VETASSESS, Australia’s biggest skills-assessment body, has ushered in sweeping procedural reforms designed to clear a bottleneck that has plagued employer-sponsored visas all year. From 1 December, the standard processing time for a new assessment or review has been cut to seven weeks, while appeals will take 12 weeks—down from an average of 16.
Applicants now have 28 days (previously 60) to supply additional documents, and must provide three forms of identity, at least one a government-issued photo ID. Outcome letters have been simplified to state only “suitable” or “not suitable”, a change the Department of Home Affairs says will speed up decision making inside ImmiAccount.
![VETASSESS Slashes Skills-Assessment Times, Tightens Evidence Rules From 1 December]()
The overhaul follows industry criticism that long assessment queues undermined the government’s promise to deliver the new Skills-in-Demand (Subclass 482) visa in under two months. Construction and tech employers in particular reported project delays when overseas hires waited three months or more for VETASSESS results.
HR teams are welcoming the new service standards but warn that the shorter evidence window means companies must front-load documentation—verified degree certificates, detailed reference letters and clear passport copies—before lodging. Migration agents expect demand for the paid 10-business-day ‘Priority Processing’ pilot to surge if VETASSESS meets its baseline targets.
Combined with July’s increase to skilled-visa salary thresholds, the December reforms mark the final plank in a 12-month modernisation push aimed at making Australia’s skilled-migration settings more responsive to labour-market needs ahead of major infrastructure projects such as the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
Applicants now have 28 days (previously 60) to supply additional documents, and must provide three forms of identity, at least one a government-issued photo ID. Outcome letters have been simplified to state only “suitable” or “not suitable”, a change the Department of Home Affairs says will speed up decision making inside ImmiAccount.
The overhaul follows industry criticism that long assessment queues undermined the government’s promise to deliver the new Skills-in-Demand (Subclass 482) visa in under two months. Construction and tech employers in particular reported project delays when overseas hires waited three months or more for VETASSESS results.
HR teams are welcoming the new service standards but warn that the shorter evidence window means companies must front-load documentation—verified degree certificates, detailed reference letters and clear passport copies—before lodging. Migration agents expect demand for the paid 10-business-day ‘Priority Processing’ pilot to surge if VETASSESS meets its baseline targets.
Combined with July’s increase to skilled-visa salary thresholds, the December reforms mark the final plank in a 12-month modernisation push aimed at making Australia’s skilled-migration settings more responsive to labour-market needs ahead of major infrastructure projects such as the Western Sydney Aerotropolis.
