Employment - FAQs What details do I need to provide in my Employment References? Work experience must be at a suitable ICT professional level and closely related to the nominated ANZSCO code to be assessed as suitable. Only employment completed after the date you have met the ACS suitability criteria will be counted as “Skilled Employment” and eligible for migration points. Work experience used to meet the suitability criteria is NOT counted as “Skilled Employment” and NOT eligible for migration points. At least 65% of the duties noted in the employment reference must be closely related to the nominated occupation (ANZSCO) for work experience to be suitable. Please refer to the ANZSCO Code Descriptions for descriptions of course units and employment duties. Please Note: work experience can only be assessed according to the information provided in the employment reference. The following list indicates the details required to be displayed on the employment reference to assess your work experience. If these requirements are NOT met or are unclear in the employment reference, the employment episode will be assessed as not suitable. Employment References Each employment reference must contain: • Start and Finish Dates of Employment • Description of Duties Performed • Hours worked - Full time or Part time • Country where Employment was completed • Company Letterhead and signed by the author Please Note:  Employment references MUST contain an end date or the work episode will be assessed as not suitable.  The term, “To Date” cannot be used as the end date of the employment reference.  Only month and year will be counted for employment duration, not individual days.  The relevance to your nominated occupation will be determined by the description of duties in your work reference.  If dates or duties are unclear or open to misinterpretation, the work episode will be assessed as not suitable. The employment reference must have a start and finish date, stating the month and year. Full-time work is considered to be 20 hours or more per week and must be stated in the reference. All references must contain specific information from the employer regarding the duties you performed and the skills applied on the job. References that do not have specific details of duties will be assessed as not suitable. The country in which the employment was performed must be stated in the reference. References need to describe your duties and responsibilities as stated by your employer. Generic job descriptions are not acceptable and will be assessed as not suitable. ACS |Employment - FAQsV12012 Page 1 References must be dated and signed by your employer or a person authorised by your employer. The name, position and contact details of the person making the reference must be clearly indicated. For an example of an employment reference, please see: Employment Reference Example I cannot provide a reference from my employer. Will you accept anything else? If you are Unable to Obtain an Employment Reference If you are unable to obtain an employment reference on a company letterhead from your employer, a third party official Statutory Declaration written by work colleague may be considered. The Statutory Declaration must be written by a third party work colleague; NOT written by yourself. Self-written statements submitted as a Statutory Declaration will be assessed as not suitable. A Statutory Declaration written by a work colleague needs to describe the working relationship with you and supply details of your duties performed with relevant dates of employment. It is preferable that the work colleague writing the Statutory Declaration be at a supervisory level. Acceptance of Statutory Declarations in place of employment references will be subject to the verification and discretion of the ACS and noted to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection for authentication against fraud and plagiarism. Important Note: Self-written statements submitted as a Statutory Declaration will be assessed as not suitable. Self-references in the form of a Statutory Declaration cannot be accepted as evidence of employment. Statutory Declarations must be written by a third party work colleague and signed by an authorised witness to be considered suitable. Statutory Declarations A Statutory Declaration is a written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness. All Statutory Declarations must be clearly signed by an authorised witness to be considered for assessment: List of Authorised Witnesses Australian Statutory Declaration for use within Australia: Statutory Declaration For Overseas Statutory Declaration, please refer to the legal standard within the country you are applying from. Other Types of Work Experience Volunteer work can be considered if there is a specific contract in place with a statement of duty and references supplied. Post-qualification internships may be considered if the work is at a suitable professional level. Work expressed to be at a trainee or junior level is not normally considered unless a qualification has already been acquired as a means of obtaining the skills needed to perform the duties. Duties involving the assembling or repairing of computers at an operator level, installing and updating manufacturer-supplied software, data entry, clerical and administrative interaction with software-based commercial systems are not considered to be at a professional ICT level. ACS |Employment - FAQsV12012 Page 2 I have an old reference letter from my previous company; do I need to provide a more recent version for a skills assessment? Only the dates noted on the employment reference will count towards your assessment result. If there is a period employment not mentioned on your old employment reference, it would be advisable to update the reference. Does the employment letter need specific information that may be against disclosure agreements? We require essential details concerning to your position title, start and finish dates, and role description. Companies are welcome not to include client or project names or any sensitive information. My Company has merged or changed names. Will this cause a problem? Please ensure the company name change is noted in the employment reference to avoid any confusion. Will you contact my employer? Employers may be contacted at the discretion of the assessment team. Should I include all my work experience in the application? Please include all the relevant work experience you would like to be assessed and included in your result letter. How do you calculate work experience? Your work experience is calculated based on the start and finish dates stated on your employment reference.      Employment references MUST contain an end date or the work episode will be assessed as not suitable. Employment references can only be calculated until the date of submission. The “To Date” will be taken from the employment reference or the submission date of your application – whichever comes first. If there is no date when the employment reference was written, the reference will be assessed as not suitable. All current employment references MUST be dated and the “To Date” will be noted as the date of submission. Only month and year will be counted for employment duration, not individual days. ACS |Employment - FAQsV12012 Page 3   The relevance to your nominated occupation will be determined by the description of duties in your work reference. If dates or duties are unclear or open to misinterpretation, the work episode will be assessed as not suitable. How do you assess Part-Time and full time Experience? Full-time experience is defined as 20 hours or more per week. Employment under 20 hours per week cannot be assessed. ACS |Employment - FAQsV12012 Page 4