Western Australia is such a great place to work and live, with fantastic employment opportunities for skilled migrants across a range of exciting industries and occupations.
To assist and support newly arrived skilled migrants to make meaningful connections and overcome barriers to securing employment here in Western Australia, the State Government is investing $4.25 million into a range of programs and services through Job Connect.
We want to help you make the most of these opportunities, and to find work where your skills and experience are valued.
But we also understand that you may need a little extra support to make that happen, and that's where our Skilled Migration Job Connect program can help!
Click below to find out more about settlement services, free workplace training and mentoring programs, and available subsidies.
What support is available?
Settlement Services and support
Our specialist Settlement Services team offers free information, referrals and support to help you and your family settle into your new life here in WA.
We also offer a free walk-in service, if you would like to meet with us in person.
Regional Settlement services
The expansion of settlement services to the regions aims to assist newly arrived migrants, particularly in the first 12 months of regional settlement, to make meaningful connections, overcome barriers to securing employment and participate as soon as fully possible in Western Australia’s economy and society.
Contact one of our regional providers:
Kimberley - West
(Shire of Broome and Shire of Derby)
Broome Chamber of Commerce
W: broomechamber.com.au(opens in a new tab)
E: support@broomechamber.com.au
T: 08 9193 5553
Mid West
Centacare Family Services, Geraldton
W: centacaregeraldton.org.au(opens in a new tab)
E: admin@centacaregeraldton.org.au
T: 08 9921 1433
Kimberley - East
(Shire of Wyndham and Shire of Halls Creek)
East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry
W: ekcci.com.au(opens in a new tab)
T: 0429 484 662
Pilbara
Regional Development Australia Pilbara
W: rdapilbara.org.au/settlement-services(opens in a new tab)
T: 0499 325 584
Great Southern
Rainbow Coast Neighbourhood Centre
Katanning Office:
M: 0400 869 770
Great Southern
Rainbow Coast Neighbourhood Centre
Albany Office:
M: 0400 684 756
Workplace Training and Mentoring programs
Australian Red Cross has been awarded funding through the Job Connect program to continue delivery of the City of Stirling's highly successful Kaleidoscope Initiative and expand the service to regional WA.
Would you like free training to prepare you for employment in your chosen profession in WA?
In partnership with Australian Red Cross, Evolve WA will deliver a free five-day Workplace Readiness Training workshop covering workplace communication, employment rights, pay and obligations to prepare skilled migrants for employment in WA.
Workshop sessions are now available, including the possibility of online delivery and alternative times.
Migrants who complete all five days of the Workplace Readiness Training workshop, will be eligible to access the Mentoring Program.
Would you like free specialist guidance to help you connect with your chosen profession in WA?
The free Mentoring Program aims to connect migrants with an Australian mentor to improve their employment potential in WA through a 12-week course of one-on-one mentor meetings.
Mentor’s will work with mentees to increase their knowledge of recruitment processes, understand their profession locally, and build professional networks to connect with well-matched WA employment opportunities.
To access the Mentoring Program, migrants must complete the free five-day Workplace Readiness Training workshop.
Skilled Migrant Job Connect Subsidy program
To assist you in gaining employment in Western Australia that aligns with your overseas qualification, skills and experience the Skilled Migrant Job Connect Subsidy program (the Subsidy) provides reimbursements of up to $7,500 to eligible migrants to help offset the costs of approved services such as licensing, registration and skills assessments for employment purposes.
Eligibility requirements
To be successfully registered as a Subsidy claimant, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- be onshore and residing in WA at time of lodgement;
- have arrived in WA within the last 10 years;
- currently hold a valid visa with working rights; and
- are actively seeking or have obtained employment in WA in an occupation aligning with your formal overseas qualifications, skills and experience, as at 1 January 2023; and
- meet one of the following conditions:
- either (a) not working or (b) working in an occupation at a lower skill level than the occupation aligning with your formal overseas qualifications, skills and experience; or
- required to undertake a skills assessment and/or meet occupational licencing and registration requirements to enable access to employment opportunities in WA.
Example of working at a lower skill level: You are a qualified Engineer in your home country and currently working at the local supermarket. You require your Australian Engineering registration to be able to obtain an Engineering job in WA. You can submit a Job Connect Subsidy registration to be reimbursed the cost of your registration fee.
Example of needing to meet industry requirements: You are a qualified Electrician in the UK. You have obtained your Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR), completed the Migrant Gap Training in WA and you are working towards the 12 months of supervised employment requirement to become a fully qualified Electrician in WA. You can submit a Job Connect Subsidy registration to be reimbursed the cost of your WA Migrant Gap Training.
For more information about eligibility, please see the Subsidy Terms and Conditions(opens in a new tab).
Definition of approved services
For the purpose of the Subsidy, approved services are defined as:
Skills assessments for migration purposes are not considered an approved service, unless they are for licensed trades. |
Here you can find a list of approved licensing, registration or working checks services and who you can contact to obtain those services.
Here you can find a list of Skills Assessing Authorities who deliver Skills Assessments for employment purposes.
Skills assessing authorities | |
---|---|
Architects Accreditation Council of Australia | aaca.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Association of Social Workers | aasw.asn.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority | acecqa.gov.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Computer Society | acs.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Community Workers Association | acwa.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Dental Council | adc.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Institute of Medical and Clinical Scientists | aims.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors | aiqs.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine | anzsnm.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australasian Osteopathic Accreditation Council | osteopathiccouncil.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association | aopa.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Pharmacy Council | pharmacycouncil.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Psychological Society | psychology.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy | asmirt.org(opens in a new tab) |
Australasian Veterinary Boards Council | avbc.asn.au(opens in a new tab) |
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand | charteredaccountantsanz.com(opens in a new tab) |
Civil Aviation Safety Authority | casa.gov.au(opens in a new tab) |
Council on Chiropractic Education Australasia | ccea.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Certified Practising Accountants Australia | cpaaustralia.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Engineers Australia | engineersaustralia.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Institute of Managers and Leaders | managersandleaders.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Medical Board of Australia | medicalboard.gov.au(opens in a new tab) |
National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters | naati.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Occupational Therapy Council of Australia | otcouncil.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Speech Pathology Association of Australia | speechpathologyaustralia.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute | sssi.org.au(opens in a new tab) |
Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (licenced trades and Veterinary skills assessment only) | vetassess.com.au(opens in a new tab) |
Services not approved for Subsidy reimbursement:
Where an approved service application was lodged with a relevant service provider prior to 1 January 2023, but the service was not delivered/received until after 1 January 2023, a subsidy claim may be eligible for reimbursement. |
How to access the Skilled Migrant Job Connect Subsidy Program
The following information explains how you can register to become an approved Subsidy claimant, which will allow you to submit a claim.
New Portal users
If you are a skilled migrant who would like to register as a Subsidy claimant, sign up and create a Migration WA Portal (the Portal) profile by clicking the button below.
Existing Portal users
If you already have a Portal profile, you can log in and click the ‘I am a skilled migrant’ button in the Subsidy section.
Once you have created a Portal profile, prepare the required documents listed below to support your Subsidy registration.
1. Passport
2. WA Residency
- Valid WA driver's licence
- or two of the following:
- Residential lease agreement
- Utility bill
- Copy of a recent bank statement (local to Australia)
3. Arrival documents
- Initial visa grant notice
- Evidence demonstrating date of arrival in Western Australia, which must include one of the following:
- Air
- Flight details, including tickets, itinerary, boarding pass with full date or passport with a date of entry stamp.
- Road
- Bank statements that demonstrate transactions (such as the purchase of petrol) between the departing State or Territory and WA;
- the purchase or transfer of car insurance from both States/Territories;
- evidence of previous study in WA, including Confirmation of Enrolments, letter of study specifying a start and end date;
- evidence demonstrating the date an insurance policy was taken out in WA;
- evidence demonstrating the date a bank account was opened in WA.
- Other
- evidence of previous employment in WA
4. Working rights
- Current Visa grant notification including conditions of visa approval;
- Current and valid VEVO notice
5. Employment evidence
Gained employment
- Copy of employment offer or
- Employment contract (where employment commenced after 1 January 2023).
Actively seeking employment
- Job application/s (lodged within 3 months of the registration request) and job advertisement with the requirements; and one of the following:
- Current CV/resume (which includes overseas and Australian employment) or
- Evidence of overseas or Australian employment references.
- All documents uploaded must be provided in English and be a high-quality colour copy of the original. Documents in a language other than English must be translated by an accredited translator.
- Other documents may be requested to support your registration.
- Providing documents listed above and/or as requested does not guarantee that your registration will be approved.
Once you have your registration documents ready:
- Log in to the Portal and click the ‘Start your registration’ button.
- You must upload the required documents (listed in Step 2 - Prepare your registration documents) to submit your registration.
- Click the ‘Save and Next’ button to save your registration as you complete each section.
- If you are unable to finish your registration in one sitting, you can log out and resume at your convenience.
- You will have 28 calendar days to submit your registration. Registrations that are not submitted within this time frame, will be deleted.
By submitting a registration, you agree to comply with the Subsidy Terms and Conditions(opens in a new tab).
To be approved, your registration must meet the Subsidy Eligibility requirements(opens in a new tab) and Subsidy Terms and Conditions(opens in a new tab).
You will be notified of your registration outcome by email. If your registration is approved, you will be invited to submit a claim.
If your registration is declined, your outcome email will outline the reason why.
- Eligibility to access the Subsidy is valid for six months from the date you are approved as a claimant.
- An approved claimant can submit multiple claims within the six-month eligibility period, but each claim must be submitted separately. For example, if you would like to claim your working check, license, and gap training, you will need to lodge three separate claims.
- You will receive a Portal notification when your six-month eligibility is due to expire.
Once you are an approved claimant and have received your invitation to submit a claim, prepare the required documents listed below to support each claim you intend to submit.
- Evidence that the approved service(opens in a new tab) was paid by the claimant (all of the following)
- Tax invoice and receipt or paid invoice for the service received, clearly indicating date and service received on service provider letterhead; and
- Outcome of service provided; (including but not limited to; a copy of the licence, certificate, or registration) and
- Copy of bank statement identifying the payment of service being claimed was paid for by yourself. (The bank statement must show your name, address and transaction amount. A screenshot of the transaction amount will not be accepted.)
- Evidence that the approved service is related to WA employment (one of the following)
- WA job application/s (lodged within 3 months of claim request) and WA job advertisements including mandatory requirements or
- WA employment offer and job description for proposed employment position including mandatory requirements or
- WA employment contract (where employment commenced after 1 January 2023 including mandatory requirements)
- Evidence that the WA employment aligns with your formal overseas qualification, skills, and knowledge (one of the following)
- Qualifications based evidence
- Overseas qualifications (in English or including a certified translated copy in English) or
- Valid skills assessment (where the skills assessment has been granted based on studies completed overseas. Skills Assessments that have been granted based on the completion of an Australian qualification cannot be considered) or
- Evidence of an assessment completed by the Overseas Qualification Unit may also be provided but will be used in conjunction with other supporting evidence.
- Skills and experience-based evidence
- Current CV/resume (which includes overseas and Australian employment) or
- Evidence of overseas or Australian employment references
- All documents uploaded must be provided in English and be a high-quality colour copy of the original. Documents in a language other than English must be translated by an accredited translator.
- Other documents may be requested to support your claim.
- Providing documents listed above and/or as requested does not guarantee that your claim will be approved.
Becoming an approved claimant does not guarantee that your claim will be approved.
Once you have your claim documents ready:
- Log into the Portal and click the 'Create new claim' button in the 'My claims' section.
- You must upload the required documents (listed in Step 5 - Prepare your claim documents) to submit your claim.
- Click the ‘Save and Next’ button to save your claim as you complete each section.
- If you are unable to finish your claim in one sitting, you can log out and resume at your convenience.
- An approved claimant can submit multiple claims within the six-month eligibility period, but each claim must be submitted separately.
Bank account details
- You must provide valid Australian bank account details as part of your claim.
- Please provide details of the account you would like your claim paid in to.
- Your information will be safely stored as per the Terms of Use, Clause 16: Privacy(opens in a new tab).
- Providing your bank account details does not guarantee that your claim will be approved.
Once the assessment of your claim begins, you may be asked to provide further information by email.
To be approved, your claim must meet the Subsidy Eligibility requirements(opens in a new tab) and Subsidy Terms and Conditions(opens in a new tab).
You will be notified of the outcome of your claim by email.
If your claim is approved, you will receive a second email when your claim has been paid into your nominated Australian bank account.
If your claim is declined, you can request a review by logging in to the Portal and clicking the ‘Request a review’ button next to your claim.
Your review request should outline clearly why a review is required. The review process can only consider the documentation and information you supplied with your original claim request. No additional documentation or changed circumstances will be considered.
You will receive your review outcome by email within 28 business days from the date Migration Services acknowledges your review request.
The opportunity to request a review will only be available for 14 calendar days from the date you receive the notification of the outcome of your claim. The ‘Request a review’ button will not be available after 14 calendar days have passed.