Australian Immigration Daily News

This news is just in from the ACS:

Like all organisations ACS has had to confront rising costs in providing services. While we have been focussed on finding ways to resist passing these costs on, you will see that the 2014 Fees Schedule includes an increase in a range of areas including membership subscriptions and skilled migration assessment services.

The ACS continues to invest in upgrading its technological infrastructure, staffing levels and training, in order to provide an improved assessment service with higher levels of quality and communication with applicants, migration agents and stakeholders.

As one of over thirty assessing authorities in Australia, we are pleased that we have been able to achieve these enhancements while maintaining assessment services fees that are among the lowest of all assessing authorities.

The new fee schedule will take effect from 15th January 2014 to coincide with changes to recent graduate criteria that ACS is applying from that date.

At this date, ACS will discontinue the ‘revalidation’ application type.  Historically this application has been used almost in its entirety by previous recent graduate applicants.  With the change in assessing criteria for graduate assessment, revalidation is no longer appropriate.

Please note ACS offices will close on Friday 20 December 2013, and re-open Monday 13 January 2014.  This means that operational staff will not be available by telephone to general public enquiries.  In practice the ACS online system will continue to receive and receipt skilled migration applications, while the majority of the assessment team will be working during this period to ensure service standards are met.

For clarification on any of the areas outlined above, please do not hesitate to contact the ACS Professional Assessments Manager Mr Berny Martinez on (02) 9299 3666.