If working in Australia as an accountant is your life-long dream, then reading this article is a must. Working in Australia as a skilled person is an excellent opportunity for everyone, but the process of securing a position can be long and time-consuming. This article will shed light on important factors such as skills assessments, different types of visa applications and required documentation.

Applying for a Migration Skills Assessment

To obtain a skilled migration visa for accounting, you need to submit the relevant documentation that proves the assessment of your accounting skills by CPA Australia and is labeled as suitable for your target occupation.

CPA Australia will need to access your education in or outside Australia, your English competency and in some cases, your work history. This will lead them to a final verdict that will decide whether you meet the requirements for the target occupation.

CPA also provides a provisional skills assessment for those who have recently graduated and are looking to apply for the Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485).

There are two types of skills assessments you can apply for. The majority of people go for the full skilled migration skilled assessment, but if you’re a new graduate and want to apply for the graduate work stream (subclass 485), the provisional assessment is enough as the requirement for this assessment is only an appropriate educational qualification.

Provisional Assessment

The temporary graduate visa (subclass 485) skills assessment, also known as “provisional assessment”, is for newly graduated students of Australian educational institutions who are applying for a subclass 485 visa.

ANZSCO

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is used to classify all occupations and jobs in Australia and New Zealand. ANZSCO is also used when eligible skilled workers apply for skilled visas. The ANZSCO code for the different accounting jobs are as follows:

• accountant (general) 221111
• corporate treasurer 221212
• external auditor 221213
• finance manager 132211
• management accountant 221112
• taxation accountant 221113

Each ANZSCO examines seven to eight of your competency areas. The application will need to cover all of the mandatory areas for your chosen code to meet the required competency of the general and provisional skills assessments.

The competency areas needed for each ANZSCO code are as follows:

Accountant (general) Corporate, Treasurer Finance Manager and Management Accountant

Mandatory

1. Accounting Systems and Processes

2. Financial Accounting and Reporting

3. Management Accounting

4. Finance and Financial Management

5. Business Law

6. Economics

7. Quantitative Method

Optional

1. Audit and Assurance

2. Taxation Law

Taxation Accountant 221113

Mandatory

1. Accounting Systems and Processes

2. Financial Accounting and Reporting

3. Management Accounting

4. Finance and Financial Management

5. Business Law

6. Economics

7. Quantitative Methods

8. Australian Taxation Law

Optional

1. Audit and assurance

External auditor 221213

Mandatory

1. Accounting Systems and Processes

2. Financial Accounting and Reporting

3. Management Accounting

4. Finance and Financial Management

5. Business Law

6. Economics

7. Quantitative Methods

8. Audit and Assurance

Optional

1. Taxation Law

Expression of Interest

An Expression of Interest or EOI is an application to notify the Australian government that you want them to consider you for a visa grant. This application is free and can be lodged online but you need to wait until you have received your migration assessment outcome from CPA Australia before you apply for an EOI.

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

• Skilled Regional visa (subclass 489) State-Sponsored stream

• Skilled Regional visa (subclass 489) Relative Sponsored stream

• Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485)

• Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) short term

• Temporary Skill Shortage visa (subclass 482) Long term

• Employer Nominated Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186)

• Regional Skilled Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187)

Occupation: The visa subclasses for accountants

Suitable visa application: Subclass 189 and 190, State-sponsored or relative sponsored 489, 485 Graduate workstream, long term 482, ENS 186 and RSMS 187 visa.

Occupation: The visa subclasses for external auditors

Suitable visa application: Subclass 189 and 190, State-sponsored or relative sponsored 489, 485 Graduate workstream, long term 482, ENS 186 and RSMS 187 visa.

Occupation: The visa subclasses for finance managers

Suitable visa application: Subclass 190, State-sponsored 489, short-term 482 or RSMS 187 visa.

Occupation: The visa subclasses for management accountants

Suitable visa application: Subclass 189 and 190, State-sponsored or relative sponsored 489, 485 Graduate workstream, long term 482, ENS 186 and RSMS 187 visa.

Occupation: The visa subclasses for taxation accountants

Suitable visa application: Subclass 189 and 190, State-sponsored or relative sponsored 489, 485 Graduate workstream, long term 482, ENS 186 and RSMS 187 visa.

Language Requirements

CPA Australia accepts these assessment programs or exams for the English language proficiency requirements:

• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)

• IELTS Academic

• PTE Academic

• Skilled Migration Internship Program Accounting (SMIPA)

• TOEFL iBT

The required minimum score for each section in these tests are as follows:

Test Program	Listening Test	Reading Test	Writing Test	Speaking Test
CAE*	185	185	185	185
IELTS Academic	7.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
TOEFL iBT	24	24	24	24
PTE Academic	65	65	65	65

*CPA Australia only accepts tests that are completed from January 1st onward.

**Those who completed the PTE Academic test need to share their results with CPA Australia through the online PTE Academic account.

Education

Applicants must provide the CPA Australia with their study units to see if they have the required skills for their chosen occupation in Australia.

Accredited Course

If CPA Australia approves your study, you may not need to provide your syllabus when submitting your application. CPA Australia provides an excellent search on their site that will inform you if your course is accredited.

Non-Accredited Course

If CPA Australia does not approve your study, you will need to provide a syllabus within your application. The syllabus is accessible through your educational institution. All accounting, finance and business subjects should provide their syllabus details and correctly mention the content covered for each topic.

Your syllabus must:

• Point to the exact years during which you studied.

• Point to the exact subjects that are listed on your transcript.

• Be written in English.

If for any reason you are unable to obtain the official syllabus from your educational institution, you must provide a statutory declaration mentioning the reasons behind it. You must also include a detailed summary of the subjects that existed in your syllabus and a justice of the peace or notary officer must be a witness for your statutory declaration.

Experience

General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa such as the:

• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189)

• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)

• Skilled Regional visa (subclass 489)

First, you need to acquire a suitable skills assessment. Then, you can apply to get an assessment for your work experience. You can submit documents to assess your work experience, but CPA Australia will only look at them until you are estimated to be suitably skilled.

The only recognised employments by CPA Australia are:

• Employments that are closely related to the ANZSCO occupation for which you have received a suitable skills assessment outcome.

• From the last ten years, before your CPA Australia skills assessment application date.

• Undertook after you completed a formal qualification (or combination of capabilities) that CPA Australia assesses as equivalent to an Australian bachelor’s degree.

• Paid continuously for a minimum of 20 hours per week.

• A minimum of one year of accumulated employment, with three months per role.

Employer Testimonial

To get assessed for skilled employment, you need to present a testimonial from your previous employers that:

• Is written on the official letterhead of the employing business. The letterhead should include the full address of the business, telephone, email and website addresses.

• Includes the name and position of the person signing it (if written by an employer at the same level or below the applicant’s, it will be of no use).

• Includes relevant information such as the work contact number and work email address of the person writing the reference.

The Essential items that must be included in the testimonial are:

• The exact start and end dates of your employment history.

• A list of multiple roles (if any).

• Condition of your roles (temporary or permanent).

• Whether you worked full time or part-time.

• How many work hours per week you worked.

• Your exact duties for each position you held .

• Your salary.

If for any reason you are unable to get an employment reference on the business letterhead, you may need to provide a statutory declaration. In your declaration, you should explain why you couldn’t obtain the employment reference and also provide the information outlined above.

You may also need to provide documentation such as tax certifications, contracts of your previous employment and payslips.

Fees

Each skilled visa application has different payment rules. Have a look at this extensive article to get an idea of how much money you will need to apply for your chosen visa.