Formal Assessment

To book a formal assessment test:

IMPORTANT: Please note that the booking MUST be made by the person who will undertake the test. Another person (e.g. colleague, friend or family member) can not use his or her EATC account to book a test session for the candidate.

1. You must be registered for the EATC as an education agent.
   
   
2. Once registered, log on to the EATC using your email address and password.
   
   
3. For booking, please click on the "Book your test now!" button on the top of this page:
   
   

   

   
   
   If you can not see this button after login, you are registered for the EATC as an "Other member"; the test is available to education agents only. Please contact PIER at eatc@pieronline.org for assistance.
   
   Please NOTE: It is highly recommended to complete all self assessment tests  before booking a formal assessment.
   
   
4. Select your invigilation region and see what times and dates are available for tests.
   
   You can take the formal assessment at the following locations:
   
   In Australia:
   
   
   • Brisbane: IES   
   • Gold Coast: StudyGoldCoast
   • Sydney: EDEX - Education Export Services or Studylink
   • Melbourne: International Vision Education
   • Adelaide: Education Adelaide
   • Perth: Sterling Business College (WAPETIA)

Overseas:

• Bangladesh: Dhaka
• Brazil: Sao Paulo
• China: please contact the PIER team via email for further information
• Hong Kong: ACE (Academic and Continuing Education) or IDP - Hong Kong
• India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Chandigarh and Bangalore
• Indonesia: Surabaya
• Japan: Tokyo
• Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
• Mexico: Mexico City
• South America (excluding Brazil): Santiago
• South Korea: Seoul
• Sri Lanka: Colombo
• Taiwan: Taipei
• Thailand: Bangkok
• UAE: University of Wollongong, Dubai
• Vietnam: Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City
• ICEF Worldwide (during ICEF workshops)

with more locations to be rolled out gradually.

Please be aware that once you click on the 'confirm' button you have booked a formal assessment test; you will receive an email from PIER with the details of your booking (e.g. date/time and invigilation centre). Please note that cancellation fees will apply (see Cancellation Policy below) if you choose not to do this test.

5. Once booked, please wait for the confirmation email from PIER that the Invigilation Centre accepted your booking. Only after this confirmation will you be able to pay for the test (Payment can be made by Credit card, Bank telegraphic transfer/Direct deposit or by Bank Cheque). This fee is AUD$400.00. The official receipt will be emailed to you within 2-3 business days after receipt of payment. It is expected that in some cases (e.g. credit card payment on the day of the test) the receipt will only be sent to you after the test; you will still be able to undertake the test according to schedule if the payment was approved.
   
   Please note that the payment for the test must be finalised before the test as our Invigilation Centres do not accept payments.
   
   IMPORTANT: Please check the Spam folder of your email account as it is possible that our automated email had been redirected by your email server.
   You are able to check the current status of your booking anytime by logging into the EATC with your username/password. The link to the details of your booking is located on the top of your homepage.
   
   
6. On the day of the test:
   
   • ensure that you arrive on time (this is approximately 5-10 minutes before the scheduled test time). Please be aware that our independent invigilation centres are only available during the scheduled time; if you arrive early you may need to wait, or if you are late, you may need to re-schedule the test (cancellation fee may be applicable). 
   • you need to provide your photo ID to the invigilator. After verifying your details (full name and date of birth) by comparing them to those displayed on the invigilator's page, you will be asked to log on the EATC and start the test.
   Good luck!
    

NOTE: If you make an error with your booking, please contact the EATC Manager in writing (see contact details), and not the individual test centres as only PIER has full access to the site to deal with such request.

We STRONGLY recommend - regardless of your past experience in being an International Education Agent for Australia - that you spend at least 50 hrs perusing/preparation the online materials and attempting all self assessment tests (with high results - 80% or more) BEFORE you make your booking for Formal Assessment, as well as reading the list of helpful tips available from the assessment page.

The more familiar you are with the online environment, the more success you will have in obtaining the high result you're looking for. We also recommend that you become familiar with the student visa processing of other countries, as some tests may contain questions from assessment levels other than your own country.

The Formal Assessment

The Education Agent Formal Assessment is an 80-minute test, consisting of 50 multiple-choice questions. The test is conducted in English and is online.

The test is open-book, which means that candidates are allowed to use any printed material along with relevant study pages from the EATC online learning centre, as well as relevant online documents (e.g. forms from the DIAC website) and information from relevant websites (e.g. Austrade website). Candidates however are not allowed to communicate in any form (e.g. phone, text message, email, instant messenger) with another person during the test.

In order to ensure the security and integrity of the test, individuals need to go to one of our test centres (listed above) to undertake the formal assessment.

Example question

Each question assumes a practical situation, which an agent/counsellor may commonly face, in their normal activities. 

The following is an example question from one of the self-assessment tests:

A student wants to come and study in Australia.  He has an overall IELTS score of 4.5, with a 3 in writing. The student is from an Assessment Level 2 (AL2) country. This means:

1. The student will be able to enter into a Bachelor program, as long as his academic grades are at the level required.
2. The student will be able to enter into a Masters program, as long as his academic grades are at the level required.
3. The student will be able to enter into an ELICOS program, as his English proficiency is too low to enter directly into any academic programs.
4. The student will be able to enter into a PhD program, as his English proficiency is quite high and taking extra ELICOS classes is no use.

The answer to this question is (c).

The student’s English is too low (d) to enter into a Bachelor degree (a) or a Masters degree (b). The minimum English requirement for a Bachelor’s degree is an IELTS of 6.0, with Masters usually higher than this. The student will need to undertake further English studies.

Units of Competency

The formal assessment test contributes towards individuals demonstrating their competency in two units of competence from the Certificate III in Business Administration (International Education). Certificate III level courses require students to “apply known solutions to predictable problems”.

The units of competence from the Certificate III in Business Administration (International Education) are: 

BSBIND302A Work effectively in the international education services industry:

1. Access information on work roles and career planning
   (i.e. Agents provide career advice to their clients)
2. Interact effectively with clients
   (i.e. Agents prove they can communicate the correct information to clients and stakeholders)
3. Perform work tasks effectively
   (i.e. Agents prove they can undertake typical tasks properly)
4. Comply with legislative and regulatory requirements
5. Participate in learning to promote career development
   (i.e. Agents undertake further studies, e.g. professional development programs)

BSBEDU301A Assist with monitoring compliance in international education:

1. Communicate legislative and regulatory obligations to organisation, clients and stakeholders
   (i.e. Agents communicate regulations to students)
2. Contribute to processes for compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements
   (i.e Agents identify the correct reporting procedures for different situations/problems)
3. Review processes for compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements
   (i.e. Agents review current regulations)
4. Interact with stakeholders and groups external to the organisation
   (i.e. Agents identify appropriate points of contact for situations)

See The Performance Criteria for the above two units of competency. Please note that all the 36 performance criteria must be met to successfully pass the test. Because of the EATC formal assessment is a competency based exam, there is no percentage of test questions that can be considered as a passmark.

To be eligible to receive an accredited Statement of Attainment after passing the test, you will need to provide a signed Skills Declaration form from your employer/colleague who confirms that you have the required personal and professional skills to work as an education agent.

The Skills Declaration form is available here and will also be provided to you by e-mail upon successful completion of the formal assessment test. You will be able to fax, e-mail or post this to the EATC Manager. The formal assessment test cannot in itself provide evidence of this type of competency. Further details from eatc@pieronline.org

When all requirements are met, the Statement of Attainment will be e-mailed to you.

Note: the outcome of the formal assessment test depends on each person meeting each performance criteria by answering sufficient questions in each category correctly. So, while two people may get the same number of questions correct, one may be competent and one may not be competent, because the second individual did not get sufficient questions correct that related to a particular competency. Should you require a more detailed explanation, please contact the PIER team at eatc@pieronline.org.

Those education agents that are assessed as "not yet competent" for the formal assessment test in the first instance and would like to take the test again will need to pay the AUD$400 fee each time they choose to do this. There is no limit to the number of times you can take the formal assessment test.

Qualified Education Agent Counsellor Certificate and the Database

Once an education agent has successfully completed the formal assessment test, they will be awarded a Qualified Education Agent Counsellor Certificate and will be listed on the EATC website as a ‘Qualified Education Agent Counsellor’ (QEAC Database). Note: this listing in itself (without the skills declaration) does not represent the achievement of the Accredited Statement of Attainment as detailed above.

To maintain the integrity of the QEAC database, all listed agents are required to ensure that their contact details are valid and up-to-date. Those agents who do not comply with this requirement may be removed from the database temporarily.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Education Agents can apply for RPL if they believe that they can provide clear evidence that they have met both units of competency listed above (BSBIND301A and BSBIND302A).

The cost of applying for RPL is the same as taking the formal assessment test - AUD$400. For further details, please refer to our RPL Policy and Procedures.

If you would like to apply for RLP, please contact the EATC Manager.

Recognition of Other Qualifications

IES also recognises the AQF qualifications and statements of attainments issued by other registered training organisations (RTO's).

Cancellation, Refund and Public Recognition policy

When making a booking for the Education Agent Training Course Formal Assessment, education agents agree to pay the AUD$400 fee and any associated costs related to this service. This may include an extra invigilation fee, which will be stated at the time of booking.

All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to the EATC manager (preferably email to eatc@pieronline.org).

If the cancellation request is received:

1. More than two full working* days before the scheduled test: a full refund is applicable
2. Within two full working days* of the scheduled test: a full refund minus $50 cancellation fee is payable
3. Within two full working days* of the scheduled test, and where a candidate has not paid, $50 cancellation fee will be applicable before the next formal test booking is allowed
4. After the scheduled exam date/start time: no refund will be payable
   

*Normal working days in Australia are from Monday to Friday (except Public Holidays)

Note, that if a cancellation request is not received:

1. Where a candidate has not paid, $50 cancellation fee will be applicable before the next formal test booking is allowed
2. After the scheduled exam date/start time: no refund will be payable

In addition to the above cancellation fee, individuals need to pay an AUD$50.00 administration fee if they wish to cancel/reschedule their bookings more than two times.

In exceptional circumstances (e.g. serious illness or accident), individuals may be exempt from paying the cancellation and/or administration fee at the discretion of IES. Individuals wishing to apply for this exemption must send their concerns in writing to IES as soon as practicable.

IES reserves the right to cancel or amend a booking at any time. If a booking is cancelled by IES, the cost of the formal assessment will be refunded, or transferred to another subsequent booking.

When education agents have been assessed as competent in the Education Agent Training Course, they will agree to be listed as a Qualified Education Agent Counsellor on the EATC website at no cost, with the option of including their photograph and/or company logo & contact details.

Education agents should understand that this is a public website and so individuals may use the EATC website to verify their qualification and that they may be removed from this site at the absolute discretion of IES.