2.3 Employment

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2.3.1. Tasks and Duties

TRA refers to the Australian New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to compare the tasks and skills undertaken in your employment experience with those expected in your nominated occupation in Australia. The ANZSCO is a skills-based classification system used to classify all occupations and jobs in the Australian and New Zealand labour markets.

TRA may, at its discretion use other publicly available authoritative sources to verify your duties and tasks align with Australian industry standards.

2.3.2. Employment with an employer

An Employer Template must be completed for each employment period you wish to claim in support of your application. For example, if you have employment with two employers, you are required to provide two Employment Templates. The template/s must be completed by your employer or manager and include contact details that allow TRA to confirm the business exists and operates as claimed.

TRA must be able to independently confirm the contact information provided in the Employer Template is linked to the business. TRA must also be able to confirm the business functions in a way that supports the duties and tasks you undertake in your nominated occupation.

Tasks and duties listed in the Employer Templates must not be copied from external sources such as ANZSCO or other third-party sources.

The Employer Template can be downloaded from the online portal and on the Policy and Forms page of the TRA website.

2.3.3. Self Employment

If you are self-employed, you must select the ‘Self-Employment’ option in the employment type field in the TRA online portal. You must complete this section for each period of self-employment you are claiming. TRA must be able to confirm the contact information provided in your application is linked to the business. The business must be able to be verified as functioning in a way that supports the duties and tasks you undertake in your nominated occupation.  Each period of self-employment must be supported by sufficient supporting evidence outlined at Section 2.3.6 of these Guidelines.

Tasks and duties listed in your application must not be copied from external sources such as ANZSCO or other third-party sources.

2.3.4. Employment time periods

You are required to demonstrate 3 years of full-time or equivalent part-time paid employment. This employment must be directly relevant to your occupation and can be completed any time in your work history.

TRA considers full-time employment as ongoing employment working the required number of hours considered full-time in the country where the employment was undertaken. Fair Work Australia considers full-time employment in Australia as 38 hours per week unless a particular industrial award specifies otherwise.

Employment completed on a part-time basis will be considered on a pro-rata basis. For example, if you have completed 20 hours of employment per week over a 2-year period, you will be considered to have completed 12 months of full-time paid employment.

2.3.5. Currency of your skills

To ensure your skills are current to Australian industry standards, your evidence must demonstrate you have worked for 12 months full-time (38 hours per week), or the equivalent part-time in your nominated or directly related occupation within the last three years prior to applying to TRA.

2.3.6. Pay evidence

You are required to provide pay evidence to support your employment claims. The requirements for pay evidence vary and depend on the type of employment undertaken, as specified in the table below. Please note TRA may request additional evidence if your claims cannot be verified.

You are required to upload full colour scans of documentary pay evidence.

Employment Type Pay Evidence Required
Employment not completed in Australia (excluding self-employment)

At least two verifiable sources of documents for each year of employment claimed from the categories below:

  • official government tax records. This may include payment summaries, group certificates or notices of assessment 
  • official government documents that show your employers name and periods of employment. Such as:
    • work permits/visas,
    • social Insurance records
    • official contract documents from the Ministry of Labour etc.
  • three payslips citing both the name of the applicant and employer
  • superannuation documents citing the names of the applicant and employer
  • bank statements citing the name of the applicant and employer and showing income deposited
Employment completed in Australia (excluding self-employment)

At least two verifiable sources of documents for each year of employment claimed from the categories below:

  • Income Statements and Notices of Assessment for each period of employment being claimed.
  • three (3) pay slips citing the name of the employer and employee
  • Superannuation documents citing the name of the applicant and employer.
  • Bank statements citing the name of the applicant and employer and showing income deposited.
Self-Employment not undertaken in Australia

At least three verifiable types of documents for each calendar year of self-employment claimed from the categories below:

  • business registration documents
  • relevant trade or business licences
  • annual business returns
  • Invoices to clients and invoices from suppliers
  • bank statements showing income and expenses
  • statement from a registered/certified accountant if applicable
  • taxation documents citing the name of the business 
Self-Employment in Australia

At least three verifiable types of documents for each calendar year of self-employment claimed from the categories below:

  • your Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • financial statements
  • invoices to clients and/or from suppliers
  • bank statements showing income and expenses
  • Business Activity Statement/s (BAS)
  • Income Tax returns (including Business Schedule)
  • Notice of Assessment 
  • statement from a registered/certified accountant if applicable

2.3.7. Verification of employment

If TRA cannot verify your employment claims, you may be contacted to provide additional evidence or be asked to obtain further verification of employment from the nominated employer. The employer will need to provide the verification in electronic format directly to TRA.

Please note the provision of a document or other information does not guarantee that your employment will be accepted by TRA.