FAQ - PASA for Accountants for Migration to Australia
23/9/2009
According to announcement today, non-CSL applicantions are not likely to be processed before 2012.
Announcement 17/12/2008
Accountant applicants with proficient English (7 or more in each of the four modules in IELTS) will get higher processing priority as then you will be considered to be in the Critical Shortage List (CSL).
If your occupation is in the State Sponsorship list and you get a sponsorship from that state then
your application will get further processing priority.
See FAQ 2008 -2009 Changes to GSM processing priority
Note: OZMA specialises in assisting Accountants for their Skills assessment. OZMA looks at your qualifications, courses you completed, syllabus of the courses studied, your grades, and future plans and then decides after discussion with you to which of three accounting bodies you should apply for skills assessment.
OZMA has the following programs and plans
(a)
guiding individual accountants complete their PASA application ation - fee A$1000 payable in 2 equal
instalments
(b) running 3 hour seminar in Dhaka
to explain to them the requirements of the three assessing bodies
(c) running five day non-residential workshops for accountants in Dhaka on five successive holidays where - participants will get
guidance and other required help in completing their PASA application. - participation fee A$500 - (or Tk 25000)
If you are interested in any of the above, send us an email at ozmaint@gmail.com giving details of your requirments.
See : FAQ 2008-2009 Changes to GSM processing priority
Q: I am an accountant. Can I migrate to Australia?A: If you want to migrate to Australia as an accountant, you have to meet the following criteria:
(a) be less than 45 in age
(b) have at least competent English
(c) have university qualification(s) comparable to an Australian undergraduate degree
(d) have completed at least nine of the 12 listed core units
(e) have got your skills assessed from one of the three accounting bodies in Australia.
(f) have one year's work experience in the last 24 months in an occupation which is in the
current Skilled Occupation List (SOL)
Q: What is competent English?A: You will be considered to have competent English if in the IELTS test you score 6 or more in READING, 6 or more in WRITING, 6 or more LISTENING and 6 or more in SPEAKING. If you have any more questions on English requirements then look at the FAQ on GSM Offshore in this website or click on the following link .
FAQ - GSM OffshoreQ: For accountants, do they have to take the general or academic IELTS test?A: There is no specific requirement by any of the assessing bodies. So you may take either the general or academic IELTS test.
Q: What are the three accounting bodies in Australia which do skills assessment for accounting related occupations for skilled migration applicants?A : The three accounting bodies are (a) Certified Practicing Accountants, Australia (CPAA), (b) Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia (ICAA) and (c) National Institute of Accountants (NIA).
Q: What is meant by a 60-point occupation? A:
Under the points testing system used for General Skilled Migration,
each occupation in the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) is classified
under three categories - 60 point occupation, 50 point occupation and
40 -point occupation.
Q: For which accounting occupations in the current Skilled Occupation List does one apply to the three Australian Accounting bodies?A: Currently if you want to nominate any of the following occupations in your visa application, then you must apply for your skill assessment to one of the accounting bodies:
(a) Accountant
(b) External Auditor
(c) Finance Manager
(d) External Auditor
Q: Are these occupations all 60-point occupations?A: YES.
Q: Why does everyone advise me to nominate Accountant as my occupation for my visa application?A: The occupation Accountant as well as Extrenal Auditor are 60-point occupations. They are also MODL (migration occupation in demand list) occupations for which you may get 15 points if you have 12 months work experience in the last 48 months in the occupation Accountant or External Audirot or a related occupation. Also, if you have three years work experience in the last four years in your nominated occupation (Accountant/External Auditor ) or a related occupation, you can claim 10 more points for Specific Work Experience. So you can get a total of 85 points if you nominate Accountant/External Auditor as your occupation and meet the above two.
Q Which of the above mentioned four accounting occupations are in the MODL?
A As on 19/3/2009, the occupations Accountant and External Auditor are on the MODL.
Q Which of these occupations are in the new Critical Skills List (CSL) ?
A As on 19/3/2009, only the occupation Accountant with proficient English is on the CSL.
Q: I work in a bank and have accounting qualifications. Can I nominate Accountant as my occupation?A: YES, If your work involves high level financial work then your job duties are likely to match that of a Finance Manager or an Accountant. So you will have work experience as an Accountant or a closely related occupation to that of an Accountant.
Q: I work as an Internal Auditor. Can I claim the 15 MODL points and 10 Specific Work Experience points? Is the occupation Internal Auditor considered a related occupation to the occupation Accountant?A: YES. According to PAM (Policy and Administration Manual) the occupation Internal Auditor is considered a closely related occupation to the occupation Accountant. For an Internal Auditor's job one requires to have qualifications similar to that of an accountant and the two occupations are in the same industry.
Q: I have passed the membership examination of the Bangladesh Institute of Chartered Accountants. Will that be taken into account by any of the assessing bodies for my skills assessment?A: Unfortunately not. No accounting body in Australia currently has any reciprocal arrangements with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Bangladesh to recognise each other's professional qualifications. Hence your chartered accounting qualification from Bangladesh will not be considered for assessment purposes. Only academic qualifications that you have obtained from recognised universities will be taken into account for your skills assessment.
Q: I have heard that the ICMAB qualification is recognised for migration skills assessment. Is that true?A: In the past, ICMAB had some discussions with National Institute of Australia (NIA), one of the three accounting/assessing bodies in Australia. Earlier, NIA had written to some enquirers, including me, that they were prepared to consider courses completed for ICMAB qualification for PASA purposes provided you are currently a paid member of ICMAB and you also have university qualification(s) that is comparable to an Australian undergraduate degree. For current information on this you should contact ICMAB and NIA.
Q: I applied to NIA for skills assessment. NIA gave me credit for
five subjects based on my university studies. I have completed 15 of
the ICMAB courses and they contain some of the NIA core units. Why did
I not get credits for the ICMAB courses?A: NIA will not give
you credit for courses studied for ICMAB qualifications unless you have
completed the final ICMAB examinations and you are a current paid
member of the institute. Once you have completed the remaining ICMAB
course and become fully qualified, you may apply to NIA for review of
your application.
Q: I have got a two year B.Com (pass)
degree from National University in Bangladesh. I also passed the ICMAB
exams. Will that be OK for skills assessment?A: No. your two
year B.Com degree is not comparable to an Australian undergraduate
degree. Therefore at this momnet you will not meet the assessment criteria
for an Accountant. If you complete a two year Masters degree from a
recognised university then you will become eligible.
Q: I have a four year BBA degree from BRAC University in Dhaka and passed the ICMAB qualification. Where do I stand?A:
You will be eligible to apply for skill assessment. If you want the
courses you studied for your ICMAB qualification to be considered then
you should apply to NIA.
Q: Do you suggest that if I have an ICMAB qualification, I should apply to NIA instead of to the other two accounting bodies as they will not consider the courses that I completed for ICMAB, whereas NIA will.A: As NIA has responded to individuals and not put this information on their website FAQ yet, I would suggest that to be on the safe side and not risk your money, before sending your application to NIA you should first email or write to NIA for confirmation. If after they receive your letter NIA is still prepared to consider ICMAB courses then you may lodge your application.
13/11/2008 - In response to my query about taking into consideration courses completed for ICMAB qualificaiton, I received the following reply from the assesing section:
Please be advised that ICMAB qualification will be taken into consideration for qualification assessment if the applicant has a qualification that is assessed as comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree.
Q: I wrote to NIA for confirmation about their recognising ICMAB qualifications but I got no reply. What should I do?A: You may contact your ICMAB secretariat. Ask the current secretary about the final outcome of their discussions with NIA regarding recognising each other's qualifications.
13/11/2008 - See below the response I reveived from NIA on 13/11/2008.
Please be advised that ICMAB
qualification will be taken into consideration for qualification
assessment if the applicant has a qualification that is assessed as
comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree. Q: What about the other two assessing/accounting bodies, CPAA and ICAA? Will they not recognise ICMAB qualification like NIA?A: No, the other two accounting bodies currently do not recognise ICMAB qualification..
Q: I am a Chartered Accountant. How do I get my professional qualification recognised by the accounting and assessing bodies in Australia like the ICMAB qualification is accepted by NIA
A: You have to ask your Institute (Institute of Chartered Accountants, Bangladesh) to initiate discussions with the relevant accounting body in Austrlaia for mutual recognition of each other's qualifications.
Q: What are the 12 core units from which an applicant needs to show that they have studied at least 9 core units?A: See the table below:
CPAA
|
ICAA
|
NIA
|
|
Accounting systems and processes
|
Accounting Systems &
Processes
|
Basic Accounting
|
|
Management accounting
|
Cost & Management
Accounting
|
Cost and Management
Accounting
|
|
Financial accounting
|
Corporate Accounting &
Reporting
|
Financial and Corporate
Accounting
|
|
Auditing
|
Audit & Assurance
|
Auditing
|
|
Accounting theory
|
Accounting Theory, Professional & Regulatory processes
|
Current Accounting Issues
(standards and theory)
|
|
Finance
|
Finance
|
Business Finance
|
|
Commercial law
|
Legal Framework &
Commercial Law
|
Introductory Law (including
contract law)
|
|
Economics
|
Economics (micro & macro)
|
Economics
|
|
Quantitative methods
|
Quantitative
methods
|
Statistics
|
|
Information systems design and development
|
Information Systems Design
& Development
|
Computer Information Systems
|
|
Taxation
|
Taxation Law
|
Taxation Law
|
|
Company
law
|
Corporate Law
|
Company
Law
|
Q: I have completed my Bachelor degree with accounting major. I have studied many accounting and non-accounting subjects. But the courses I have studied have different names to those mentioned by the three assessing bodies. How do I match my courses with the 12 core units mentioned by the accounting bodies.
A: Course names are likely to be different. Even in Australia two universities will not use the same course names. If you look at the table above you will notice that although the three accounting bodies have similar requirements as far as accounting knowledge by completion of 12 units, the names used for the same body of knowledge or course, is sometimes different. That is where your university education comes for testing. You should be able to say by looking at the names of a core unit what topics may have been covered in it and match the corresponding course or courses you studied against it. If you cannot do that on your own then you may consult an expert.
Q: I had applied for skills assessment earlier when NIA did not recognise my ICMAB qualification. At that time I got credit for 7 core units which I studied at university. I had a few more courses which I studied for my ICMAB. I did not get any credit for those. What should I do?A: You may now apply to NIA for review of your application and ask them to take into consideration the ICMAB courses.
Q: I understand that now all assessing bodies are accepting courses like Bangladesh Corporate Law and Bangladesh Tax Law against the two core units Company Law and Tax Law. I have studied both these courses but I got a negative skills assessment from CPAA without these courses. Any suggestions?A: You should write to CPAA for a review of your previous application.
Q: I have a two year B.Com (management) and a two year M.Com (management) degree from National University. By checking the courses I studied I see that I can claim credits for six core units. But I have been working as an Accountant for five years. Can I not get a waiver because of my work experience?A: Unfortunately not. The assessing bodies do not take work experience into consideration for skills assessment. You have to show that you have university qualifications comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree AND completed at least 9 of the 12 core units.
Q I wrote to NIA asking them to suggest from which university in Bangladesh I should complete the reamaining core units. They replied that they could not give me that advice.A For such advice you should either consult the CEP Bangladesh or a registered migration agent. You will get some preliminary guidance below.
Q: I have completed six core units. How do I complete three more to claim credits for nine core units and thus get a positive skills assessment as for the occupation Accountant?A: You can complete the remaining core units in many ways as some have done before you. See below:
(a) Complete individual courses, at the undergraduate or post graduate level, by distance
education, from an Australian university. There are generally three entries in a year.
(b) Sit a competitive exam to register for the Evening MBA program (accounting) run by the
Business Faculty of Dhaka University. There are two entries in a year. You can complete relevant units there.
(c) Register for single courses of the BBA or MBA programs from IUB's Business faculty. There are three entries in a year,
including a fast summer semester. You may find other recognised universities which offer
equivalent accounting and/or other courses (Economics, Statistics, IT, Introduction to Law)
which match the core units.
Q: If I want to complete extra courses by registering in an MBA or Masters program, it will take me at least three years before I can complete the full program. I do not want to wait that long.A: You do not have to wait to complete the full BBA, MBA or M.Com program for which you have registered. As soon as you complete the required courses, which may be just 1 or 2, you can apply for skills assessment provided you can get official university transcripts and an official letter/certificate from the university/faculty mentioning that the courses you completed were part of the BBA, MBA or MCom program of the university, as the case may be.
Q: I have completed at least nine of the core units in my BBA and MBA studies. But I have been working as a Management Consultant. Can I still apply for skills assessment as an Accountant to one of the accounting bodies? What benefits do I get by doing so.A: Yes, you can apply for skills assessment as an accountant if you meet the requirements of the accounting/assessing bodies. They do not look at your work experience.
The occupation Accountant is a 60-point occupation whereas the occupation Management Consultant is a 50-point occupation. Also, for a 60-point occupation you will get 5 points for Specific Work Experience if you have three years work experience in the last 4 years in any occupation in the Skilled Occupation List.
So in your case, you will get 60-points for nominating Accountant as your occupation. You will not get the 15 MODL points as you do not have 12 months work experience in the last 4 years as an Accountant or in a closely related occupation. You will get 5 points for having worked as a Management accountant (50-point occupation in the SOL) for three years in the last four years.
Q: I have undergraduate and post graduate degrees in accounting from a recognised university. To which of the assessing bodies should I apply for skills assessment?A: You should visit the websites of the three accounting/assessing bodies. Go through their different documents related to skills assessment and make the decision either on your own or by consulting someone who has experience in getting assessment done through these three bodies.
Q: Does OZMA provide assistance to people for advice and/or preparing their Skills Assessment application?A: Yes. OZMA, like other registered migration agents, guided clients through the entire Skills Assessment process. This included assisting clients to select the accounting body to which to apply for skills assessment, guiding clients to prepare the various documents required for the skills assessment application, lodging the application including payment of fees in Australian dollars, and communicating with the assessing body on behalf of a client.
Q: If I become a client of OZMA how much do I have to pay?
A: If you have Australian qualifications, the OZMA fee for preparing
your PASA application for any one of the assessing bodies is A$500,
which is payable in two equal installments of A$250.
If
you have qualifications from outside Australia, then for receiving
guidance for preparing the application for Pre-Application Skill
Assessment (PASA) is A$1000 payable in two equal installments. The
first installment of A$500 is to be paid at the time of signing the
agreement to become an OZMA client. The second installment of A$500 is
payable when the PASA application is ready for submission.
Q: Why is there a higher fee for people with qualifications outside Australia.A:
For Australian qualifications, you do not have to provide many
documents which you will have to prepare and submit if you have
overseas qualifications.
Q: Does the above cost cover the PASA application fee?
A: No. The PASA application charge is not covered in this, which varies for different accounting bodies and whether you want normal processing or fast processing of your application.
Q: Will I get a refund of the OZMA fee, if I do not get a positive skills assessment?A: No. This fee is not refundable. This fee is for the consutlation time OZMA gives a client. The current OZMA hourly rate is A$100. The fixed fee of A$1000 means that OZMA is expected to spend about 10 hours for assisting an applicant. A signed client has full access to OZMA and it has been seen that normally OZMA spends several hours more than 10 hours per client. If less than 10 hours of consultation time is used by a client, then the money for the unused time may be refunded.
Q: If after signing an agreement with OZMA I find that I am not getting the service that I had expected from OZMA, what can I do?
With appropriate notice, mentioned in the agreement document, you can terminate the agreement if you think that you are not getting the type of service you had expected or you cannot work with the OZMA consultant.
Q: Does the above cost cover the visa application fee and getting assistance for preparing and submitting my visa application?
A: No. The visa application charge is currently A$2525, which is
valid till 30 June 2009. To receive assistance for preparing and
lodging your visa application, for a Skilled Independent Migration visa,
you will have to sign another agreemen for a consultation fee of A$1000 (if you are single) payable in two equal instalments of A$500 each instalment.
Q: What is the application fee for skills assessment?A:
It currenty varies from A$350 (CPAA,NIA, ICAA),A$395 (ICAA fast track) A$495(ICAA- express service) depending on assessing body and
priority of processing - normal vs high priority. To get the latest fee
information you should visit the websites of the assessing bodies.
Q: Till which date are the above OZMA fees valid?A: OZMA fees are valid till 30 June 2010
Q: I have visited the websites of the three assessing bodies. I
find that all bodies list 12 core units but the course names differ a
bit.A: That is right. You will find that in your country
also, two universities, one where you go and where your friends study,
call courses with similar content and syllabus by different course
titles. In Australia also, different universities use different course
titles for the same course.
Q: How long does it take to get my skills assessment done by the assessing bodies?A: It varies from 4 weeks to about 8 weeks. You will find the exact information in the website of the assessing bodies.
Q: Where can I get more information about the requirements of the three assessing bodies?
A
: You will find the requirments of the three assessing bodies in their following links:
(a)
Qualification Assessment by CPA Australia (b)
Migration Assessment by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (c)
Immigration Assessment by NIA© Amin Rahman MARN 0322761
Last updated on 23/11/2009