VETASSESS for a 482, DAMA or Labour Agreement Nomination

A VETASSESS skills assessment is mandatory for a 482 visa in one occupation, program or project administrator (ANZSCO 511112), for holders of every passport unless an exemption in IMMI 18/039 applies. Outside that occupation, a 482 needs a VETASSESS assessment only when Home Affairs asks for one in writing, or when the terms of the employer’s labour agreement or DAMA name VETASSESS as the assessing authority. A required assessment must be started within the 3 years before the visa application and before it is lodged, or the application is invalid, so the first step is to apply to VETASSESS and keep its reference number for the visa form.

When does a 482 need VETASSESS?

A 482 needs VETASSESS in three situations: the nominated occupation is program or project administrator, Home Affairs asks in writing, or a labour agreement’s terms require it. The mandatory rule comes from the Migration (IMMI 18/039: Mandatory Skills Assessment—Subclass 482 Visa) Instrument 2018 on the Federal Register of Legislation, made under Schedule 1 item 1240(3)(g) of the Migration Regulations 1994, and it applies to primary applicants in the Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams.

The one mandatory occupation

Program or project administrator (ANZSCO 511112) is item 21 in section 5 of IMMI 18/039, and section 6 applies it to all persons other than exempt applicants, whatever passport they hold. The assessment type is the “Skills Assessment for General Professional Occupations”. A program or project administrator is exempt in three cases:

1. They hold a 457 visa, a Temporary Skill Shortage 482 or a Skills in Demand 482, met the primary criteria for it, and are employed in Australia in the nominated occupation (section 7(1)(a)).
2. They are employed in the same or a similar occupation by a company running an established business overseas, and that company or an associated entity is the standard business sponsor nominating them (section 7(1)(b)).
3. They hold a qualification commensurate with the one ANZSCO specifies, will receive annual earnings of at least $180,000, and are nominated by a sponsor with accredited status, all three together (section 7(4)).

The qualification, licence and Offshore Skills Assessment Program exemptions in section 7(2) are written for every listed occupation “other than item 21”, so they do not help a program or project administrator.

When Home Affairs asks for one

Home Affairs can ask any 482 applicant for a skills assessment in writing, even where none is mandatory (Home Affairs, Core Skills stream page). The applicant then applies to the assessing authority for the nominated occupation. The same page notes that a skills assessment is different from registration with a regulatory body, so a licence or registration does not replace a requested assessment.

When must it be started?

A mandatory VETASSESS assessment must be started before the visa application is lodged, and must have been undertaken or started within the 3 years ending immediately before the application day (IMMI 18/039, section 5(2)(d)). Home Affairs states on the Core Skills stream page that an application lodged without it is not valid and will not be processed, and the form asks for the skills assessment reference number. Home Affairs encourages applicants to finish the assessment before lodging to reduce processing delays.

VETASSESS for DAMA and labour agreement nominations

A labour agreement nomination takes its skills rules from the agreement, not from IMMI 18/039, because the worker applies in the 482 Labour Agreement stream. Three layers decide whether VETASSESS is needed:

1. The agreement type. A company-specific, industry or DAMA labour agreement sets the occupations the employer can nominate and any concessions to the standard 482 criteria.
2. Industry labour agreements. The Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement requires a VETASSESS assessment for any 482, 494 or 186 application in an approved occupation that is not on its eligible list of skilled occupations; occupations on that list follow the standard skills rules (Home Affairs, Industry labour agreements page, updated 23 June 2026).
3. DAMAs. A DAMA is a two-tier framework: a five-year head agreement between the Australian Government and the designated area representative, then individual labour agreements with employers under that head agreement’s settings. Employers must gain the representative’s endorsement before lodging a labour agreement request in ImmiAccount, and each head agreement sets its own occupations and concessions (Home Affairs, DAMA page, updated 24 September 2026).

Home Affairs does not publish the assessing authority for each DAMA occupation. Where a designated area representative publishes one, it appears in that DAMA’s own occupation list; the South West DAMA list published by the Shire of Dardanup, for example, names a skills assessing authority beside each occupation.

What does VETASSESS check, and how long does it take?

VETASSESS checks whether a worker’s qualifications and employment meet its standard for the nominated occupation. Home Affairs describes an assessing authority as an organisation that “checks that your skills meet the standards they set” (Home Affairs, Skills assessment page, updated 17 September 2026). For program or project administrator, IMMI 18/039 names the assessment type as the “Skills Assessment for General Professional Occupations”.

VETASSESS’s processing time and fee are not published by government. VETASSESS sets its own, Home Affairs states that each assessing authority has its own procedures, timeframes and charges, and the fee is separate from the $4,015 visa application charge. This guide does not repeat VETASSESS’s figures because they are not government figures.

Which employment references does it need?

A 482 worker needs at least 1 year of relevant work experience in the nominated occupation or a related field, with tasks the same as or closely related to the ANZSCO description of the nominated position (Core Skills stream page). VETASSESS sets the employment evidence it accepts for its own assessment, and Home Affairs assesses the 482 experience rule separately. The guide to employment reference letters sets out what a 482 reference states, who signs it and what backs it up.

How does TRA differ?

TRA and VETASSESS split the 482 mandatory list between them, on different triggers:

1. TRA assesses the 23 trades on the list, and the worker’s passport decides whether the assessment is mandatory.
2. VETASSESS assesses one listed occupation, program or project administrator, for holders of every passport.
3. In TRA’s Temporary Skills Shortage skills assessment program, the applicant’s registered training organisation emails the outcome (TRA program page).
4. A TRA Offshore Skills Assessment Program outcome exempts a trade worker from the 482 assessment; no equivalent route exists for program or project administrator.

The guide to the TRA skills assessment for a 482 visa sets out the trade-by-passport table, TRA’s two programs and its stage fees.

Supplementary: the 482 skills-assessment rule and labour agreements

A skills assessment is one of several criteria the 482 worker meets, alongside experience, English, health and character. The guide to the 482 skill assessment covers each assessing authority and what applies when no assessment is mandatory. For employers, the rules on labour agreements explain how a company, industry or DAMA agreement sets its own occupations and concessions.

A migration lawyer makes approval more likely here because, for a DAMA or labour agreement nomination, the assessing authority and the evidence it wants come from the agreement’s terms rather than a public list, and a program or project administrator is exempt only if all three conditions in section 7(4) of IMMI 18/039 are met together: a qualification commensurate with ANZSCO, earnings of at least $180,000 and an accredited sponsor.