Recognition of Overseas Qualifications

For your overseas qualifications to be assessed, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be living in South Australia currently
2. Be a citizen, permanent resident, or a temporary resident holding a visa with work rights
3. Have completed a higher education or technical/vocational education qualification overseas.

If you meet the above, you can complete an online application through the Skilled & Business Migration Portal

We cannot assess:

• Qualifications completed in less than 1 semester or 6 months of full-time study
• Trade qualifications 
• Secondary education qualifications 
• Incomplete qualifications 
• Single subjects
• Work experience
• English language skills
• Qualifications completed in Australia. 

You don’t need an Overseas Qualification Recognition (OQR):

• If you need study credits – an OQR does not compare qualifications by subject, study area, or competency standards. If you need an assessment to undergo further study, refer to the institution concerned, as they can determine the academic status of your qualification for admission into an Australian tertiary course
• For migration purposes – the relevant assessing authorities for migration purposes are listed on the Department of Home Affairs’ skilled occupation list
• For occupation registration or licensing – refer to the appropriate Australian professional body, registration, or licensing authority for your occupation

Certify your documents 

You must provide certified copies of the certificate, transcript/marksheet, and English translations (if applicable) for each qualification you want to have assessed. To have your documents certified, you will need to take the original documents, and copies of the documents, to an authorised person.

Applications that do not include certified documents will be delayed, cancelled, or withdrawn.

Certified documents will:

• Usually be marked with the words, “I certify this is a true copy of…”
• Include the signature, name, and qualification of the authorised person, and the date of certification
• Be signed or initialled on each page of the entire document.

An authorised person can be a:

• Justice of the Peace
• Police officer
• Registered nurse
• Pharmacist

Further information about certifying documents, including a full list of authorised persons, can be found on the Department of Education’s website.

All documents included in an application for overseas qualification recognition must:

• Be scanned in colour and of high quality
• Be submitted in PDF or JPEG file format
• Not exceed 4MB per page, or 16MB per application

Applications that do not include all the required documents will be delayed, cancelled, or withdrawn.

Include with your application the following documents:

1. Proof of identity – one of the following:

• Valid passport (photo and signature page)
• Australian birth certificate· Australian Citizenship certificate
• Australian Driver’s licence.

2. Proof of name change (if applicable) – if the name on your qualification documents is different to your current legal name, you must provide evidence of the name change, such as a:

• Marriage certificate
• Deed poll certificate.

3. Proof of South Australian residency – a document that shows your name and South Australian residential address, such as a:

• Phone bill
• Utility bill
• Bank statement
• Rental agreement
• Driver’s licence.

4. Certified qualification documents – for every qualification to be assessed, provide certified copies of:

• the Award certificate (the degree, diploma, or qualification certificate)
• the Academic transcript/marksheet showing every year of study
• English translations for the above documents, if applicable
• Supplementary qualification documents needed to assess your overseas qualifications
    - For postgraduate qualifications (e.g. a Masters degree, or Graduate Diploma) provide certified copies of your undergraduate qualification documents
    - For technical/vocational qualifications – provide certified copies of documents related to all studies completed prior to study (e.g. GCE A levels, Senior High School, etc.)

Translations undertaken in Australia must have been completed by an accredited National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) translator. A list of accredited translators can be found on the NAATI website.

Documents translated overseas must be endorsed by the translator, showing their full name, address, telephone number, details of their qualifications, and experience in the language being translated.

You may be eligible to have your documents translated into English at no cost through the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). For further information, and to check your eligibility, visit the AMEP website.

Translations must also be certified before being submitted with your application.

After checking your eligibility, and preparing your documents (including the certified copies of your qualification documents):

1. Log into your account on the Skilled & Business Migration portal.
   If you do not already have an account, register one, and select ‘Skilled Migrant’ as your registration type.
2. Under Services, select ‘to apply for an Overseas Qualification Recognition’
3. Complete all the relevant details for you application and upload your documents.
4. Read and complete the declaration upon submitting your application.

You can track the progress of your application at any time by logging into the Skilled & Business Migration portal.

Processing times

The processing timeframe for an Overseas Qualification Recognition application can be found on our Processing Times page. This can give you an indication of how long you can expect the assessment of your application to take.

Other factors can impact processing times, such as application volumes, peaks, the complexity of assessments, and the need for further documentation.

Urgent requests

All requests to fast-track applications must be made in writing. If you wish to have your application expedited, you must provide one of the following:

• A letter from a South Australian employer, requesting the education level comparison of your overseas qualification(s)
• A written job offer from an employer on the employer’s official letterhead
• Written evidence from a professional association or body, requiring the assessment of your overseas qualification

Written evidence from an organisation, requiring the assessment of your overseas qualification for position selection or recruitment

Assessment Advice

Once your application has been assessed, the South Australian Government will issue an Overseas Qualification Recognition assessment advice, an official document confirming the education level comparison between your overseas qualification and the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). An assessment advice is issued based on the Country Education Profiles (CEP), which have been developed by the Department of Education.

Case-by-case referrals

Sometimes, the assessment outcome is that of a case-by-case referral. This is generally because the qualification is not covered by the Department of Education’s CEP. Skilled & Business Migration will advise you of this in writing if this the outcome.

In this instance, you can request an individual assessment of your qualification from the Department of Education. Note that fees apply for this service. Further information can be found on the Department of Education’s International Education website.

Advice not available

In other instances, there is no CEP available, or certain institutions or qualifications are not listed on the CEP. On these occasions, Skilled & Business Migration are unable to provide you with an assessment of your overseas qualification(s), as it is not covered by the Department of Education guidelines.

You will be advised of this in writing if this is the outcome.

1. Proof of identity, provide one of the following: 

• Current Passport (photo and signature page)  
• Australian Driver’s licence
• Australian Birth Certificate
• Australian Citizenship Certificate 

2. Proof of visa status, provide one of the following: (not required for Australian citizens) 

• Immigration Grant Notification (issued by Australian Government Department of Home Affairs)
• Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) printout  

3. Proof of South Australian residency, provide one of the following: 

• A document including your name and South Australian residential address eg: phone bill, utility bill, bank statement or rental agreement. 

4. Qualification documents - you must provide the following for each overseas qualification you are wanting assessed:

• Certified copy of Award certificate - Degree, Diploma or qualification certificate
• Certified copy of Academic transcripts/marksheets showing every year of study
  • For post graduate qualification assessment applications (e.g. Masters or Graduate Diploma) you must provide undergraduate qualification documents 
  • For technical/vocational qualification assessment applications you must provide evidence of all studies before University study e.g. Pre-University, GCE A levels, Senior Secondary School, and Senior High School

Important: All documents from this section must be certified, submitted in English and accompanied by English translations. Translations must be undertaken in Australia by an independent National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) accredited translator. (See below for further information).

5. Proof of name change:

• If the name on your academic documents is different to your current legal name you must provide evidence eg. marriage certificate, deed poll certificate.

Translations undertaken in Australia must be by an accredited National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) translator. For a list of accredited translators visit the NAATI website.

Any documents translated outside of Australia must endorsed by the translator showing their full name, address, telephone number, details of the qualifications and experience in the language being translated. 

You may be eligible to have your documents translated into English at no cost through the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP). Check your eligibility by visiting the AMEP website.