Claiming Points For Work Experience

The number of points you can claim depends on the length of your skilled employment:

• 3 to 5 years of experience: You can claim 5 points.
• 5 to 8 years of experience: This can earn you 10 points.
• Over 8 years of experience: You're eligible to claim 15 points.

Both Australian and overseas work experience can earn you points, but the criteria differ slightly:

• Australian work experience is highly valued, with additional points available for those who have worked in Australia in their nominated occupation or a closely related field. This is where understanding the nuances of skilled employment in Australia becomes crucial.
• Overseas work experience also earns points, but you'll need to demonstrate that your experience is relevant and meets the skill level required for your nominated occupation, highlighting the importance of skilled employment regardless of location

Proper documentation is key to successfully claiming points for work experience. You'll need to provide:

• Employment references detailing your role, duties, and the duration of your employment, serving as proof of employment.
• Payslips, tax returns, or other official documents to prove your employment period.
• A positive skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your occupation, essential for how to prove work experience for Australian immigration.

• Ensure your experience is relevant: Only skilled work experience related to your nominated occupation counts towards your points.
• Gather comprehensive documentation: The more evidence you can provide of your skilled employment, the smoother the process will be.
• Consider Australian work experience: If possible, gaining work experience in Australia can significantly boost your points.

When deciding if a job counts as skilled for earning points towards an Australian visa, here's what gets looked at:

• What the official job skills checker says about how long you've been working in your skilled job, including when they think you first became skilled.
• The official job list for Australia and New Zealand, which includes any qualifications or work experience you need.
• Any other useful info like job records and references.

If the job skills checker thinks you should get fewer points than you said in your visa application, the visa office will usually check the official job list to decide when your job was skilled enough.

The visa office needs to be sure your job documents are real and consider the job skills checker's opinion.

You just need to have worked for a certain time in a job that needs skills. It doesn't say you need to be super skilled the whole time. For example, if you're applying as a carpenter, they'll see if you're doing at least some of the carpenter tasks listed in the official job list.

Getting points for skilled work experience shows that having a good amount of work experience in a skilled job helps you do well in the job market. You can get points for skilled work you did in Australia or other countries in the last ten years before you applied for this visa.

Having direct work experience in Australia helps migrants settle into the Australian job market and life, so you get more points for Australian work experience.

It's okay if your skilled work experience wasn't all in one go. So, if you had breaks for other jobs or studies, you could still get points.

For instance, if you're an accountant and worked as one for 2 years, then studied for 2 years, worked as an IT consultant for 2 years, and then worked as an accountant again for 3 years, you could get points for 5 years of work as an accountant (as long as this was all in the last ten years before you applied for the visa).

You can also get points if you have skilled work experience both in Australia and other countries.

For example, if you worked as a nurse overseas for 5 years and then in Australia for 3 years, you can get points for both if you apply for a skilled migration visa.

But, you can't mix and match short periods of work from Australia and other countries to claim more Australian work experience points.

You must be paid for your work to get points. Just feeling good about your work or getting unpaid experience doesn't count. Also, getting just a small allowance or scholarship doesn't count as being paid, reinforcing the need for tangible proof of employment.

You need to work at least 20 hours each week. But, if your job has you working different hours each week, like shift work, that can still count.

You might need to show a lot of proof about your job and how much you got paid.

For personalised advice and further details on making the most of your skilled employment, contact AECC. Let's ensure your work experience propels you towards your Australian dream.