EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by authority of the Minister for Home Affairs
Migration Regulations 1994
Migration Legislation Amendment (Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2026
The Migration Amendment (Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/027) (the Instrument) is made under the following provisions of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Migration Regulations):
- subregulation 2.26B(1); and
- subclause 494.224(6).
The instrument amends the following instruments:
- Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019 (LIN 19/051);
- Migration (LIN 19/260: Assessing Authorities for Subclass 494 Visas) Instrument 2019 (LIN 19/260);
- Migration (Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities—Subclass 186 Visa) Instrument 2024 (LIN 24/09).
The amendments are made in accordance with subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (the Acts Interpretation Act). Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act relevantly provides that a power to make a legislative instrument includes a power to amend or repeal that instrument in the same manner, and subject to the same conditions, as the power to make the instrument.
The instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. It is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act).
The instrument amends LIN 19/051, LIN 19/260 and LIN 24/09 to update the assessing authority that is specified for the occupation of Surveyor (ANZSCO classification 232212).
On 21 August 2025, Geospatial Council of Australia (GCA), the previous assessing authority for Surveyors, entered liquidation. GCA immediately ceased accepting applications for skills assessments.
On 15 October 2025, the Minister for Skills and Training announced that the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales Ltd (ISNSW) would be the new assessing authority for the Surveyor occupation. The amendments give effect to that decision, by updating the relevant legislative instruments to reflect that ISNSW is the specified assessing authority for the purposes of regulation 2.26B and subclause 494.224(6) of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations, respectively.
The amendments apply to visa applications made on or after 8 October 2025, being the date that the Minister for Skills and Training appointed ISNSW. This is consistent with subregulation 2.26B(1A) of the Migration Regulations, which prevents the Minister for Home Affairs from specifying an assessing authority unless the Minister for Skills and Training has approved that authority.
The amendments operate prospectively, but apply to visa applications made, but not yet decided, on or after 8 October 2025 to ensure applicants have the benefit of relying on skills assessments made by the new assessing authority from this date. The effect of the application provisions is to ensure that any person who applied for a visa that included a skills assessment by ISNSW in the occupation of Surveyor is not disadvantaged by a delay in the relevant instruments being updated.
The application provisions also ensure that persons whose skills were assessed by GCA prior to its liquidation are not required to have their skills re-assessed by ISNSW as a result of the amendments, even if they have not yet made a visa application.
The instrument also makes technical amendments to LIN 19/051, to clarify the two assessing authorities for the occupation of Information and Organisation Professionals NEC Not Elsewhere Classified (ANZSCO classification 224999). These amendments operate to re-specify Australian Computer Society Incorporated (ACS) and Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) as the assessing authorities for that occupation.
An assessing authority is a person or an organisation that checks that a person’s skills meet the applicable requirements to work in a relevant occupation for the purposes of satisfying the criteria for certain skilled visas. To be recognised as an assessing authority, approval is required from the Skills Assessment Minister (Minister for Skills and Training) under subregulation 2.26B(1B) of the Migration Regulations.
The Immigration Minister may then specify, by legislative instrument, the responsible authorities for assessing a particular occupation. LIN 19/051, LIN 19/260 and LIN 24/09 are the relevant instruments. The Immigration Minister may update those instruments from time to time to specify a new authority, provided that the Minister for Skills and Training has approved that authority.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), as the policy owner for skills assessing authority arrangements, undertook consultations with ISNSW and the surveying profession leading to the Minister for Skills and Training’s approval of ISNSW as the replacement assessing authority on 8 October 2025. DEWR has published the appointment on its website and notified affected stakeholders.
ISNSW has accepted the appointment and confirmed operational readiness to commence processing skills assessment applications. The instrument is made under provisions contained in Part 2 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Migration Regulations and is therefore exempt from disallowance for the purposes of the Legislation Act, on the basis of the exemption set out in section 10 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015.
Further details of the instrument are set out in Attachment A.
The instrument was made by the Minister for Home Affairs in accordance with the Migration Regulations.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Migration Legislation Amendment (Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2026
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the title of the instrument is the Migration Legislation Amendment (Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/027).
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the instrument is made under the Migration Regulations 1994 (Migration Regulations).
Section 4 – Schedules
This section provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019
Item 1 – Subsection 10AA(1) (table item 26, column 3)
This item replaces a reference to Geospatial Council of Australia (GCA) with a reference to the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales Ltd (ISNSW).
The effect of this item is that ISNSW is the authorised person or body specified to undertake skills assessments in the Surveyor occupation.
Item 2 – Subsection 10AA(2)
Under subsection 10AA(1), table item 278, the relevant assessing authority for the occupation ‘information and organisation professionals (nec)’ is specified in accordance with subsection 10AA(2).
This item amends subsection 10AA(2) to specify certain assessing authorities for the Information and Organisation Professionals Not Elsewhere Classified (ANZSCO classification 224999) occupation.
The effect of this amendment is that the relevant assessing authority for this occupation is VETASSESS, except in circumstances relating to Data Scientists applying under this occupation, in which case the ACS is the relevant assessing authority. The Minister for Skills and Training has agreed to the appointment of VETASSESS and ACS as the assessing authorities for the occupation.
This amendment restores provisions that were previously specified in LIN 19/051 prior to December 2024.
Item 3 – Section 11 (table)
This item replaces an existing table that defines the acronyms used in relation to assessing authorities undersection 10AA. The new table has been updated to include ISNSW, and also to renumber the existing items. No other changes have been made to the table of assessing authorities.
Item 4 – At the end of the instrument
This item sets out the application of the amendments made by items 1 and 3 of Schedule 1 to this instrument. Specifically, the amendments apply to any application made on or after 8 October 2025, being the date that the Minister for Skills and Training appointed ISNSW as the new assessing authority. Applying these amendments to applications made, but not finally determined from this date is necessary to ensure that visa applicants are not disadvantaged by the delay in amending the specified authority for the Surveyor occupation.
Additionally, this item makes transitional arrangements for persons who had their skills assessed by GCA prior to its liquidation on 21 August 2025. The effect is that a person who was issued a skills assessment by GCA on or before that date may provide that assessment to support a visa application made before, on or after commencement of this instrument for the purposes of satisfying criteria in the Migration Regulation to provide a valid skills assessment.
This item also sets out the application of the amendments made by item 2 of Schedule 1 to this instrument. Those amendments apply to any applications made, but not finally determined, on or after 14 December 2024, to ensure that visa applicants for the Information and Organisation Professional Not Elsewhere Classified occupation are not disadvantaged by the previous omission of those assessing authorities.
Schedule 2 – Amendments
Migration (LIN 19/260: Assessing Authorities for Subclass 494 Visas) Instrument 2019
Item 1— Subsection 6(1) (table item 30, column 2)
This item replaces a reference to Geospatial Council of Australia (GCA) with a reference to the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales Ltd (ISNSW).
The effect of this item is that ISNSW is now the authorised person or body specified to undertake skills assessments in the Surveyor occupation.
Item 2— Section 9 (table)
This item replaces an existing table that defines the acronyms used in relation to assessing authorities under section 10AA. The new table has been updated to include GCA and also to renumber the existing items. No other changes have been made to the table of assessing authorities.
Item 3— At the end of the instrument
This item sets out the application of the amendments made by Schedule 2 to this instrument. Specifically, the amendments apply to any application made, but not finally determined, on or after 8 October 2025, being the date that the Minister for Skills and Training appointed ISNSW as the new assessing authority.
Additionally, this item makes transitional arrangements for persons who had their skills assessed by GCA prior to its liquidation on 21 August 2025. The effect is that a person who was issued a skills assessment by GCA on or before that date may provide that assessment to support a visa application made before, on or after commencement of this instrument.
Schedule 3 – Amendments
Migration (Specification of Occupations and Relevant Assessing Authorities—Subclass 186 Visa) Instrument 2024
Item 1— Subsection 7(1) (table item 100, column 3)
This item replaces a reference to Geospatial Council of Australia (GCA) with a reference to the Institution of Surveyors New South Wales Ltd (ISNSW).
The effect of this item is that ISNSW is now the authorised person or body specified to undertake skills assessments in the Surveyor occupation.
Item 2— Section 9 (table)
This item replaces an existing table that defines the acronyms used in relation to assessing authorities under section 10AA. The new table has been updated to include GCA, and also to renumber the existing items. No other changes have been made to the table of assessing authorities.
Item 3— At the end of the instrument
This item sets out the application of the amendments made by Schedule 3 to this instrument. Specifically, the amendments apply to any application made, but not finally determined, on or after 8 October 2025, being the date that the Minister for Skills and Training appointed ISNSW as the new assessing authority.
Additionally, this item makes transitional arrangements for persons who had their skills assessed by GCA prior to its liquidation on 21 August 2025. The effect is that a person who was issued a skills assessment by GCA on or before that date may provide that assessment to support a visa application made before, on or after commencement of this instrument.