Submission 92 - 10 August 2005 - Comments on Overseas Skills Recognition, Upgrading and Licensing

Sep 4, 2026

Uploaded by Levi

Submission 92 dated 10 August 2005 presents a formal position to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration on Australia’s inquiry into overseas skills recognition, upgrading and licensing. The submission explains current assessment arrangements for skilled migration and identifies disadvantages caused by reliance on the 1995 Philippines Country Educational Profile, including automatic failures for unlisted institutions. It also notes the delayed CEP update and offers recommendations to evaluate unlisted institutions, improve transparency, and consider alternative assessment processes during the update period.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Submission details

Re: Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration

Skills stream migrants: recognition of qualifications

Issues with reliance on the 1995 CEP

Resolution and proposed CEP update

Recommendations

Trades recognition

Submission 92 10 August 2005 The Committee Secretary Joint Standing Committee on Migration Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 [By email:](By email: jscm@aph.gov.au)[ ](By email: jscm@aph.gov.au)[jscm@aph.gov.au](By email: jscm@aph.gov.au) Re: Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration regarding the Inquiry into Overseas Skills Recognition, Upgrading and Licensing. Dear Madam, Thank you for your email dated 27 July 2005, inviting us to submit our position regarding Overseas Skills Recognition, Upgrading and Licensing. In response to the review of Australia’s current system of assessing the skills of people wishing to migrate to Australia under the skilled migration program, we would like to make the following comments on the issues raised in the terms of reference: 1. Current arrangements for overseas skills recognition and associated issues of licensing and registration for a) Skills stream migrants who obtain assessment prior to migrating i. Recognition of Qualifications of Skilled Professionals Occupations under this classification include management consultants, marketing specialists, child care coordinators, accountants, IT professionals, and engineers. Current Situation: The skills assessing authority is determined by DIMIA: VETASSESS for most non health general professionals; Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and CPA Australia for accountants; Australian Computer Society for IT professionals; Institution of Engineers for engineers; The National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) for teachers etc. Skills assessment authorities for accountants, teachers, computer professionals, engineers, social workers, and many other professions, rely on the 1995 edition of‘The Philippines Country Educational Profile’ in order to determine the comparable Australian equivalent of an applicant’s educational qualification. The National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR), a division of the Commonwealth Department of Employment Education and Workplace Relations, is the body which was commissioned to prepare and update the ‘The Philippines Country Education Profile’(CEP). The CEP was published by the Australian Government Publishing Service. Issues: 1. The reliance on the 1995 edition of ‘The Philippines Country Educational Profile’ by Skills assessing authorities such as VETASSES, NOOSR, Australian Computer Society, Australian Association of Social Workers, CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia, and the Institution of Engineers has disadvantaged many applications for skills assessment because of automatic failure of applicants whose tertiary educational institutions or universities are not listed in the 1995 edition, where these educational institutions were not given the opportunity to be assessed or were not existent in 1995. Applicants whose educational institutions are not listed in the CEP are often not qualified for skilled migration since they do not get a chance to pass the skills assessment. The highest number of points they can get for their qualifications is 40 (equivalent to a diploma) which often means that they would be unable to meet the pass mark in the points test. For example, in the entire province of Ilocos Sur, no educational institution is listed. This means that a student of the University of Northern Philippines, a state university, who tops the PRC Board exam for any of the above profession say as accountant or teacher cannot pass the skills assessment because a Bachelors Degree obtained in that University is comparable only to an Australian Diploma (i.e. a two year course) . Engineering graduates from the Technology Institute of the Philippines (TIP) are not recognized by the TRA as their curriculum is more geared towards engineering rather than to a trade occupation. This educational institution in Manila is not listed, but has about 30,000 technical and engineering students. St Paul College is a pri

FAQs

What is the submission asking the Joint Standing Committee to consider?

It provides comments on overseas skills recognition, upgrading and licensing as part of the skilled migration program review.

Why does the submission criticize the current skills assessment approach?

It argues that reliance on the 1995 Philippines Country Educational Profile disadvantages applicants whose educational institutions are not listed, leading to automatic failures.

What recommendations are made to improve fairness while the CEP is being updated?

The submission recommends evaluating and listing unlisted institutions, updating the CEP as planned, informing relevant communities, sending invitations to institutions, and canvassing an alternative assessment process in the meantime.

Sep 4, 2026

Uploaded by Levi