Engineers Australia Assessment Criteria for Skilled Migration

Engineers Australia is the designated immigration assessing body for immigration occupations as listed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). Here in this article, you should be able to understand how Engineers Australia assesses different engineering occupations and applications.

Occupational Categories in Engineering for Engineers Australia

Engineers Australia recognises three engineering occupations in Australia. They are as follows:

• Professional Engineer
• Engineering Technologist
• Engineering Associate
• Engineering Manager

Professional Engineer

For professional engineers, the required qualification is an Australian 4-year bachelor’s degree in engineering at a University and 12 years of schooling or equivalent.

The roles and responsibilities of a Professional Engineer

• A professional engineer focuses on the overall systems
• He takes environmental, community and social issues into account while pursuing engineering opportunities
• He applies systematic approaches to management processes
• A professional engineer can apply the engineering synthesis and design process.
• Applies the best engineering methods against complex engineering problems
• A professional engineer takes up leadership and applies management skills

Engineer Technologist

To be an Engineer Technologist, a 3-year Australian bachelor’s degree in engineering plus 12 years of schooling or equivalent is required.

The roles and responsibilities of an Engineer Technologist include:

• Focusing on interactions within the system
• Applying engineering methods, techniques, tools and resources within the technology domain
• Advancing the engineering technology

Engineering Associate

An Engineering Associate needs to possess a 2-year advanced diploma or associate degree in engineering, following 12 years of schooling or its equivalent.

The roles and responsibilities of an Engineering Associate include:

• Focusing on specific elements of the system
• Providing established practices and procedures
• Providing technical support to construction managers and engineering professionals in design, research, manufacture, assembly, construction, maintenance and operation of machines and equipment, facilities, distribution systems and installation
• Assists in resource estimation and site inspection
• Preparing, interpreting, inspecting and revising drawings, planning, drawing diagrams, designing, creating maps and charts

Engineering Manager

The required academic qualification for being an Engineer Manager requires a candidate to have a bachelor’s degree in Engineering or higher, following 12 years of schooling or equivalent.

The roles and responsibilities of an Engineering Manager include:

• Formulating engineering strategies, policies, plans and direction
• Administration and reviewing engineering operations for an organisation

An Engineering Manager is not an engineering occupation, but rather a management occupation under the ANZSCO group.

English Proficiency Requirement for Engineers Australia

Applicants wishing to get their skills assessed by Engineers Australia should meet the English skills level requirement. Applicants can prove their English language proficiency by taking any of the English competency tests:

• IELTS: Engineers Australia accepts both the General and Academic versions of the IELTS test.
• TOEFL: The Engineers Australia also accepts the TOEFL iBT test.
• PTE Academic: the Pearson’s Test of English will be accepted by Engineers Australia from 1st of November 2017.

Apply Online in Engineers Australia

To apply online, an EA ID is required. Your EA ID is the same as your CID number or your membership number. If you already have an EA ID number, CID, or membership number, you can register for a new password in myPortal.

Before making any payments, ensure that the billing address in myPortal is up to date, so you are charged the correct amount.

You can now log on to Engineers Australia’s online services and select Migration Skills Assessment. You are now able to start, save, resume and submit your application.

After submitting your application, an email will be sent to your registered email address confirming your EA ID and application number. Once the payment is processed, your application will be placed in a processing queue. If a credit card is used for payment, the payment will be processed instantly.

The documents that you submit for processing should be scanned colour copies with a minimum of 300 dpi.

If documents are not in English, you must get your non-English documents translated into English by an authorised translator. You are to submit both your original scan copies and the translated copies of your documents.

Using a Migration Agent

If you take help from a migration agent, you will need to provide your EA ID/CID/membership number to them. If you do not have any of the numbers, your migration agent will assist you in creating one. Your migration agent will then initiate the process on your behalf.

Fees and Payment

The following are the acceptable methods of payments:

• Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express)
• BPAY – if you made a BPAY, you will have to provide the invoice for the BPAY details (Biller code and reference number).

The candidate can also request alternate payment methods.

The assessment fee is non-refundable.

Goods and Services Tax (GST):

• Applicants living in Australia will have to pay a GST of 10% on the application fee.
• Applicants living outside Australia are not required to pay any GST.

The Process of Assessment

After submitting your application to Engineers Australia, you can check the status of your application by logging in at any time.

In case your application assessor requires further information about your application, you will receive a notification at your registered email address. You will then have to log in to the myPortal of Engineers Australia and submit additional documentation.

The turnaround time of your application will depend on the number of applications that Engineers Australia receives for assessment. If you contact Engineers Australia to request an update on your application, it may delay the processing time.

The outcome of your Assessment

Once the assessment is deemed successful, an assessment outcome letter that is suitable for migration purposes will be sent to your email address.

If an assessment outcome letter cannot be sent through email, it will be sent by ordinary post. An extra fee may be charged for this service.

Also, remember that the assessment outcome has no expiry date. In case DIBP requires an update of the assessment report, it is advised that you consult Engineers Australia for instructions.

Appealing for an Assessment Outcome

There are two options where you can appeal for an assessment review:

1. You can apply for an Informal Review. The appeal for informal review must be made within 3 months of the date of the original assessment outcome. To appeal using the Informal Review, you must submit an application form named Application for Informal Review of Assessment Outcome and then pay the review fee. You cannot provide any additional information during the Informal Review. If not satisfactory, you can go ahead to apply for Formal Review.
2. You can apply for a Formal Review. The Formal Review must be made within 6 months of the original assessment outcome date. You will need to pay an additional fee for the Formal Review. The outcome of the Formal Review is final, and no further reviews will be conducted for the same.

The Informal Review takes up to 8 weeks, and the Formal Review can take up to 3 months.

The review fee can be refunded if the review favours the applicant and the applicant provided no additional information.

Ethical Standards

Information provided to Engineers Australia by you can be cross-verified by the Australian Government. If any information is found to be misleading or false, it will be reported to DIBP.

Applicants found guilty of breaching Engineers Australia’s ethical standards will be banned from applying for a skills assessment with Engineers Australia for 12 months.