ACS Skills Assessment for IT Professionals - Step by Step

The Australian Computer Society (ACS) assesses all ICT occupations for Australian skilled migration. Here is exactly how the process works.

Who needs an ACS assessment?

If you are nominated under any ICT ANZSCO code, including:

• Software Engineer (261313)
• Developer Programmer (261312)
• ICT Business Analyst (261111)
• Systems Analyst (261112)
• Computer Network and Systems Engineer (263111)
• ICT Security Specialist (262112)

See the full list of ACS-assessed occupations.

Assessment pathways

ACS offers three pathways:

1. Post Australian Study - For recent graduates of Australian ICT programs
2. Skills - Standard pathway for applicants with ICT qualifications and experience
3. RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) - For applicants without formal ICT qualifications but with extensive experience

The experience deduction

This is the most confusing part of the ACS assessment. ACS deducts years from your experience to determine your “skill level met date”:

• Closely related ICT degree: 2 years deducted
• Non-ICT degree + ICT minor: 4 years deducted
• No relevant degree: 6 years deducted

Only experience after your skill level met date counts for migration points. This means if you have 8 years of experience and an ICT degree, ACS counts 6 years for points purposes.

What you need

• Certified copies of your qualifications
• Detailed employment references on company letterhead describing your ICT duties
• References must list specific technologies, tools, and responsibilities
• Statutory declarations if former employers cannot provide references

Timeline and cost

• Fee: $500-$600
• Processing: 6-8 weeks for standard pathway
• RPL pathway: longer processing, requires two 2000-word project reports

Start your assessment early - it is often the longest step before you can submit your EOI. Use the points calculator to estimate your score while waiting.