References

References containing the correct information are a vital part of the ACS application.  They're used to verify your experience and enable calculation of the amount of commercial experience you have.

The ACS specifies what information is required on a reference here, however actually getting a company reference with all the necessary detail can be painful.  Alternatively, its acceptable to get the standard statement of employment type reference and accompany it with personal references from (ex-)colleagues.

In all I've worked for 5 companies throughout my career and managed to get company references from all of them. Some were better than others and even the largest organisation I worked for helped out by re-issuing the reference a couple of times when I found errors and omissions.  I think it just depends on how helpful the person you contact in their HR department is feeling that day! 

I needed to get 3 colleague references in all to supplement the company references.  Colleague references tend to be easier to obtain, provided you stayed in touch with people you worked with, and by giving them a template to work from you cut down the amount of effort they need to put in and get to include the correct information first time.

Reference Examples

At this time I've decided to make all my references available for download FREE of charge, this may change in the future.

As with the other information I provide, I've removed my personal details and the company contact details to protect the innocent.

Company A and C's references are basic statements of employment, but as it wasn't important to have my experience at these companies counted in my number of years experience I didn't bother getting ex-colleague references too. 

I worked at Company B for nearly 4 years in two departments, so in addition to the company reference, I got 2 ex-colleague references, one from each department. 

I already had a company reference from Company D, which no longer exists, so I also got an ex-colleague to write a more detailed "list of duties" type reference.  Additionally I also contacted the ex-CEO of company D and he agree to me putting his current contact details in the application so as he could be contacted to verify the company reference. 

I was still working at Company E at the time of my application, so getting a reference without telling my boss what it was for was tricky, but it also meant I got to be specific about what went on it, so out of all the company references this is the best.

To get a copy of all my references, either click on the button below, which will format an appropriate email using your default email client, just hit the send button, or, if you'd prefer to use Webmail, send an email with the subject "References request" to references@rplhelp.com and I'll send the references PDF document back to you. 

Hopefully you'll find these samples relevant and helpful.