The Drug and Alcohol Counsellor’s Guide For Emigrating to Australia
Welcome to our guide on the Australian skills assessment process for a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor. Before we examine the skills required to be recognised as a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor it may be helpful to explain that the skills assessment is the first step of the emigration process. The skills Assessment of a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor determines their eligibility to emigrate and the visa options available. Ultimately, it will affect their employment opportunities once they are in Australia.
While we appreciate that each case is unique, we always strive to secure the best possible outcome from the Skills Assessing Authorities in Australia. Experience has proven that a positive accreditation result is an essential first step to a successful case.
Australia’s top employers and recruiters are increasingly turning to the UK for highly skilled workers to meet the demand in key professions.
Securing Employment in Australia
Sterling Migration works closely with many of Australia’s leading employers, connecting them with international candidates who possess the specific skills these Australian companies require.
To secure a job offer from a reputable Australian employer, candidates must first complete their skills accreditation, receive an invitation to emigrate from the government and be able to provide a potential start date.
Leading recruiters across Australia trust Sterling Migration to endorse and introduce only the best candidates who have been assessed and are ready to emigrate. We are always delighted when we can recommend a client for a role that we believe will be their ideal fit.
Ensuring Drug and Alcohol Counsellors Are In High Demand
Every skilled migrant wants to know that they will be able to secure the best role that matches their personal requirements quickly and easily in Australia. The Australian emigration system ensures that they can.
Each year, State Governments and the two territorial Governments report to the federal government on their local demand for Drug and Alcohol Counsellors and if they need to bring any in from overseas to fill potential shortage skills gaps. The report will provide the precise number of overseas a Drug and Alcohol Counsellors required in the region during the coming year to fill any potential skills gap.
The Skills in demand are placed on priority lists. These lists range from those skills in high demand across the entire country to those skills with only limited demand within rural areas. Depending on the list a skill is on will determine which visa(s) are available to people within that profession.
Curently, Drug and Alcohol Counsellors are on the STSOL skills shortage list. Being on the STSOL list means a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor may qualify for the following visa streams:
186, 189 (PT), 190, 407, 485 (GW),491 (F), 491 (S/T), TSS (M), 494 Visa streams.
Skills and Experience Required To Be a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor
Before a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor can apply to emigrate as a skilled worker to Australia, their qualification, skills, and experience must be independently verified via a rigorous accreditation process. The process ensures all Drug and Alcohol Counsellors invited to emigrate can do their job to the required Australian standards.
1. Defining the job title a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor:
The profession “a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor” can mean something slightly different in Australia to what is referred to overseas. In “official emigration terms”, this profession is aligned within the occupation category “Drug and Alcohol Counsellor” and is uniquely identified by the code 272112. This registry system that has been in place since 2006 and has proven to work well for Australia.
2. Key Requirements for a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor:
For a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor to be deemed experienced to the Australian standard, here are the essential skills, tasks, duties and responsibilities they must be familiar with:
General Duties:
Human resources
Communication and collaboration
Health and care
Records
documentation
reports and research
Teaching and education
Core Specialist Responsibilities:
Provide community health programs
Verify personal information and maintain records
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients
Train staff
Perform drug screening
Present information and news to the public
Prepare reports or evaluations
Monitor and evaluate patient treatment
Collaborate with health care professionals
Manage health care operations
Collaborate and advise on educational and technical issues
Communicate with others to coordinate work
Undertake or provide professional skill and knowledge development
Undertake community development activities
Provide counselling
Assist and support clients
Support diversity and inclusion
Develop
implement and monitor educational policies
standards or programs
Specific Tasks Associated with the Role:
Advocate for individual or community needs
Administer drug screening tests
Maintain a working understanding of the cultural
diversity and accessibility needs of others
and how this applies to the role
Maintain professional social services knowledge
Counsel clients or patients with substance abuse issues
Modify treatment plans to accommodate client needs
Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds
needs or progress
Counsel family members of clients or patients
Supervise workers providing client or patient services
Develop treatment plans for patients or clients
Maintain client records
Intervene in crisis situations to assist clients
Plan programs to address community health issues
Collaborate with other professionals to assess client needs or plan treatments
Monitor clients to evaluate treatment progress
Write reports or evaluations
Refer clients to community or social service programs
Confer with family members to discuss client treatment plans or progress
Present social services program information to the public
Support individuals with diverse needs to understand
access and utilise information or services
Collaborate with other professionals to develop education or assistance programs
Train staff members in social services skills
Evaluate the effectiveness of counselling or educational programs
3. The Australian eligibility criteria for a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor:
Currently Drug and Alcohol Counsellor’s are listed on the STSOL reflecting the demand for the profession within Australia.
Please note:
Even though Drug and Alcohol Counsellor is on the STSOL shortage skills list, it does not guarantee that there are currently places available under any visa stream. The emigration selection process is a dynamic environment that changes continually as quotas for specific skills are met within each region and economic demands change. We provide an up-to-date report at the time of application to ensure our clients secure the best possible visa for their requirements.
Navigating the Skills Assessment Process
As part of the accreditation process, you will be required to provide:
- Relevant qualifications
- Detailed reports from previous employers
- Registrations and licences
Additional for specific cases:
- Video footage of your work
- Photographs
- Attend an interview
These additional items may incur further costs and will cause delays, so they are best avoided where possible.
Context and Function:
The primary purpose of the assessing authority is to protect their Australian Drug and Alcohol Counsellors from migrants entering Australia and driving down standards or wages.
Therefore, they often look to delay, frustrate, delay or even reject cases preventing accreditations wherever possible with those aims in mind. They are also motivated by the additional fees they may charge when a person is required to resit an assessment.
The result of a candidate’s skills assessment is often a critical factor in their emigration success. It is vital that a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor secures the highest possible skills accreditation possible. To have your own team of experts fighting for you provides a considerable advantage in preparing your case and maximising your credibility.
Points Test For Drug and Alcohol Counsellors
Each candidate applying to emigrate as a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor is assessed against a number of criteria set out by the Australian Department of Home Affairs. The criteria include:
- Age
- Qualifications
- Work Experience
- Partners Skills
- English Language Ability
- Miscellaneous
The candidate is awarded points accordingly. Those Drug and Alcohol Counsellors who achieve the minimum points required will be eligible to enter the Expression of Interest pool. As with all legal processes, there are many ways to gain points and forfeit points, simply by how a case is presented. The Australian Immigration Authorities do not provide any feedback on the quality of a case once it has been presented and have no statutory obligation to do so. Therefore, if a case has an error that could be easily corrected, the candidate will not be asked to correct the mistake.
Expression of Interest
Once candidates complete their skills accreditation successfully and achieve the minimum points required for a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor, they become eligible to enter the “Expression of Interest” pool.
The best analogy is that it is a recruitment process. Entering the Expression of Interest pool is like meeting the minimum requirements set out by the employer to be eligible to apply for a position. There is no guarantee of selection.
This is a competitive environment where Drug and Alcohol Counsellors from across the globe are requesting one of the available visas to emigrate. Australia periodically selects those it deems to best meet its requirements for a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor from the pool of available candidates. Those a Drug and Alcohol Counsellors selected are invited to apply to emigrate.
Candidates who fail to be selected within two years are automatically removed from the pool.
Police and Medical Checks
The final hurdle to overcome is completing the Police and Medical checks. Assuming nothing is discovered that has not been previously disclosed, the visa will usually be issued within a few weeks.
From the date the visa is issued a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor will have one year to enter Australia to activate the visa. It is during that time that it is best to reach out to potential employers and make all the necessary arrangements to begin a new life in Australia.
Once a visa is activated, the Drug and Alcohol Counsellor may leave Australia for a few more months if they require extra time before emigrating permanently.
Find Out More
Emigration law is one of the most complex areas of legislation and is continuously being adapted. By definition, emigrating to Australia is a legal process where the individual must prove their case. The government is not responsible for assisting an applicant in that process. On the contrary, in legal terms, it is the government against whom a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor must fight and win their case and the right to be hired by the best employers in Australia.
Once you have completed your skills assessment and been invited by the Government to emigrate, you will be ready to meet leading employers with vacancies that will fit your requirements perfectly.
To discover more, complete our online assessment form for your complimentary guide and to discuss your options with one of our friendly experts.
