Recent Australian Study Requirement – Eligibility

You need to meet the recent Australian Study Requirement in the last six months or meet the recent Skilled Employment requirement.
See: Recent Skilled Employment Experience – Eligibility

This means that you will need to have completed one or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications for award by an Australian educational institution as a result of a course or courses in which:

• are registered courses
• were completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months
• were completed as a result of a total of at least two academic years study
• all instruction was conducted in English
• you undertook while in Australia as the holder of a visa authorising you to study.

Each degree, diploma or trade qualification must be closely related to your nominated Skilled Occupation.
See: Skilled Occupation List

This means that you will need to have completed one or more degrees, diplomas or trade qualifications for award by an Australian educational institution as a result of a course or courses which:

• are registered courses
• were completed in a total of at least 16 calendar months
• were completed as a result of a total of at least two academic years study
• all instruction was conducted in English
• you undertook while in Australia as the holder of a visa authorising you to study.

Each degree, diploma or trade qualification must be closely related to your nominated Skilled Occupation.
See: Skilled Occupation List

What is meant by two academic years study?

Two academic years study is defined as 92 weeks of registered study.

It is a measure of the amount of study you have completed rather than how long it took you to complete the study. The requirement that you complete two academic years study does not mean that you need to study full-time to meet the Australian study requirement.

You can take longer to complete those requirements if you so choose. That is, if you take 92 weeks to complete a course registered with CRICOS for only 78 weeks, that course will still only count for 78 weeks towards meeting the Australian study requirement.

There is no upper limit on how long you can take to meet the Australian study requirement. It is a measure of the amount of study you have completed rather than how long it took you to complete the study. Only study successfully completed counts towards the two academic years.
Example: You cannot fail a subject with the hope of counting the same subject twice.

The 92 weeks of study could contribute towards the award of one or more acceptable qualification. In this instance, the courses of study need not have been undertaken within a 24 month period. It is possible to have a break between completing the first course and commencing the second.

The department will use CRICOS to determine the standard duration of a course. A course that has a registered duration of 92 weeks is considered to meet the two academic years requirement.

If you are given credit for prior learning it will reduce the amount of study you have completed. In such a situation the exempted units can not be counted towards meeting the Australian study requirement if:

• they are already being used towards meeting the Australian study requirement as part of another course
  Example: Periods of study can not count more than once towards meeting the Australian study requirement
• the credit was granted on the basis of study undertaken either overseas or within Australian in a non–CRICOS registered course.

This means that credit granted on the basis of study undertaken in Australia in a course registered with CRICOS may contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement, but only once.

Example 1:
If a course is CRICOS registered for 138 weeks (three years) and consists of 24 equal weighted units, you will have completed two academic years when you have successfully completed 16 units of that course. That means that if you are enrolled that course can be given credit based on non-CRICOS registered study of up to eight units and still complete two academic years of study.

Example 2:
If a course is CRICOS registered for 92 weeks (two years) and consists of 12 equal weighted units, you would be required to complete all 12 units to meet the Australian study requirement.

If you were granted credit based on study in another course also registered with CRICOS, then these exemptions could still contribute towards meeting the Australian study requirement regardless if a qualification was awarded for this other course.

However, if you are enrolled in this course and given any credit based on non-CRICOS registered study you will not have completed two academic years study and would fail to meet the Australian study requirement.

If you fall short of the 92 weeks of study due to exemptions you have received, you have several options to meet the Australian study requirement. Options could include:

• have the university rescind the exemptions so you must now successfully complete these subjects to be awarded your qualification
• complete additional units that are at the same level as the exempted units (or higher) and which are accepted by the university as award units for the qualification, such as an elective unit.
  Note: If the education provider specifies the units as 'Non-Award' units, then these units will not be able to count towards meeting the Australian study requirement. Also the additional units would need to be of sufficient registered CRICOS duration to take you to a total of 92 weeks of registered study.
  Also note: The academic transcript should indicate that the elective is contributing towards the award of the degree for this unit to be counted towards meeting the Australian study requirement to ensure that there is no doubt about the electives being part of the award of the qualification
• complete an additional qualification that is closely related to the occupation you nominate on your General Skilled Migration application. This additional qualification must be of sufficient CRICOS registered duration to make up for the exempted units from the students course(s).

Course requirements

Each qualification that you have completed and are relying on to meet this requirement must:

• be either a degree (a bachelor or any higher degree), a diploma, an advanced diploma, or a trade qualification
• have been undertaken at an Australian educational institution in Australia
• have been conducted in English
• be registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS).

Note: English language proficiency courses cannot be used to meet the Australian study requirement.

Qualifications must be closely related to nominated occupation

The Australian qualification(s) you have completed must be closely related to your nominated skilled occupation. This means that the skill set underpinning your qualifications are directly transferable to the nominated occupation, in terms of both the subject matter and the level of qualification.

Examples:

• A Certificate III in Plumbing and a Diploma of Plumbing and Services would be consistent with nominating Plumber as your occupation as the skills attained in this qualification directly relate to the everyday tasks of a plumber.

• A Bachelor of Commerce would not be consistent with nominating Registered Nurse as your occupation as the skills attained in this qualification are unrelated to the everyday tasks of a Registered Nurse.

What if you have completed study outside Australia?

If you have undertaken study whilst not physically present in Australia, this study cannot be used to satisfy the Australian study requirement.

Example: If you have studied at an overseas campus of an Australian educational institution, or undertaken study online or by correspondence with an Australian educational institution while outside Australia, this study will not be accepted. This is because all study must be undertaken while you are physically present in Australia.

Evidence to attach to your application

You will need to provide the following evidence:

• certified copy of completion letter from your educational institution, including:
• the date that the course commenced and ended
• the date that course requirements were met
• the location of campus where the study was undertaken
• whether the study involved any distance learning
• the language in which instruction was given
• certified copies of course transcripts.

Before lodging an application, please read all related requirements.

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