TRA MSA eligibility comes down to your occupation, your visa and your passport. The Migration Skills Assessment is Trades Recognition Australia's documents-only check of your trade, costing $795 (AUD), for occupations on the MLTSSL or STSOL where TRA is the assessing authority. Electricians, plumbers and air-conditioning mechanics, subclass 485 and 482 applicants, and some occupation and passport combinations are sent to other programs. You also need proof of at least 3 years of paid work in the trade, including 12 recent months.
What the Migration Skills Assessment actually checks
Home Affairs only accepts a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority: the organisation that checks your skills against the standards it sets for an occupation. For a long list of trades, from bricklayer and tiler to motor mechanic and chef, that authority is TRA.
The MSA is TRA's paper-based program. TRA reads what you upload and decides whether your qualifications and work history meet the Australian standard for the occupation you nominate. Your documents are the whole case, so gaps in them are gaps in your application.
Why it matters: Home Affairs says a suitable skills assessment is mandatory for some visa subclasses and streams and may be requested for others, including the subclass 189, 190 and 491. Without a positive result, you cannot apply for a skilled migration visa.
TRA runs several programs, and the MSA is only one of them. If you are still working out which one is yours, our guide to choosing between the TRA skills assessment programs sets them side by side.
Three questions that decide whether the MSA is yours
Eligibility comes down to your occupation, the visa you are aiming for and the passport you hold.
Is TRA the assessor for your occupation?
Home Affairs' combined list of eligible skilled occupations shows each occupation's ANZSCO code, the list it is on and its assessing authority. TRA appears there for Bricklayer, Carpenter, Wall and Floor Tiler, Motor Mechanic (General), Chef, Cook and Hairdresser, among many others.
Which visa are you planning?
TRA says the MSA cannot be used by subclass 485 or 482 visa applicants. Each of those has its own TRA program: the Provisional Skills Assessment for recent graduates of a CRICOS-registered RTO course applying for a 485, and the Temporary Skills Shortage assessment for 482 applicants in listed occupations and passport countries who are required to have one.
Does your passport send you to OSAP?
Some occupation and passport combinations must use the Offshore Skills Assessment Program instead. For Carpenter, for example, the OSAP Country List includes India, the Philippines, Vietnam and South Africa; for Motor Mechanic (General) it includes Fiji, India and Thailand. Look up your own occupation, not a friend's.
There is one important exception for construction trades. From 31 July 2024, TRA removed the mandatory OSAP requirement for qualified applicants in Bricklayer, Cabinetmaker, Carpenter, Carpenter and Joiner, Joiner and Welder (First Class) from specified passport countries, letting them use the MSA instead. The word "qualified" carries weight here: read TRA's conditions for your passport before assuming the shortcut applies to you.
Who cannot use the MSA, and where TRA sends them
If any row matches you, the MSA is not your program.
| Your situation | MSA available? | TRA program instead |
|---|---|---|
| Electrician (General) or Electrician (Special Class) | No | OSAP, compulsory for permanent migration |
| Plumber (General) | No | OSAP, compulsory for permanent migration |
| Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic | No | OSAP, compulsory for permanent migration |
| Applying for a subclass 485 | No | Provisional Skills Assessment |
| Applying for a subclass 482 | No | Temporary Skills Shortage assessment, where required |
| Occupation and passport on the OSAP lists | No, unless the July 2024 streamlining covers you | OSAP |
| TRA trade on the MLTSSL or STSOL, none of the above | Yes | Migration Skills Assessment |
The four licensed trades are the clearest case. TRA says applicants from all countries in those occupations must have an OSAP assessment unless they are applying for a 482 or 485. If that is you, our guide to each stage of a TRA OSAP assessment is the better starting point.
What it costs compared with OSAP
TRA puts the total cost of the Migration Skills Assessment Program at $795 (AUD). OSAP costs up to $5,320 on Pathway 1 and $2,020 on Pathway 2. The gap tempts people to squeeze into the MSA when their passport points elsewhere, but an application in the wrong program costs time and the fee.
The assessment is also only one cost in a migration plan. Home Affairs notes that, besides the visa charge, applicants pay for English tests, health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
The work rule: 3 years paid, 12 months recent
TRA's Migration Skills Assessment guidelines (July 2026 edition) require proof of at least 3 years of paid work in the occupation. Within that, at least 12 months must be full-time (38 hours a week) or part-time equivalent, and it must fall within the 3 years before you apply.
That is two tests, not one. The first is the total: 3 years of paid work in the trade you nominate. The second is recency: a solid year of it in the last three. A cabinetmaker with four years in a joinery workshop who left the trade more than three years ago passes the first test and fails the second.
Part-time work counts on an equivalent basis, so a part-time stretch has to run longer to add up to the same as 12 months full-time. And "paid" means what it says: unpaid help in a family business, or years you cannot back with pay records, are hard to rely on.
The documents your decision rests on
TRA asks for your passport identification page, your qualifications and transcripts, apprenticeship documents if you have them, a completed Employer Template form for each employment period, and pay evidence for each period.
For work outside Australia, the pay evidence needs at least two of these:
- official government tax records
- official government documents showing the employer and the period of employment
- three payslips showing your name and your employer's name
- superannuation documents
- bank statements showing income from your employer
Documents not in English need English translations, and translations done in Australia must be by NAATI-accredited translators. Our TRA evidence checklist goes through each item in detail, and if a former boss is hard to pin down, read what an employer reference for a skills assessment needs to show.
How to prepare a TRA MSA application, step by step
- Find your occupation on the Home Affairs combined list and confirm that TRA is the assessing authority and that it sits on the MLTSSL or STSOL.
- Rule out the exclusions: the four licensed trades, a 485 or 482 application, and an OSAP occupation and passport combination not covered by the July 2024 streamlining.
- Count only the paid work you can prove, and check both tests: 3 years in total and 12 months full-time (or equivalent) within the last three.
- Ask each employer to complete the Employer Template for your period with them, and collect two types of pay evidence for every overseas job.
- Arrange English translations of anything not in English, using a NAATI-accredited translator if you translate in Australia.
- Read the current guidelines on TRA's Migration Skills Assessment page, then apply and pay the $795 fee.
- Note the date on your outcome letter and plan your visa steps around its validity.
After the outcome: what a positive result does not give you
For points tested visas, Home Affairs says an assessment showing no validity period is valid for 3 years from the date of issue. A letter that shows a shorter period is valid for that period only.
A positive result is also narrower than many people expect. TRA says it does not award Australian qualifications, occupational registrations or occupational licences.
That is where RPL fits. If you also want the nationally recognised qualification behind your trade, such as the Certificate III in Bricklaying and Blocklaying, the Certificate III in Cabinet Making and Timber Technology or the Certificate III in Carpentry, a qualified assessor at a Registered Training Organisation compares your skills with the course requirements. If your evidence is acceptable you might get full or partial credit, and where it falls short the provider may offer additional training.
Licensing is separate again. TRA advises construction trade applicants that some states and territories require a licence or registration, and to check with the relevant state or territory department before applying for a skills assessment. Where a licence is needed, TRA says a Certificate III may be needed for a full licence.
English is the other piece of a points tested plan. The subclass 189 needs at least competent English at the time of invitation, so if a test is ahead of you, PractiseNow lets you practise for IELTS and PTE before you book.
Common mistakes with the TRA Migration Skills Assessment
- Choosing the MSA because it is cheaper. Your occupation and passport decide the program, not the fee.
- Applying for a 482 through the MSA. TRA excludes 482 and 485 applicants from this program.
- Counting years you cannot prove. The rule is paid work, backed by pay evidence for each period.
- Forgetting the recency test. Three old years without 12 months in the last three do not meet the guidelines.
- Sending one type of pay evidence. For overseas work TRA asks for at least two types, and payslips must name you and the employer.
- One template for several jobs. TRA asks for an Employer Template for each employment period.
- Treating the outcome as a qualification or licence. It is neither; plan for RPL and state licensing separately if you need them.
Short on payslips or references from years ago? Our guide to what to do when your paperwork is missing covers the honest options.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the TRA Migration Skills Assessment cost?
TRA lists the total cost of the Migration Skills Assessment Program as $795 (AUD). That is far less than OSAP, which costs up to $5,320 on Pathway 1 and $2,020 on Pathway 2, so it is worth confirming early which program your occupation and passport point to.
Can electricians or plumbers use the Migration Skills Assessment?
No. TRA says the MSA cannot be used for Electrician (General), Electrician (Special Class), Plumber (General) or Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic. For permanent migration these four licensed trades must go through OSAP, whatever passport you hold.
Does the MSA include a technical interview or a practical test?
TRA describes the MSA as a documentary-based assessment: it compares your qualifications and employment history with Australian standards using the documents you provide.
How long is a TRA skills assessment outcome valid?
For points tested visas, Home Affairs says an assessment that shows no validity period is valid for 3 years from the date of issue. If the outcome letter states a shorter period, that shorter period applies.
Is a positive MSA outcome the same as an Australian qualification?
No. TRA says it does not award Australian qualifications, occupational registrations or occupational licences. If you also want a nationally recognised certificate, RPL towards that qualification is a separate process, assessed and issued by a Registered Training Organisation.
Key takeaways
- The MSA is TRA's documents-only assessment for MLTSSL and STSOL trades where TRA is the assessor, at a total cost of $795 (AUD).
- The four licensed trades, 485 and 482 applicants, and OSAP occupation and passport combinations cannot use it, apart from the July 2024 construction streamlining.
- You need 3 years of paid work in the trade, with 12 months full-time or equivalent in the 3 years before you apply.
- Upload an Employer Template and pay evidence for every employment period, with English translations.
- A positive outcome is not a qualification or a licence; RPL and state licensing are separate steps.
