# ACS Skill Assessment



## noback (Apr 6, 2013)

I have some questions regarding ACS skill assessment for 189 visa.
1. ACS requires all documents certified and uploaded only. I'm wondering whether I could just color-scan the original documents? Has anyone done that before successfully?

2. Regarding the format/content of the employment reference. My employer could only provide it in certain format, e.g. without company logo/letterhead, would that be a problem? Is there any other option?

3. How long are those documents valid for? I have some documents issued years ago, could this be a problem?

It's highly appreciated that if anyone of you could comment or has ever done it before.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Noback -

Re #1, ACS is very picky about documents, and with the flood of bogus and fake documents coming from China and elsewhere these days, they may look even more closely at yours. You need to follow their rules - everything uploaded must be a PDF of a certified copy. 

Re #2 - See #1 above - if ACS could contact your employer directly and verify that they are employed by the company and are qualified to give you the reference, it might work, but it's still a risk. ACS will need to know why it was not possible to put the document on company letterhead and be satisfied with whatever reason is given.

Re: #3, no expiration date that I know of for employer references, as long as the reference was given after the employment was completed. You may want to double check the ACS guidebook for specifics.

Hope this helps - 

Best,

Mark Northam


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## noback (Apr 6, 2013)

Thank you Mark.
You're right ! Will try to get those documents certified just in case.
Will the signature from a Chinese Lawyer be fine or it has to be from Notary Public?


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Noback - 

Notary Public is best, as the person must be someone who by law is qualified to witness or certify copies for migration purposes in your country.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## alokkagarwal (Aug 26, 2013)

Hi Friends,

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who is seeing this thread and updating me accordingly.

I am a newbie to this forum and hence starting a new thread here for my queries and updates.
I applied for ACS Assessment on 26th August 2013.
It moved to Stage 1 on same day on 26th August 2013.
It moved to Stage 2 also on same day on 26th August 2013.
But, it is NOT moving further to next stage since then. Its been 8 days now.

I am a little curious & worried about it now.
I have completed Bachelor of Computer Applications in 2003 in full time.
I have completed Master of Computer Applications in 2007 in full time.
I joined a company for Technical Support in 2004 till 2005.
Late 2005, I joined another company as a Customer/Technical Support.
Mid 2010, I moved into a newly formed Software Testing team.

Throughout my work experience (of 8+ years), most of my roles & responsibilities were related to Software Testing though with different designations.

By going through my above quick profile, can anyone comment when I can expect a reply/confirmation from ACS for my assessment?

Thanks & Regards,
Alok


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Alokk -

ACS skills assessments typically take 10-12 weeks or so to complete. ACS has posted a msg on their website that some are now taking longer than 12 weeks due to the high volume of assessment applications received.

Hope this helps - 

Best,

Mark Northam


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## alokkagarwal (Aug 26, 2013)

Thanks Mark and I agree to that fact.

But, my worry is that the status has not moved further yet.

Any idea on the timelines of each stage?

Any idea on how much of experience may get deducted or reduced by ACS?
Reason?

Can I claim EOI points for work experience for the work experience assessed by ACS?

Regards,
Alok


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Hi Alok -

I don't know enough about your case and specifics to give you any more of a detailed answer. The timelines can vary - normally we don't even check with ACS before 10 weeks, so it's probably best to be patient and settle in for the wait. If you get lucky and they finish early, that's great, but given their backlog I would not be too anxious. Generally if there is a problem, such as missing documents, ACS will get in touch relatively early on in the process to discuss with you.

RE: ACS deductions, etc, see this link:

https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/7324/Summary-of-Criteria.pdf

Re: points, both ACS and DIAC make their own judgements about whether work is closely related to your nominated occupation, so work assessed by ACS is not guaranteed to be accepted by DIAC - both make a judgement call based on the individual facts. That being said, generally speaking work experience that has been positively assessed by ACS has a good chance of being accepted by DIAC. To make the decision about whether to include work experience in that you are claiming points for, you need to consider all the evidence you can provide from that job, and how closely the duties/tasks align with the ANZSCO standard for that occupation. The ACS occupation description PDF which has more detailed ACS interpretations of each ANZSCO code that it assesses can also be very helpful in determining the relevance of each job to the ANZSCO code, and therefore the eligibility for points given by DIAC.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## alokkagarwal (Aug 26, 2013)

Thats a great reply Mark Northam !!!

Thanks a lot!!!


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Glad I could help - with any skills assessor, it's absolutely important to go over each and every requirement and request - sometimes they get very detailed, etc, but when skills assessment go "bad" (result in a negative assessment), I've found that the vast majority of the time it's due to one or more small detail either misunderstood, incorrectly provided, or not provided (missing).

Best of luck with all -

Best,

Mark Northam


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## alokkagarwal (Aug 26, 2013)

Thank you for your reply again Mark...

Its the 12th week now and I am counting days impatiently.

On 18th, it will be completing 12 weeks of my application (applied on 26th August-2013).

Any idea on whats the current situation of ACS assessment for the people applied during August?

Also, I am unable to score 7 each in all modules of IELTS from IDP. I am able to score 7 or more in Listening & Reading. But, I am stuck with Speaking & Writing. I am performing very well, still...

Any tips/clues to get my desired score of 7 each in all 4 modules?

Regards,
Alok


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## Shrads (Nov 22, 2013)

MarkNortham said:


> Hi Noback -
> 
> Re #1, ACS is very picky about documents, and with the flood of bogus and fake documents coming from China and elsewhere these days, they may look even more closely at yours. You need to follow their rules - everything uploaded must be a PDF of a certified copy.
> 
> ...


Hi,

I have a similar problem regarding the reference letter form my current employer.
It is not in their policy to give a reference letter while the employee is working in the company. I would be going for a statutory declaration from my colleague.
Please can anyone give me the format for the same. Do we need to write this in a bond paper or a normal paper and get it certified?

Please also let me know what should my colleague write. What should be the date of the letter. If for eg my colleague has left the company a month back , will this be valid ?

Kindly guide.
Thanks


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## crescentile (Jul 14, 2014)

*ACS Assessment change*

Hi,

I have been following this forum from several months, it provides unmatched valuable information regarding Australian Immigration. Thanks a ton to all Senior Members and especially MARK for their time and effort. Now it is my time to post a query. My case is as follows....

I completed my MIS from Sydney in 2009
Came back to India in start of 2010 and have been working as a System and Network Admin (4 years), have CCSP level of certifications from CISCO.
I started my immigration process by applying for assessment, i did that for System Admin and got positive
Now I want to apply for Computer Network & Systems Engineer assessment.
But the problem is the past Reference letter which I used to apply for System admin assessment have nominal Networking job duties as i felt not necessary to include them due to shortage of space.
*As i now want to apply for Network and Systems Engineer, can i change my job duties in my reference letter, get it Notarized and lodge a new application?*

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks


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## omar_hegazy (Mar 3, 2015)

*A question*

Dear Sir,

I have a bachelor degree of electronics & communications engineering. Also i have 3 years of experience as Senior Network Engineer.

My concern is would i be assessed as ICT (Major close/Major not close/Minor close or Minor not close)? Just wanted to check how many years will be deducted for suitability criteria by ACS.

Just to clarify, i'm applying for "Computer Network and Systems Enginner" job.

Thanks for helping !


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## markkancha (Feb 6, 2016)

*quick question*

Hi noback,

This is Mark. I am about to apply for ACS skill assessment. One question that is eating me up is the roles and responsibilities in a work experience document. ACS says it shouldn't be too generic but specific, but if you have a look at an example given at their site, it is really generic. I am pretty sure you have applied by now, can you please provide me your work experience for guidance? You don't have to send the whole document, just the roles and responsibilities section.

Would you please help me as I really don't have time to appeal or review because of my visa expiring soon.


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## Brane (Feb 26, 2016)

*Employment Reference Letter/Statutory declartion*

Hi Mark,
I am working as an IT professional in an Indian MNC and have more than 6 years of work ex. I am in the process of applying Australian PR soon under ANZSCO code 261312. So while going through the Skill assessment guidelines I came across certain queries which are as follows :-

1. Can I use exactly the same content used in the Duties performed section of the sample EMPLOYMENT REFERENCE letter provided on the acs site or is it mandatory to mention my Technological skills as well like RDBMS,Java etc in the letter ?

@All Forum Members :- Can anyone please mail me the employment reference letter and statutory declaration which they had submitted to acs for skill assessment and got a positive response for the same ?

Regards,
Brane


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## sugu (Apr 4, 2016)

*Which Skill to choose*

Hi, I am in the midst of applying for Australian PR. Im from Singapore and had obtained my Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia (Design Major) from Griffith University , Brisbane, Queensland in 2002. I have been working in Singapore in a Telecommunication company since 2005.

I am confused on which of the following Skill should I send for my work assessment to ACS under SOL:
261111 - ICT Business Analysts 
261112 - Systems Analysts 
261311 - Analyst Programmer 
261312 - Developer Programmer 
261313 - Software Engineer 
263111 - Computer Network and Systems Engineer

Below are my Job scope from 2005 to current:

Assistant Manager, Operations Dept 2014 - Present

Planning, scheduling and ensuring the engineers perform Preventive Maintenance for the equipment maintained at customer site.
Constantly meet customers, discuss matters arising and resolve any issues on site
Project Manager for PABX upgrading Project
Project Manager 
First Level support for SmartView Client System

Assistant Manager, Applications and Development Dept 2012 - 2013
- Practicing Project Management as Project Manager since 2010.
Build credibility, establish rapport, and maintain communication with stakeholders at multiple levels, including those external to the organization.
Train new staff members on the project life-cycle and the applications used for the projects.
Regularly conducted meetings with team members to ensure that project timeline is met and all aspects of the project are covered and smoothly coordinated to the appropriate team members.
Reviewed, planned and created project plans that meet client specification and terms of reference in line with the changing needs and environmental adjustments.
Created detailed work plans, delegated activities to team members and pinned timelines to be met.
Created and implemented test plans for POC (Proof of Concept), Load Test, System Integration Test and UAT (User Acceptance Test) and perform tests before the Application is deployed.
Provide all the necessary documentations required in the final accomplishment of the project. 
Conduct interviews to recruit developers in Singapore and Malaysia offices.
Manage Company's IT assets (Hardware and Software) and assist the Internal and External auditors during IT Audit.
Administer software asset management, in particular maintaining volume licenses, establish and review periodic audits on company owned laptops/desktops to ensure usage of genuine software. 
Provide 24/7 first level application support for customers.
Successfully deployed SmartView System in Vietnam and Kula Lumpur 
Perform system administration, performance tuning, backup and recovery planning and maintenance for Windows 2003 and 2008 servers.
Upgraded Application Server and Web Server to Windows Server 2008 
Upgraded Symantec End Point Server 12.0 and pushed client to users through Group Policy in Windows Active Directory 
Oversee day-to-day IT operations in the organization.
Setup Radius Server for VPN single sign-on login integrated with Domain Controller

Software Developer /Senior Software Developer 2005 - 2011

Provide 24/7 first level application support for customers.
Selected to be a contact person between company and customers to identify and resolve application related problems.
Administer software asset management, in particular maintaining volume licenses, establish and review periodic audits on company owned laptops/desktops to ensure usage of genuine software. 
Perform system administration, performance tuning, backup and recovery planning and maintenance for Windows 2003 and 2000 servers and maintain Symantec Firewall and Anti-Virus Server.
Plan and conduct application training, from documenting all application processes to provide reference material on how to install and operate these applications.
Train Developers in Malaysia

I have band 7 in IETLS test.

seeking help in this group to choose the appropriate skill for my work experience stated above.

Thanks!

Sugu


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## bigmac (May 2, 2017)

Dear Sir, how do i renew an ACS done in 2014, which is expired now.


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## bharathdk (Jul 13, 2018)

Hi, I have completed my Bachelors of Computer science engineering at Hindustan University, India and my Master of Data science in Australia. Now I work as a Software engineer for about 1 year in Australia. Will I be assessed by ACS as a programmer or software developer by showing my bachelors degree alone?


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