2017-May 19: Assessing Essential Skills work visa applications – Substantial match to ANZSCO

Visa Pak 310: Guidelines for Immigration Officers to determine if a job offer is a substantial match to the ANZSCO definition when assessing Essential Skills work visa applications.

Visa Paks

19 May 2017

Recently there have been some issues with the assessment of offers of employment being a substantial match to ANZSCO, in particular when the occupation is on an Essential Skills in Demand List (Long Term Skill Shortage List/Immediate Skill Shortage List/Canterbury Skill Shortage List). Some offices have been taking in to consideration what qualifications/experience an applicant has and determining if they meet a shortage list requirement before assessing if their offer of employment is a substantial match to the ANZSCO occupation claimed.

Immigration instructions at WK1.5 state that in order to assess the skill level of an occupation using ANZSCO, immigration officers (IOs) must be satisfied that the offer of employment substantially matches the description for that occupation, including core tasks, as set out in ANZSCO. IOs must also be satisfied that an applicant is suitably qualified by training and experience for the claimed occupation.

IOs must be satisfied that the job offer in an Essential Skills application substantially matches the ANZSCO description for the occupation claimed by the applicant, including the core tasks and duties listed.

The ANZSCO description of a qualification indicates what qualifications or experience would be required of an applicant. If the IO is satisfied that the job offer is a substantial match to the ANZSCO code claimed by the applicant, IOs then have to decide whether the applicant is suitably qualified for the position, either by holding a relevant qualification, or through relevant work experience.
 
 Applicants can also show they are suitably qualified if the occupation is included on one of the three skill shortage lists and they meet the relevant requirements listed for that occupation.

If an applicant has a job offer for an occupation that is on a skill shortage list, and they meet the requirements listed for that occupation, the job offer must still be a substantial match to the ANZSCO occupation claimed.