Provisional Skills Assessment (PSA) FAQs

Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026 Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) will be prioritising skills assessments for targeted construction occupations for applicants who want to work in Australia’s housing and construction industry. 

No, there is no additional fee for prioritised skills assessments for identified construction trades. 

No. Non construction industry occupations will be progressed in order of receipt. 

All changes come into effect on 1 July 2023. Please read the Provisional Skills Assessment Applicant Guidelines fully and carefully before you apply.

The most significant changes are:

• Clarifying requirements for ‘decision ready’ applications and qualifications containing Credit Transfers.
• Removing reference to a student visa from the eligibility requirements (being an international student graduate remains a key requirement).
• Removal of the requirement for applicants to submit evidence of 360 hours employment ‘exposure’ or vocational placement.
• Introduction of an expiry limitation for a PSA as a pre-requisite for the JRP (3 years from the date of PSA issue).

No. Your JRPRE application will continue to be assessed and on completion you will receive a PSA assessment outcome letter. Your JRPRE outcome also meets the requirement of a PSA outcome as a pre-requisite for your JRE application.

If you received a JRPRE outcome between 01 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 and need a PSA outcome to apply to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) for a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) you must meet the following criteria before TRA will consider your request:

• have a successful JRPRE outcome,
• not be participating in the Job Ready Program (JRP) and
• provide confirmation of your Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) application (including lodgement date) or your ‘Request Checklist’ from the Department of Home Affairs indicating a skills assessment is required.

Please upload all evidence via the TRA online portal.

Once you have uploaded your evidence, please email psaenquiries@dewr.gov.au to request consideration for a PSA outcome. Please include your full name and TRA reference number in your email.

If you have a successful JRPRE outcome email, you are not required to submit a new PSA application.

If you have applied for PSA while holding a successful JRPRE outcome email, please contact PSAEnquiries@dewr.gov.au and provide your new TRA reference number. TRA will contact you to provide further advice for your circumstances.

PSA Outcome letters will only be issued to applicants with a successful JRPRE outcome email in specific situations. To be eligible for a PSA outcome you must:

• have a successful JRPRE outcome,
• not be participating in the Job Ready Program (JRP) and
• provide confirmation of your Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) application (including lodgement date) or your ‘Request Checklist’ from the Department of Home Affairs indicating a skills assessment is required.

Please upload all evidence via the TRA online portal.

Once you have uploaded your evidence, please email psaenquiries@dewr.gov.au to request consideration for a PSA outcome. Please include your full name and TRA reference number in your email.

You can apply for a PSA and if successful, the outcome letter can be used to apply to the Department of Home Affairs for a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485). Please read the Provisional Skills Assessment Applicant Guidelines on the TRA website for more information about the PSA. Please ensure TRA is the correct assessing authority for your nominated occupation.

Please note: Eligibility requirements for the Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) changed on 1 July 2024. If you need a skills assessment for this visa, please ensure you have checked your eligibility for the visa before you apply to TRA for a Provisional Skills Assessment.

TRA is aware of the proposed changes to the age eligibility requirements of the Temporary Graduate Visa program. We are working to finalise assessments for PSA applicants who may be affected by the changes. If you are turning 35 before 1 July 2024, require a skills assessment for a Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) and have not yet submitted your PSA application, please do so as soon as possible to ensure TRA has sufficient time to assess your application. 

Yes. The Provisional Skills Assessment is a pre-requisite for the Job Ready Program. You cannot apply for the JRP without a successful PSA outcome. Note: you must ensure you are able to meet the JRP requirements for the duration of your participation in the program. 

TRA is unable to advise you about your visa. Please contact the Department of Home Affairs to discuss your options.

No. Your application will be deemed ineligible and assessed as unsuccessful if your course completion date is after your PSA application date. TRA will not refund fees where an applicant does not meet program eligibility requirements (see Section 3.2 of the TRA Fees Payment and Refund Policy).

No. Overseas qualifications cannot be used for the PSA, but other TRA Programs may be appropriate. Please use the pathfinder tool if you are unsure of the program relevant to you and your qualifications.

PSA applicants must provide evidence of identity (e.g., passport) and qualifications (e.g., certificate, completion letter and transcripts). All documents supplied must be full colour scan of the original document. Please refer to Section 2.2 of the Provisional Skills Assessment Applicant Guidelines for full details. Please note that all applications must be complete and ‘decision ready’ on the date of your submission or the application may be unsuccessful.

The currently accepted AQF qualification for specific occupations can be found here.

Other qualifications may be accepted if they are relevant to your occupation and of the same standard and scope as the listed qualification. TRA will consider alternative applications and assess their comparability with the scope and standards of the units studied in the listed qualification, as well as their relevance to your nominated occupation.

No. Your qualification cannot include units awarded by recognition of prior learning (RPL). Any credit transfer awarded based on RPL is not accepted. TRA will use various sources to verify your qualification is awarded by a CRICOS registered RTO resulting from study in Australia.

TRA may request additional evidence if your qualification cannot be verified, was completed under a different passport or included units awarded through credit transfer.

TRA does not accept a qualification where units of study were awarded on the basis of Credit Transfer (CT) and that CT was based on RPL. Where necessary TRA will follow up with you, or you may consider uploading additional evidence with your PSA application such as:

• transcripts for any prior study that may have been used for credit transfer.
• a copy of your USI (Unique Student Identifier) report containing evidence of all your Australian study that may have been used for credit transfer.

No. From 16 January 2015, an IELTS test result is no longer an eligibility requirement for a PSA.

Your PSA (or JRPRE) outcome is valid for 3 years from date of issue. If your PSA has expired and you would like to apply for the JRP, you will need to submit a new PSA application. TRA adds 3 years of currency to the PSA outcome for two purposes. Firstly, it ensures the validity and currency of your qualifications and skills, putting you in the best position to achieve a successful JRFA outcome. Secondly, it aligns with the requirements in the Migration Instruments, which mandate a 3-year validity for the skills assessment outcome.

If your PSA outcome has been assessed as unsuccessful, you can either request a review or reapply. If your PSA outcome has expired as it is more than 3 years from the date of issue, you will need to reapply for the PSA.

If you need to reapply for a PSA, you will need to lodge a new application through the TRA Online Portal as a new user. This means you will create a new username and password. Do not tick that you have a previous TRA Application File Number.

A new PSA application will incur a new application fee.

If you disagree with your PSA outcome, you have 45 days from the date of your assessment outcome to apply for a review. Note: an application that was made unsuccessful because it had been deemed invalid is not eligible for a review. Your PSA unsuccessful letter will contain information about how to apply for a review. Payment for the review can be made using your TRA Online Portal. An additional link “PSA Review Payment” will be activated within your TRA Online Portal account to make this payment.

A review will consider the information submitted with your original PSA application plus any additional evidence you provide with your review application in support of your request for a review. Any documents you provide as additional evidence will only be considered when the documents provided establish or support your eligibility for the skills assessment as at your original application date.

You can withdraw your PSA application at any time by sending TRA a formal request by email to PSAEnquiries@dewr.gov.au. Your email should identify the TRA number, your name as registered for the PSA, and your date of birth (for authentication). Refunds will not be provided should you choose to withdraw your PSA application after an assessment has commenced. The circumstances in which TRA will refund a payment are detailed in the TRA Fees Payment and Refund Policy on the TRA website.

You can access your account with the username and password you created when you first registered.

You can reset your password by clicking on the link ‘Forgotten your password?' on the TRA Online Portal and answering the security questions you created when you registered your account.

If you have forgotten your Username or Password, please contact Trades Recognition Australia at TRAEnquiries@dewr.gov.au. Please include your full name and TRA reference number in your email.

From 29 June 2023, TRA introduced mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) to the TRA Online Portal which requires entering a One Time Passcode that will be sent to the email address a user registered with when logging into the TRA Online Portal. Only one email address can be used, therefore applicants and agents who do not share the same email address will need to decide which email address to register to receive the One Time Passcode.