TRA Skills Assessments

Australian Trade Training College (ATTC) conducts skills assessments on behalf of Trades Recognition Australia (TRA).

Skills assessments are for non-Australian passport holders who have trade skills gained either overseas or in Australia that require a skills assessment for the purpose of migration. Skills assessments are designed to ensure that a successful applicant can perform at the required skill level for their nominated occupation and therefore, contribute immediately to Australia’s skilled workforce.

ATTC is a TRA-approved Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for the following programs:

Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP)

OSAP skills assessments are for migrants applying for a skilled migration visa (excluding 485 or TSS) with the Department of Home Affairs. Applicants must work in a nominated occupation and hold a passport from a nominated country or Special Administrative Region (SAR). Click here to see trades available for OSAP & TSS skills assessments with ATTC.

Detailed information regarding the program can be found in the OSAP Applicant Guidelines.

Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS)

TSS skills assessments are for migrants applying for a TSS visa with the Department of Home Affairs. Applicants must work in a nominated occupation and hold a passport from a nominated country or Special Administrative Region (SAR). Click here to see trades available for OSAP & TSS skills assessments with ATTC.

Detailed information regarding the program can be found in the TSS Applicant Guidelines.

There are two skills assessment pathways available:

Pathway 1:

For applicants who do not have a relevant Australian VET qualification. Successful applicants will be awarded the VET qualification relevant to their trade on completion of the skills assessment.

Eligibility:

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have completed verifiable full-time paid employment in the nominated occupation as per the following criteria:

Licensed Trade with no formal* training – six (6) years’ work experience (Electrician (General) and Plumber (General))
Licensed Trade with formal* training – four (4) years’ work experience (Electrician (General) and Plumber (General))
Non-licensed trade with no formal* training – five (5) years’ work experience
Non-licensed trade with formal* training – three (3) years’ work experience

*Formal training for a Pathway 1 is defined as an international qualification that was obtained as a result of study outside Australia and accepted as comparable to at least an AQF Certificate III level for a skilled occupation in Major Group III in ANZSCO.

Employment history must include 12 months full time, paid employment in the nominated occupation in the three years prior to lodging the application. Part time employment can also be counted towards the employment requirement, on a pro rata basis.

Pathway 2:

For applicants who have a relevant Australian VET qualification or a current, identified Australian occupational license (without restrictions)

Eligibility:

Applicants that hold an Australian VET qualification must be able to demonstrate at least three years’ full-time, verifiable paid employment in a directly related occupation. This must include 12 months full-time, paid employment in your nominated occupation in the three years prior to lodging the application. Part time employment can also be counted towards the employment requirement, on a pro rata basis.

Pathway 2 Electrician (General) and Plumber (General) applicants with an Australian VET qualification, the 12 months full-time paid employment in your nominated occupation must be in Australia.

Pathway 2 Electrician (General) and Plumber (General) applicants with a current identified Australian occupational license (not subject to restrictions), the 12 months full-time paid employment in your nominated occupation must be in Australia or New Zealand.

Assessment Process:

Applicants applying for a skills assessment with Australian Trade Training College (ATTC) are required to complete a Pre-assessment, Documentary Evidence Assessment and Technical Assessment. Pathway 1 Applicants applying for Plumber or Electrician will also need to attend a Practical Assessment.

An OSAP assessment may be completed within fifteen (15) weeks from the date you submit the required ‘decision-ready’ documentary evidence to ATTC.

A TSS assessment may be completed within nine (9) weeks from the date you submit the required ‘decision-ready’ documentary evidence to ATTC.

Stage 1

Pre-assessment

The Pre-assessment stage is designed to ensure that applicants meet the eligibility and currency requirements for their nominated trade, program and pathway before making a financial commitment at Documentary Evidence stage.

Please refer to the Pre-assessment Checklist for a full description of the required items. All items must be submitted at the same time or the application will not be processed. Do not apply for a skills assessment if you do not have all the required documentation.

Evidence is submitted via email to [email protected] or via Dropbox, OneDrive, WeTransfer and Google Drive

Stage 2

Documentary Evidence

Applicants are required to submit verifiable documents to support their employment history, including but not limited to statement of service, payslips, bank statements, and tax documents.

Pathway 1 applicants are additionally required to provide photographs and videos to support workplace skills and experience.

Please refer to the Documentary Evidence Checklist for a full description of the required items. All evidence must be submitted at the same time, or the application may be declined.

Evidence and fee payment receipts are submitted via email to [email protected] or via Dropbox, OneDrive, WeTransfer and Google Drive.

Stage 3

Technical Interview

The technical interview is a technical assessment of the applicant’s skills, knowledge and experience. Applicants are required to demonstrate their knowledge by answering questions relating to:

Pathway 1: Units of competency from the relevant assessed trade and Australian qualification

Pathway 2: Australian industry standards and terminology relevant to the assessed trade combined with confirmation of employment history and experience.

Applicants located outside of Australia are required to personally attend their Technical Interviews at an approved assessment centre unless exempt. For a complete list of assessment locations, please visit an Australian Trade Training College venue.

Stage 4

Practical Assessment

Mandatory for Pathway 1 Electrician (General) & Plumber (General).

Applicants are required to complete workshop based practical tasks to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in the trade.

Practical Assessments are conducted in Brisbane, Australia or Leatherhead, United Kingdom. Applicants are responsible for obtaining the correct visa to enter Australia or the UK if necessary.

On successful completion of all four stages, Pathway 1 Plumber & Electrician applicants will obtain an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR), which allows them to apply for a Provisional Licence, subject to meeting other non-skills requirements.

All fees are paid directly to TRA via their Online Portal and may only be made using a Visa or MasterCard credit/debit card. Payment identifiers will be provided upon approval of each stage. After payment, a printable receipt will be displayed on your screen, and a copy will be sent to the email address nominated in your registration. Please retain the email receipt as evidence of payment. Please refer to the Applicant Payment User Guide for further information.

Assessment Service	Fee (ex GST) $AUD
Documentary Evidence	$1,120
Documentary Evidence – Review	$700
Documentary Evidence – Reassessment	$450
Technical Interview – Pathway 1	$2,000
Technical Interview – Pathway 1 – Review	$700
Technical Interview – Pathway 1 – Reassessment	$1,000
Technical Interview – Pathway 2	$900
Technical Interview – Pathway 2 – Review	$700
Technical Interview – Pathway 2 – Reassessment	$450
Practical Assessment	$2,200
Practical Assessment – Review	$700
Practical Assessment – Reassessment	$1,100

Refund Policy

The circumstances in which TRA will refund a payment are detailed in the TRA Payment and Refund Policy under Policy and Forms on the TRA website.

Refunds will not be provided if applicants:

do not meet program eligibility requirements
choose to withdraw your registration after assessment had started
do not provide the required documents in the specified timeframe.

Review

If you disagree with an assessment outcome, you may lodge an application (including additional evidence) for an assessment review with the RTO that conducted your skills assessment within 7 (seven) business days of receiving the outcome letter. To start the review process, you must first pay the review fee to TRA via the TRA Online Portal using your existing username and password.

An applicant is eligible for a refund of the review fee when an assessment outcome is overturned based solely on the evidence provided in the original application.

An applicant is not eligible for a refund of the review fee where the assessment outcome is overturned based on any additional evidence provided.

Reassessment

If your original skills assessment identified skills gaps and you have since undertaken training and/or additional employment to address the gaps, you may lodge an application for a reassessment with the RTO that conducted your skills assessment. Reassessment applications must be lodged within 12 months of receiving the original skills assessment outcome letter. To start the reassessment process, you must first pay the reassessment fee to TRA via the TRA Online Portal using your existing username and password.

News and updates

In July 2024, TRA advised that the following occupations be prioritized for processing.

Cabinetmaker [394111]
Carpenter [331212]
Carpenter & Joiner [331211]
Electrician (General) [341111]
Joiner [331213]
Plumber (General) [334111]
Welder (First class) [322313]

Before commencing an application

Applicants must check with the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) (www.homeaffairs.gov.au) that their visa pathway requires a skills assessment and that TRA is the correct assessing authority for their nominated occupation. All enquiries relating to visa and migration requirements must be directed to Home Affairs.

Applicants must read the eligibility requirements, and review the Pre-assessment Checklist and Documentary Evidence and ensure that they have the required documentation ready to submit.
Applicants must ensure that all the technical assessment requirements can be met – including venue locations and device below. Failing to do so will result in their application being withdrawn and any fees already paid will be forfeited.
1. Applicants must be able to travel to an approved Australian Trade Training College venue for their technical assessment (if required).
2. If not required to travel to an approved venue, applicants must be in a private location alone, use a laptop or notebook computer, connected to a stable internet connection. (Smartphones and tablets will NOT be accepted).

Documentation Requirements

All evidence must be complete and correct, and submitted at the same time to the Australian Trade Training College.
All applications must be ‘decision ready’ when submitted, which means all the required documents have been provided to ATTC and the application fee has been paid to TRA.
All application documents not in English must be provided in original language accompanied by a copy of the English translation.
All evidence and fee payment receipts must be submitted via email to [email protected] or via Dropbox, OneDrive, WeTransfer and Google Drive.
Applicants must ensure the accuracy and validity of all information provided to ATTC. ATTC are required to take reasonable measures to verify the validity of the information supplied throughout the skills assessment. If ATTC identify that the information supplied is false or fraudulent, the application will be recommended to TRA as unsuccessful. Home Affairs may be advised accordingly.

Note: Penalties may apply under the Crimes Act 1914 and the Criminal Code Act 1995 for making false or misleading statements and providing false or misleading information or documents.