You finished a Certificate III in regional Queensland. You're working in your trade. And somewhere in the back of your mind is a question you haven't quite answered yet: is permanent residency actually possible for someone like you?
It is. But the path runs through a specific set of programs most tradie graduates have never heard of. This article explains each one — what it requires, what it unlocks, and what the real time commitments look like.
Why TRA Exists
Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) is the government body that assesses trade qualifications and work experience for skilled migration purposes. If your occupation is on the TRA-assessed list, you cannot apply for most skilled visa pathways without going through TRA first. There is no shortcut around this step.
TRA runs five programs. Three of them form a ladder that most Australian-trained tradie graduates will climb in sequence. The other two — the Offshore Skills Assessment Program and the Temporary Skills Shortage Skills Assessment Program — serve different situations. This article focuses on the three that matter most if you trained here.
Step One: The Provisional Skills Assessment (PSA)
The Provisional Skills Assessment Program is where the ladder starts for recent international graduates who completed a trade qualification in Australia.
The PSA does two things. First, it checks whether your Australian qualification is at the required level for your nominated occupation. Second, it confirms that your qualification meets the prerequisites for the next program — the Job Ready Program.
Here is what makes the PSA different from every other TRA program: it requires no prior work experience. Your qualification alone is what gets assessed. That matters if you have just finished your Certificate III and have not yet built up years of trade work.
To be eligible, you must have completed a qualification in Australia through a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) listed on CRICOS, be in a nominated occupation assessed by TRA, and hold a valid and current passport.
The PSA is compulsory. You cannot apply for the Job Ready Program without completing it first.
The PSA also connects directly to the subclass 485 Post-Vocational Education Work stream (formerly Graduate Work stream). If you are applying for that visa on the basis of a trade qualification, the PSA is the assessment that supports it.
One important note on timing: TRA states that processing times are subject to change and some applications may take longer. Do not plan your visa timeline around a fixed turnaround — check the current processing time on the TRA website before you lodge.
Fees for the PSA are set by TRA and change periodically. Do not rely on any figure you find on a third-party site — check the current fee directly on the official TRA page.
Step Two: The Job Ready Program (JRP)
Once you hold a Provisional Skills Assessment, you can enter the Job Ready Program.
The JRP is a work-based program. The requirement is 12 months of full-time work experience — approximately 1,725 hours — gained in Australia, during the program. You are not counting work you did before you started. The hours accumulate while you are enrolled.
This is the program that feeds the main skilled migration pathways: the subclass 189 (points-tested, no employer needed), the subclass 190 (state-nominated), the subclass 491 (regional), and employer-sponsored routes including the subclass 482.
The JRP is not a course. It is a structured period of employment in your trade, monitored by TRA. Your employer plays a role in the process. If you are in regional Queensland, this is actually an advantage — regional areas have stronger employer demand in many trades, and some regions operate under Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs) that open additional occupation and visa options.
Again: TRA sets its own processing timelines for JRP assessments, and those timelines change. The work-experience requirement — 12 months, approximately 1,725 hours — is fixed. The administrative processing time around it is not. Check TRA directly.
Step Three: The Migration Skills Assessment (MSA)
The Migration Skills Assessment Program sits at the top of the ladder. It is designed for people applying for permanent skilled migration who have built up substantial trade experience — either in Australia or overseas.
The requirement is 3 years of full-time work experience, plus 12 months of recent currency. "Recent currency" means your skills are current, not just historical.
The MSA feeds permanent skilled migration pathways for occupations on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL). If your occupation sits on one of those lists and you have the experience, the MSA is the assessment that gets you there.
For someone who has just completed a Certificate III, the MSA is not the immediate next step. The PSA and JRP come first. But knowing the MSA exists — and what it requires — lets you plan your working years with a destination in mind.
How the Three Programs Connect
The sequence is linear:
- Complete your Australian trade qualification at an RTO listed on CRICOS.
- Apply for the Provisional Skills Assessment (PSA) — qualification only, no work experience required.
- Use the PSA to support a subclass 485 Post-Vocational Education Work stream application if you need it.
- Enter the Job Ready Program (JRP) — accumulate 12 months of full-time work, approximately 1,725 hours, in Australia during the program.
- Use the JRP outcome to apply for points-tested or employer-sponsored skilled visas.
- Over time, build toward the Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) — 3 years of full-time experience plus 12 months of recent currency — for permanent skilled migration.
Each step has its own eligibility requirements, fees, and processing timelines. None of those are static. The work-experience figures above are the fixed legislative requirements. Everything else — fees, processing times, occupation lists — should be confirmed on the TRA website and the Department of Home Affairs website before you act.
What About DAMA Regions?
If you are working in regional Queensland, it is worth knowing that some regions operate under Designated Area Migration Agreements. Of the 940 occupations we track, 715 have at least one DAMA pathway. DAMAs can open pathways that the standard federal lists do not — including for trades that are not on the main skilled occupation lists.
Whether your specific occupation and region qualify is something to check against the actual DAMA schedules. Our /dama/ pages set out which regions are active and what they cover.
A Note on Getting Advice
The TRA ladder involves real decisions — which program to enter, when to apply, how your occupation maps to the lists. Getting those decisions wrong costs time, not just money.
For advice on your personal situation, a registered migration agent (MARA) is the right professional — we can point you to one.