VETASSESS: PhD holders

VETASSESS no longer ‘accept doctoral studies supported only by living allowance and/or scholarships… Applicants must be engaged in the occupation on a paid basis, generally at the award or market rate of the occupation’

VETASSESS’ website for general occupations includes the following announcement:

Update for PhD holders 

Please be advised that as of 15 December 2018, VETASSESS will not accept doctoral studies supported only by living allowance and/or scholarships. Consistent with the Department of Home Affairs requirements, for skilled employment to be considered ‘remunerated’, applicants must be engaged in the occupation on a paid basis, generally at the award or market rate of the occupation. A person receiving minimal living allowances or scholarships designed to cover study expenses would not be considered to be remunerated.

VETASSESS will continue to ensure that impact on its clients is minimised during the transition leading up to the implementation date. Applications received prior to 15 December 2018 will be processed according to the criteria at the time of applying.


Disclaimer: the above is a mere reproduction of a website. The views there expressed might not reflect the views of the Department, the AAT or the courts. The law or policies might have changed between the writing and reading of this article. The author of this article and Migration Law Updates disclaim any liability for any action (or omission) on their part based on any information provided (or not provided) in this article and are under no obligation to keep the general public nor practitioners informed about the matters discussed in this article or any other matters, or any future changes to any of those matters. It is the responsibility of each practitioner to obtain access to primary sources of law and policy by themselves and to carry out their own research and come to their own conclusions on legislation, case law, policies and more. This article is not intended for the general public.


Sergio Zanotti Stagliorio is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1461003). He is the owner of Target Migration in Sydney. He can be reached at sergio@targetmigration.com.au

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