The following visas are available to individuals who are qualified to work or train in an
eligible skilled occupation in Australia and can meet all other requirements:
The occupations available are reviewed every six months by the
Department of Jobs and Small Business to ensure their responsiveness to changes in the Australian labour market and regional variations across Australia. For more information, including how to make a submission in relation to a particular occupation, please visit the
Department of Jobs and Small Business website.
The most recent update to the lists of eligible skilled occupations occurred on 17 January 2018 - see:
Summary of 17 January 2018 changes to the lists of eligible skilled occupations.
For information on recent reforms to Australia's skilled visa programs - see: Abolition and replacement of the 457 visa – Government reforms to employer sponsored skilled migration visas.
A
current list of eligible skilled occupations can be found in a legislative instrument for the relevant visa program (see below). In order to determine which visa program may be available to you depending on your occupation, we recommend that you first check the
Combined current list of eligible skilled occupations.
This single alphabetical list of the eligible skilled occupations also provides information regarding:
- whether the occupation is included on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) or the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL) for the particular visa program:
-
for subclass 457 visa applicants: the visa validity period available will depend on which list your occupation is on and whether any international trade obligations apply
- the
Assessing Authorities which you must contact if you are required to complete a skills assessment for your visa application. There will be a charge for this service and the assessing authority will provide all necessary application forms and associated information
- the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code for each occupation. The ANZSCO provides information on the skill levels of jobs, qualifications and/or experience needed to work in occupations - see
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Home Affairs is unable to assist you with determining which ANZSCO code best suits your circumstances
- whether any caveats apply to your particular occupation
- caveats (indicated via ‘*** asterisks’ in the list) exclude the occupations in certain circumstances from use under the subclass 457 and 186 (DE) visa programs
- a summary of
Caveats on occupations is available
Note: The Combined current list of eligible skilled occupations does
not include:
- information about skilled occupations eligible for the
Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) – Direct Entry, for which all ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3 occupations are available except for the Minister of Religion (ANZSCO 272211).
Note: the combined current list will be updated to include this information on 3 March 2018, in the interim please consult the relevant legislative instrument (see below)
- the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the subclass 186 and 187 visa programs, as there is no occupation list requirement for this stream.
Legislative instruments
The table below provides information on the formal legislative instrument(s) which specify the occupations available for the skilled visa types listed.
Removed occupations
If your occupation has been removed from the list, you will only be impacted if you apply for a skilled visa
on or after the date on which the occupation was removed from the relevant skilled occupation list.
Applications lodged before the change will
not be impacted. If you already hold a skilled visa, you will
not be impacted by these removed occupations unless you apply for a further skilled visa or are changing your occupation or employer.
Caveats on occupations (subclasses 457 and 186)
Caveats on occupations apply to certain occupations for the purposes of the
Temporary Work (Skilled) visa (subclass 457) and
Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) – Direct Entry Stream only.
Changes (including addition of) occupational caveats will only impact on new applications lodged after the commencement of a new instrument. Applications which were already lodged before the change will
not be impacted.
