What is the ACS skills assessment?
The ACS skills assessment is a formal evaluation of an ICT applicant's qualifications and professional experience against Australian standards for the nominated ANZSCO occupation. A positive ACS outcome is required for ICT occupations under the subclass 189 (Skilled Independent), 190 (Skilled Nominated), 491 (Skilled Work Regional), 482 (TSS) and 186 (ENS Direct Entry) visa programs. ACS offers several pathways including the Post Australian Study skills assessment, the Temporary Graduate skills assessment, the Skills assessment for general skilled migration (degree or RPL) and the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathway for applicants without a formal ICT qualification.
Documents that require certified translation
Any document not originally issued in English must be accompanied by a NAATI certified English translation before being uploaded to the ACS online portal. For Spanish-speaking applicants the bundle typically includes:
- Bachelor or postgraduate degree certificate (título).
- Full academic transcript with subject list and grades.
- Employment reference letters covering each role claimed.
- Statutory declarations where an employer cannot provide a reference letter.
- Payslips, tax records or social security contribution histories as secondary evidence.
- Passport bio page and national identity card.
- ICT training and vendor certifications (Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, AWS, etc.) if issued in Spanish.
Academic qualifications and transcripts
ACS reviews your degree and academic transcript to determine the ICT content of your qualification and the closeness of fit to the nominated ANZSCO occupation. To do this accurately, the assessor needs to see every subject studied, the number of credit hours and the grade obtained. The NAATI translation reproduces the transcript page by page — subject names, marks, credit-hour values, GPA calculations, totals, the university seal and the registrar's signature. Degree parchments are translated on both sides, including conferral date, faculty and any honours endorsement. Where your transcript includes a separate syllabus or contact-hour breakdown, that table is reproduced in the same structure so the ACS assessor can map your subjects against ICT major and minor requirements.
Employment evidence letters
Employment references are the primary evidence of your post-qualification ICT experience. ACS requires each reference to be on company letterhead and to include the exact dates of employment, your position title, the country where the work was performed, hours per week, and a detailed list of duties. The NAATI translator translates each letter verbatim — including the letterhead, contact details, signatory's name and title, and every duty listed. ACS compares the translated duties against the ANZSCO description for the nominated occupation, so any duty missing from the original cannot be added in translation. Payslips, contracts and social security contribution histories are translated alongside the letters to corroborate the dates and employer named.
Related guides
See skills assessment translation overview and employment letter translation.