Changes have been introduced recently to the portal and process of Engineers Australia – the designated authority for assessing skills and competencies relating to engineering occupations in Australia. The portal is primarily used by large number of migration agents around the world to lodge Skills Assessments with Engineers Australia on behalf of their clients. October 2018 will witness new and more user-friendly features in the portal which will assist the migration agents more intuitively. In addition to all the previous features, the migration agents who have registered at the portal will have complete access to the new functions.
One of the newly-introduced features is the ability to add a secondary agent to an application. Yes, migration agents will now be able to add a secondary agent to their application by selecting the ‘Add Agent’ button from tools page. It must be noted that in order to add a secondary agent, the migration agent must have a valid EA ID number and an account with EA. This account can be created for free! The migration agent will then need to search the secondary agent that is to be added using their EA ID and date of birth, and finally selecting the person from the list.
In addition to the above, lead agents will now be able to transfer an application from a registered migration agent with their agency to another registered agent within their agency. This can be done using the ‘marked’ button. In order to do this, one will require to put in the Application ID that is to be transferred and name & ID of the agent to which the application is to be transferred to. Furthermore, issues like ‘Time Out’ error and ‘Gateway’ error have been addressed, in particularly, as number of online customers and assessors complained about it. All such issues have been rectified completely, and this has come as a big relief to all the online users.
The new portal will now also allow access to ‘eQuals’, allowing graduates from Australian Universities to voluntarily share their qualification with Engineers Australia, which will lead to quicker verification of documents and quicker processing times. Also, EA has confirmed that all the major communication in relation to skills assessment must be done via myPortal. One of the best parts is that myPortal will now allow to enter information from agent/agency, including agent/agency’s postal and email address, applicants’ personal details like phone number, postal and e-mail address, etc. Having the application lodged through an agency or linked to one will assure that all the communication is made through the agent.
Another great news is the fast tracking of EA skills assessments. The Registered Agents will now be able to request for their clients’ applications to be fast-tracked., ensuring client’s application gets picked up by an assessor within five business days. Of course, the completion of the skills assessment application will depend on how much part of the application is completed, with no final timeline mentioned. Fast track option will be available against a reasonable fee. The current waiting times for Migration Skills Assessments by EA applications, however, vary from process to process, a brief of which is mentioned below.
- Australian Qualifications & Accords Qualifications Assessment: 7 weeks
- Australian Qualifications & Accords Qualifications Assessment with Fast Track: 15 working days
- Competency Demonstration Report: 9 weeks
- Competency Demonstration Report with Fast Track: 15 working days
- Fast tracked applications: 5 business days
For more recent updates and information on new services offered by EA to Migration Agents Contact us!
