[djt]

I think the main problem is you need the accreditation if you want to apply to immigrate. As I understand it even if you are from overseas and study at a Australian university you would still need to get the accreditation to apply for a visa.

[jms]

It seems to me this is one of the key functions of the organisation - to act as a pseudo governmental entity to asses qualification and experience claims relating to IT.

I believe it also exists to provide a framework around CPD (continuing professional development), but I'm not sure how relevant this is to our industry.

[jpatokal]

Paying to vet the qualifications of people who have studied and worked overseas is not unreasonable -- but having to pay them $425 to certify that an accredited Australian university's CS diploma is, in fact, an accredited Australian university's CS diploma is ludicrous.

[ajtaylor]

I was concerned about this very thing when I was preparing to immigrate to Australia. In the end, because I had a job offer I got in on a 457 (good for 4 years) and didn't have to pay the ACS' accreditation fee. Even better, in 6 months when I apply for Permanent Residence I still don't have to pay the ACS because I've been working here for 2 years.

[yogar]

I am not sure this holds.

[ajtaylor]

Luckily, it still does though the visa has changed from 1 July 2012. It's now a ENS 186. The relevant portions [1] are below. This visa costs 3060 AUD along with 540 AUD for the employer nomination, but that covers the entire family.

"Temporary Residence Transition stream

If you apply for the Temporary Residence Transition stream, your skills do not need to be assessed because you have already worked for your nominating employer for two years in Australia.

You must have at least vocational English.

This stream is available only to people who hold a subclass 457 visa. People who hold other 400 series visas may qualify to apply for a permanent residence visa through the Direct Entry stream."

[1] http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/index/visas/subcla...

[jpatokal]

It does: I transitioned from 457 to permanent residence (ENS 856) without paying ACS a cent.

[ajtaylor]

Congratulations! The ENS 856 has since been replaced, but luckily there is still the skills exemption for 457 workers.

[lessnonymous]

If you want to enter under the skilled migrant program, I expect you're correct.

However as an employer, I've hired a bunch of people from overseas on a 457 visa and never thought to get them to talk to the ACS. I don't really care if your university degree has been rubber stamped or not. (And if you can write code, I don't really care too much about your degree)

[sc0rb]

Is it possible to get people from outside of Australia to migrate for work on a 457 visa without having to get their skills assessed by the ACS?