Migrate by occupation / Accountant (General)
MLTSSLMigrate to Australia as an accountant
Accounting is the classic trap: easy to study, hard to migrate with. The occupation is heavily oversupplied, invitation scores are among the highest of any occupation, and the accounting bodies require a higher English score for the skills assessment than the visa itself needs. Go in expecting to need a very strong score or an employer.
The essentials
- Occupation
- Accountant (General)
- ANZSCO code
- 221111
- Occupation list
- MLTSSL — Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List
- Visas it supports
- Subclass 189, 190, 491, 485
- Assessed by
- CPAA or CAANZ or IPA
- Assessment cost
- around AUD 500 to 600
- Assessment time
- typically 4 to 10 weeks
Which visas actually fit
Your skills assessment
Before you can apply for any skilled visa as a accountant, CPAA or CAANZ or IPA must assess your skills. They generally need:
- A qualification assessed as comparable to an Australian bachelor degree.
- Coverage of the required core knowledge areas, which include Australian taxation law and Australian commercial law for some outcomes.
- An English test result at the level the assessing body requires.
The accounting bodies generally require IELTS 7 in each band (or equivalent) before they will issue a positive skills assessment. That is above the Competent English floor for the visa. Many applicants discover this after budgeting only for the migration minimum, and it is the most common reason accounting assessments stall.
Where accountants are nominated
Narrower nomination than health or engineering, and often with additional requirements such as local employment or higher score thresholds.
Registered migration agents
We are building a directory of MARN-registered agents and immigration lawyers. Listings are checked against the public register before they appear.
How the directory worksPlacement shown on the accountant migration page.