work is still underway, with skills assessment authorities able to follow the latest guidebook, issued in 2021.
Despite the time taken, immigration professionals like Tew and Taylor strongly support the government’s promise of immigration reform – and its recognition of major complexity in the skills assessment process.
“Things like implementing clear standards for approved authorities would be helpful to ensure consistency across the skills assessments, and improve the efficiency and outcome of these processes,” Tew said.
The government is now trying to “create a better framework”, Taylor added.
However, he said the system will always be subject to a “game of cat and mouse around identifying the lowest threshold for entry.”
“Like any and all systems (whether legal, technical, or otherwise) they are open to manipulation, gaming, and sadly it will always be the case,” he said.
In the next part of this series, SmartCompany will explore how the gaps in the migration system affect employers and small businesses, and what the assessing authorities think about potential changes to the system.
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Production Editor
Prior to joining SmartCompany, Mrinaal was the content head at Lawctopus. She has a dual degree in business and law, with a Masters in constitutional law. You can follow her on Twitter at @mrinaaldatt.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
