An employment reference, or statement of service, is a letter issued by an employer confirming your position, dates of employment, the duties you actually performed, and whether the work was full time or part time. Australian skills assessing authorities and skilled visa processes rely heavily on these letters. When the original is in Thai, the receiving authority generally expects an English translation produced by a NAATI-certified translator, submitted together with a copy of the original.
Issued by HR or an authorised signatory. It should state your name exactly as in your passport, your position, start and end dates, and employment status, printed on company letterhead with contact details that can be verified.
A itemised description of the duties you actually performed. Many assessing authorities weigh duties more heavily than the job title, because the tasks are compared against the ANZSCO occupation description.
Used to demonstrate that the employment was paid employment, which several assessing authorities require before counting a period of experience.
Third-party evidence that helps establish employment periods when a former employer has closed down or cannot issue a retrospective letter.
Used where the applicant owns the business or is self-employed, to show the business existed and the period during which it operated.
Supporting evidence where a position changed over time, so the employment timeline stays continuous and consistent with the other documents in the set.
Assessing authorities such as ACS, Engineers Australia, VETASSESS and AHPRA each publish their own list of elements a reference letter must contain. Read that checklist before asking your employer to sign anything.
Include the signatory's name, position, company-domain email address and phone number, because the receiving authority may carry out a verification call.
The English spelling must match your passport character for character. If you have changed your name, attach the change-of-name evidence with its translation.
Scan the full page so seals, signatures and document numbers are all legible. Skewed or shadowed phone photos cause details to be lost from the translation.
The translation carries the language pair, the direction of translation and the translator's details in the format NAATI specifies, returned as a digitally signed PDF suitable for online lodgement.
Australian online lodgement systems generally expect both the original file and the translation. Uploading only the translation is a common reason for a request for further information.
If you are lodging with an Australian authority and the original is not in English, an English translation by a NAATI-certified translator is generally required, together with a copy of the original. Always re-check the specific requirements published by the authority you are lodging with.
If the entire document, including seals and endorsements, is in English, a translation is usually unnecessary. If any part remains in Thai, that part normally needs a certified translation attached.
Use third-party evidence: withholding tax certificates, social security records, payslips, or a statutory declaration by a former supervisor — then have the whole set translated and certified.
The translation itself carries no expiry date, but the receiving authority may set a validity window for the underlying original — for example a certificate issued within a certain number of months. Check that authority's rule before lodging.
For most Australian authorities a NAATI-certified translation is sufficient. Legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs or an embassy becomes relevant when the destination is another country, or when the authority states it explicitly.
Yes. The service is online worldwide: send scans by LINE or email and receive the translation back as a digitally signed PDF.
Content reviewed August 2026. General information on document preparation, not legal or migration advice. Requirements are those published by the relevant authority at the time of lodgement.
