Hello,
I am trying to equate my UK work experience to Australian standards in psychology. The Australian psychological society have informally (not formally assessed yet) suggested my work pre registration in the UK does not count as relevant work experience. However in Australia you 'only' need a masters to be registered, but in England you need doctoral training.
I believe my work experience before doctoral training is relevant and I have the job descriptions. I do not want to lose the 3 (potentially 6) years of work experience for the points on the visa.
Would an agent help with this? Or would a lawyer help with this?
Is this a common issue? I have discovered this now before I have formally applied or anything or got any rejection, I just don't want to lose my years of experience as I feel the work is similar and has all been paid.

Any advice is appreciated- suppose my question in summary is who is best to help support me in arguing my work is relevant when a professional body is involved.

Consulting a MARA registered migration agent would be the way to go, not a lawyer.

Generally speaking work experience before completing the qualification required doesn't count for migration purposes. The requirements for a visa skills assessment are totally separate from any requirements for registration in Australia - as with any other skill, passing the skills assessment only gets you towards the visa, and is pretty much irrelevant to future Australian employment.

Thanks, you've highlighted some nuances between (professional?) registration and a visa skills assessment. So would the work experience count to the visa points, rather than registration? This would be helpful to me if that was the case.

I don't know the specifics of your skills assessment body, but generally work experience only counts AFTER completion of the relevant qualifications. SO if a MA is essential to pass the skills assessment, only work experience AFTER being awarded the MA will count. As for registration, its down to the body concerned, but passing a visa skills assessment will only be essential for the visa, and is pretty much irrelevant once you are in Australia - at that point you need to meet the same requirements as those already in Australia - many of whom won't have skills assessments. You'd need to contact the registration body themselves.