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Migration & Eligibility Assessment

Application process for migration and employment purposes

What types of applications can be lodged online:

The online application process and what this means:

  • A quicker, easier application process.
  • Uploading documents online will make it easier for an applicant to submit a complete application.
  • Online applications will promote a flowing approach to the process, which is beneficial to applicants
  • Priority is placed on the type of application linked to employer recruitment demands, not how/when you apply.
  • A faster turnaround time for all applications

How the online process works?

The AASW website through a MyAASW account is where you link into the online process

To assist you with lodging your application online, a series of Guides for specific types of applications have been developed. The Guide for your specific application will help you with your application.

Please apply via the online portal.

MEA Online Frequently Asked Questions

Online applications can be made by clicking the Online Application button which is located under complete your application. This is located in the webpage for all types of applications.

Please contact the MEA team at [email protected] explaining your issue, the type of application you are applying for, and a screenshot of the issue. The AASW will contact you to resolve the problem.

Your documents are not required to be certified in an online application. Please ensure that all documents to be uploaded are required to be scanned copies of the original documents, in colour, and of a high quality upload.

Please contact the MEA team at [email protected] explaining why your application was rejected, the type of application you are applying for, and a screenshot of the rejection message. The AASW will provide you with a response.

All documents to be uploaded are required to be scanned copies of the original documents, in colour, and of a high quality upload.

The payment screen is the final page of the online application. Payment can only be made with a debit or credit card. Please ensure that you have sufficient funds in your bank account when making payment.

In the international qualifications assessment for migration and/or to determine membership eligibility for employment purposes:

  • Criterion Three has been amended to align with the current ASWEAS standards March 2020 V 2.2 updated August 2023
  • Criterion Four has been amended to increase the minimum number of fieldwork hours across a minimum of two fieldwork placements completed from 980 hours to 1000 hours, to align with an AASW accredited social work course for Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) and Masters of Social Work (Qualifying).

The AASW is mindful of their role as an Assessing Authority nominated by the Federal Government to assess SW qualifications. Decisions will be made professionally to fully assess applications according to the AASW MEA requirements without compromise. It is unable to compromise its role in fitting in with any applicant’s migration plans.

Having said this, AASW is willing to consider requests for priority assessment only from employers who are employing internationally trained social workers who have lodged an AASW application to have their qualifications assessed for migration and/or employment purposes.

This is to support employers due to the critical focus of their program’s work and the importance of the recruitment of professionally qualified social work staff.

Employers of prospective social worker employees will be required to provide details in an email as to why they require for the application to be expedited, details as to the program and role the prospective employee will be recruited to.

The AASW will consider this information as to whether grounds exist for the application to be granted priority. If priority is granted, the application will be allocated to a Professional Assessment Officer for assessment. The assessment will not compromise MEA criteria to fit in with the applicant’s employment or migration plans. 

We will email the outcome of your application as soon as possible. Processing times vary depending on the application type and are listed on the relevant application web page. Relevant application web page links can be found at the top of this page (Migration & Eligibility Assessment).

If you have questions about your application you can email AASW. Please provide as much detail as possible so we can fully answer your questions. 

We don’t provide progress updates but you will receive an email to advise that we received your application. This email will also let you know if we need any further information or if your application has moved to the pending assessment stage.

For future status updates you can login to your account via the MyAASW portal to check the status of your application. Online status updates appear throughout the assessment process until a decision has been made.

Fees vary depending on the application and are listed on the relevant application page.

We understand that you may need to submit additional documentation. Please note that an additional fee may be applicable. To avoid any extra charges, we recommend that you carefully review the checklist provided in each application form to ensure all necessary documents are included when you submit your application.

A Statutory Declaration is a written statement that allows a person to declare something to be true. If you intentionally make a false statement in a declaration, you can be charged with an offence. Please refer to the jurisdiction in your country for the requirements for preparing a statutory declaration. If you live in Australia, please read this information about statutory declarations.

Your Statutory Declaration should include:

  • the name of your secondary school and the country of study
  • the grade level you completed
  • the years you attended the secondary school
  • confirmation that you were taught and assessed in English.

You could submit:

  • a certified copy of your secondary education results, or
  • a letter from your Secondary School or the relevant department of education in your country of study, or
  • a Statutory Declaration verifying that you successfully completed secondary education and were taught and assessed in English.

You need to be a qualified social worker to apply to the AASW. If you are not qualified, you could contact one of the following professional associations to find out if they will assess you.

You need to be a qualified social worker to apply to the AASW. We can start your assessment after you provide a certified graduation certificate, or certified letter from your educational institution to confirm that you completed all course requirements. Please submit this letter along with the academic transcript and course outline.

FAQs - English requirements

Please note that from 20 May 2026, the AASW is accepting the One Skill Retake Test

Eligibility for IELTS One Skill Retake occurs when applicants have completed a full academic IELTS on computer test at an eligible test centre, and they have received their IELTS test score. The IELTS One Skill Retake must be taken within 60 days of the original test date.

Applicants must have obtained their IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test within 12 months of the date of their AASW Migration Eligibility and Assessment (MEA) application.

The IELTS Academic Test is the only English language proficiency test that is accepted to meet the AASW English Language Policy. The test is to be completed face to face in a supervised official IDP/British Council IELTS Testing Centre and completed as a computer based or paper based IELTS Academic Test.

The AASW does not accept online IELTS Tests.

Applicants must demonstrate evidence of English language proficiency in the IELTS Academic Test through one or two test sittings in six months, provided that:

  • a minimum score of 7.0 is achieved in either one or two settings; and
  • a minimum score of 7.0 is achieved in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking) in a maximum of two sittings in a six-month period, and no component score is below 6.5. Where a component score falls below 6.5, the test is not acceptable.

You may be exempt from sitting the IELTS Academic Test if you:

  • completed your secondary education in English in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or USA, and
  • you successfully completed the equivalent of three years or more of full-time tertiary study (at Bachelor degree level or higher) in English, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or USA.

To qualify for an exemption, please submit one of the following:

  • a certified copy of your secondary education results showing that you were taught and assessed in English, or
  • a certified letter from your secondary school, or the relevant department of education in your country of study, confirming that your secondary education was successfully completed, taught and assessed in English.

If you are not able to provide either of the above documents but you can show that you tried to get them, you can provide a Statutory Declaration stating all of your secondary education results from Year 7—12.

Even with a Statutory Declaration, we may ask you to take the IELTS Academic Test to confirm your English language proficiency.

Read more about our English language proficiency requirements

1. Background

English language proficiency is essential for respectful, effective and safe social work practice in Australia.

AASW REQUIREMENTS MAY BE DIFFERENT TO DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS REQUIREMENTS

The Department of Home Affairs sets the English language requirements for migration and visa purposes in Australia. The AASW sets the English language requirements for professional social work practice in Australia. Given that social work is a communication-based profession, it is essential that social workers have a high level of English language proficiency, which is why the AASW’s English language requirements are higher than the Department of Home Affairs’ requirements in some instances.

FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS COMPLETING AASW ACCREDITED COURSES

Higher Education Providers (HEP) set the English language entry requirements for social work education in Australia. The AASW sets the English language requirements for professional social work practice in Australia. It is important to note that the AASW’s English language requirements for practice in Australia may be higher than some HEP entry requirements. All international graduates of AASW accredited courses will be required to meet the AASW English language requirements for migration purposes.

FOR GRADUATES OF INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL WORK QUALIFICATIONS

To live and work in Australia, applicants are required to evidence English language proficiency for both migration and/or eligibility for AASW membership for employment purposes.

2. AASW English language skills standard

All applicants applying for an AASW assessment for migration and/or employment purposes must demonstrate English language proficiency. This requires:

OPTION 1:

A minimum overall score of 7.0 achieved in one sitting of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic test;

Where the policy requirements are met in one sitting, a minimum score of 7.0 must be achieved in all four components.

For example:

  • IELTS Academic Test: Writing 7.5, Reading 7.0, Speaking 7.5, Listening 7.0

or

OPTION 2:

A minimum score of 7.0 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking), achieved in a maximum of two sittings in a six (6) month period; and no component score is below 6.5;

Applicants may demonstrate English language proficiency in two IELTS Academic test sittings completed within a six-month period, provided that:

  • a minimum score of 7.0 is achieved in each component across the two sittings, and
  • no individual component score is below 6.5. Any component score below 6.5 will render the test results unacceptable.

For example:

  • Test 1: Writing 6.5, Reading 7.0, Speaking 6.5, Listening 7.0
  • Test 2: Writing 7.0, Reading 6.5, Speaking 8.0, Listening 6.5

The bolded scores demonstrate how the minimum requirement of 7.0 in each component can be met across two sittings.

or

OPTION 3:

One test sitting of the IELTS Academic Test with a minimum score of 7.0 in three of the four components of the test AND the inclusion of one IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test. Where the component score did not achieve the minimum score of 7.0 it must not be below 6.5. The IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test must achieve a minimum score of 7.0 in the retaken component.

Eligibility for IELTS One Skill Retake occurs when applicants have completed a full IELTS on computer test at an eligible test centre, and they have received their IELTS test score. The IELTS One Skill Retake must be taken within 60 days of the original test date.

Applicants may demonstrate English language proficiency in one IELTS Academic test sitting and one IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test provided that:

  • a minimum score of 7.0 is achieved in three of the four components in the first sitting and the IELTS Academic One Skill Retake is undertaken to achieve a minimum score of 7.0 in the retaken component,
  • no individual component score is below 6.5 in the first IELTS Academic Test sitting,
  • the IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test is within 60 days of the original test date, and
  • applicants have completed a full IELTS on computer test at an eligible test centre and have received their IELTS score.

For example:

  • IELTS Academic Test: Writing 6.5, Reading 7.0, Speaking 7.5, Listening 7.0
  • One Skill Retake: Writing 7.0

The bolded scores indicate the component requiring a IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test to ensure successful demonstration of the minimum required scores across all four components of English language proficiency.

Parameters:

  • test results must be obtained within three (3) years prior to submitting an AASW qualification assessment.
  • where Option 3 applies, applicants must have obtained their IELTS Academic One Skill Retake test within 12 months of the date of their AASW Migration Eligibility and Assessment (MEA) application.
  • these requirements may be waived where applicants have met the educational requirements for English language proficiency. See Exemptions below.

3. Exemption ground

The AASW may grant an exemption from the requirements where the applicant provides evidence that they:

  • completed all secondary education (Years 7 to 12), that was taught and assessed in English, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or United States of America, AND;
  • successfully completed (with a pass grade or higher) the equivalent of three years or more full-time tertiary study (at Bachelor Degree level or higher), that was taught and assessed in English, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or United States of America.

Applicants can evidence this with the following:

  • Submission of all secondary education (high school Years 7 to 12) results
  • A letter from your secondary school or the relevant department of education in the country of study which states that your secondary education was successfully completed and were taught and assessed in the English language,
  • Submission of tertiary results evidencing that you successfully completed and were taught and assessed in the English language.
  • Where secondary and/or tertiary results cannot be supplied, a Statutory Declaration certifying that your secondary education was successfully completed, taught and assessed in the English language may also be acceptable. This must include name of school/s, years studied and country in which studied.

If you have not completed your secondary and tertiary education (years 7 to 12) in English, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or United States of America, you will not be exempt from sitting an IELTS Academic test.

The AASW reserves the right to ask an applicant to take the Academic IELTS examination if there is uncertainty about their level of English proficiency.

4. English language tests accepted by the AASW

Currently the AASW only accepts the Academic IELTS test and IELTS One Skill Retake Test.

Our policy is aligned with industry and health professions’ standards. We regularly monitor industry standards and review our policy as required.

5. Evidence of English language proficiency

Applicants may demonstrate/ evidence English language proficiency in the following ways:

  • submission of certified Academic IELTS test results which apply to Options 1, 2 or 3 outlined on Page 1, or

If eligible for the exemption ground above:

  • submission of certified copies of all secondary/high school results(Years 7 to 12), or
  • a letter from your secondary school or the relevant department of education in the country of study which states that all your secondary education(Year 7 to 12) was completed, taught and assessed in the English language, and
  • submission of certified copies of tertiary results evidencing that they were successfully completed, taught and assessed in the English language.

Where certified copies of secondary and/or tertiary results cannot be supplied, a Statutory Declaration certifying that the education was successfully completed, taught and assessed in the English language may also be acceptable, include name of school/s, years studied and country in which studied.

If you have not completed your secondary and tertiary education (years 7 to 12) in English, in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, United Kingdom or United States of America, you will not be exempt from sitting an IELTS Academic test.

For more information please read our frequently asked questions page.

6. More information about English language test requirements

Applicants may take the Academic IELTS test as many times as required to achieve the required scores. The IELTS One Skill Retake Test can only be taken once according to IDP Policy. However, submissions must be in accordance with Options 1, 2 or 3 outlined on Page 1. Applicants are responsible for the cost of the IELTS test/s.

The AASW advises applicants to contact IELTS (www.ielts.org) for further information regarding Academic IELTS tests and IELTS One Skill Retake Test, test times, test centre locations and costs associated with undertaking the test.

NB. Please only attach your IELTS Academic test results and IELTS One Skill Retake Test result where appropriate, to your AASW MEA application online.

7. General information

The AASW reserves the right to verify any information submitted, interview any applicant and their education provider, employer or referee, or request further English language testing, if the AASW has concerns in relation to the applicant’s capacity to communicate at an effective level using the English language.

The AASW sets the professional standards for social work practice in Australia. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are important for safe, professional and accountable social work practice.