Fact Sheet 28 - Skill Matching Database
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Skill Matching Database
The Skill Matching Database is a free web-based tool used by employers and state/territory governments to address skill shortages.
The database is available through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship website.
See: Skill Matching Database
The Skill Matching Database is no longer accepting new applicants. Applicants who are currently registered on the database can still update their information. Employers and state and territory governments can continue to access the database to source skilled migrants.
See: Decommissioning of the Skilled Matching Database
Employers and state/territory governments can view the educational qualifications and the current occupation and duties of visa applicants. Employers seeking more details on a particular applicant (or applicants) may request a full resume, which includes the personal contact details of the applicants. This can be done in two ways:
- lodging an online request to the department through the Skill Matching Database
- contacting a member of the Skill Matching Network and quoting the applicant's Skill Matching Internet ID number.
Standard short-listing processes can be used to identify a suitable candidate from the database. Employers are not under any obligation to employ an applicant from the database until they decide that the applicant is suitable for their business. If an employer decides to sponsor an applicant, normal migration processes and Australian working conditions will apply.
The database enables a communication exchange between prospective skilled migrants and potential employers onshore. There are many instances in which this 'linking' process leads to good outcomes for employers and applicants. However, in a competitive market there is no guarantee that a particular person listed on the database can be 'locked in' as the result of such contact.
Most visa applicants remain on the database until they arrive in Australia. The details of pooled applicants will remain on the database for a period of two years. Some employers contact a person on the database and find that the applicant has already been offered employment. In other cases the applicant may switch employers on the basis of what they regard as a better offer. The department does not know when or how employers make contact with applicants, and does not know the outcomes of any such contacts. In this sense, the database is much like an extension of the Australian labour market and the competitive dynamics are similar.
Applicants on the database are at various stages of the visa process and represent a number of different visa categories. Many applicants listed on the database do not require formal sponsorship by an employer for their visa to be granted. Employers may contact these applicants directly and negotiate an offer of employment without involving the department. Employers also have the option of offering sponsorship to any applicant on the database that has not had their visa granted or been nominated by a state or territory government.
Sponsorship or nomination by an employer or state and territory government expedites the processing of visa applications from the Skill Matching Database.
Skill Matching Database Help Desk
Users of the Skill Matching Database can contact the Help Desk for the following matters:
- guidance on navigating the database and requesting resumes
- reporting technical faults
- providing feedback on the Skill Matching Database.
The Skill Matching Database Help Desk can be contacted by email.
Email: SMD.HelpDesk@immi.gov.au
Skill Matching Network
The Skill Matching Network provides employers with the resumes and contact details of people registered on the database as well as general advice on sponsorship and nomination.
The Skill Matching Network can provide employers with the resumes and contact details of people registered on the database and provide general advice on sponsorship and nominations.
The Skill Matching Network includes the department's Centres of Excellence, state and territory governments, some regional certifying bodies and some area consultative committees.
Contact details of the department's Centres of Excellence can be found on the department's website.
See: Centres of Excellence
Alternatively, you may contact a Regional Outreach Officer or an Industry Outreach Officer.
See:
Regional Outreach Officer
Industry Outreach Officer
Regional certifying bodies operate throughout Australia and are a good point of contact for regional employers wanting to sponsor migrants under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme. Further information on regional certifying bodies can be found on the department's web site.
See: Regional Certifying Bodies
Area consultative committees are able to identify opportunities, priorities and development strategies for their regions. Further information on area consultative committees can be found on their website.
See: www.acc.gov.au
Who can list their details on the database?
The Skill Matching Database is no longer accepting new applicants.
See: Decommissioning of the Skilled Matching Database
Sponsorship/Nomination from the Skill Matching Database
Employers can nominate applicants listed on the Skill Matching Database through any of the following three ways:
-
The Employer Nomination Scheme enables Australian employers to nominate skilled overseas workers to fill full-time vacancies in their business.
See: Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 121/856) -
The Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme allows employers not located in the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth to nominate skilled overseas workers to fill full-time vacancies in their business.
See: Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 119/857) -
A Labour Agreement is a formal arrangement between the Commonwealth (represented by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship) and an employer. Labour agreements enable Australian employers to recruit a specified number of workers from overseas in response to an identified or emerging skill need in the Australian labour market.
See: Labour Agreements
Note: On-hire firms, including those with a Labour Agreement, are excluded from accessing the Skill Matching Database, as they do not meet the direct employment requirement.
Employers (excluding on-hire firms) that have a Labour Agreement in place can access the Skill Matching Database if the Labour Agreement allows for the recruitment of overseas workers under permanent visa subclasses.
Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au
The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm (recorded information is available outside these hours).
Fact Sheet 28. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed 1 July 2011.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2010.