@Davince the agent you spoke to is correct. Technically, Applicable lang yung stat dec sa jurisdiction ng Australia. I just had a meeting last week here in London with the lead assessor for trade assessment. Nagpunta kasi yung mga heads ng VETASSESS for both General and trade occupations to do a round table meeting with us registered agents just for updates and also how both parties can be of better assistance to skills assessment applicants (our clients). We do this every year. Anyway, nabanggit ng lead assessor for trade occupations particularly yung people from Philippines and those who worked/working in Middle East na best to advise them na to save their time and money submitting a stat dec dahil hindi naman necessary. They're happy with just a letter from a supervisor on an ordinary paper provided they have all the contact details and state the reason why Hindi makapagbigay ng letter with company letterhead. They do an integrity check on everyone usually via email. Tapos of course yung proof of employment, usually tax documents but he mentioned usually employees from Middle East struggle to get this type of document as it takes ages so an alternative Kung wala ring payslips or bank statements showing the employer's pay transaction, proof of health insurance being paid by the employer. Ideally they want 2-3 evidences per year. Take note, general info Lang itong binibigay ko ha, again each case is different. I honestly suggest to go back dun sa kausap mo na agent or engage any agent you'll feel comfortable to assist you para sigurado may naggagauide sayo for peace of mind. Especially sa case mo. Ang hirap to advice properly here sa forum if I don't see the clear picture gist Lang ang Alam ko so tricky din for you to take every word I mentioned. For an idea of how much yung average fees of agents, visit www.mara.gov.au para may idea ka if overcharging yung agent.
Immigration policies are getting tougher and mas frequent na ang changes. DIBP now reviews the policies every 6 months when as before every year lang. so dapat you have to make sure up to date yung info nakukuha mo. Tutok talaga ang kailangan. Maraming old time registered agents just leave the industry out of frustration na dahil sa mga changes. Imagine how frustrating for us agents yung nangyayari, the good thing is we get firsthand information since May access kami to a professional library of immigration policies. So what more for those applicants na nag DIY, sobrang thorough research ang kailangan. This forum is very helpful but one needs to be mindful that not everything is applicable to everyone. Not because it works for someone means it works for everyone. Circumstances are very individual so dapat careful talaga. If one really wants to save money and time, aim to do things right the first time kasi once maging messy, dun napapamahal and even worse, ma-jeopardise yung Australian migration journey. Good luck!