Occupation lists in Australia explained by a lawyer

January 3, 2024 0 Comments

Occupation Lists in Australia Explained

Are you planning to migrate to Australia? If you are finding the process confusing, you are not alone. People seeking to migrate to Australia are often overwhelmed by the amount of information provided by all the different Australian states and territories. Traci from Maison Chen Law Group shares some helpful information to get you started with your application.

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How Does It All Work?

Once you have decided that you would like to live and work in Australia, you will need to find out if your professional occupation is one that makes you eligible to apply for an Australian visa.

If you are planning to migrate through the Skilled Migration Pathway, you must first know which occupation is eligible for what type of visa. Australia has six states (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania) and two territories (Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory). They each have their own migration websites (links are provided below). The migration programs vary between each state and territory. However, while the states and territories have different or more specific requirements tailored to suit their needs, an occupation’s visa eligibility all depends on the 27 pages of the federal legislative instrument Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019 (as at 18 October 2022).

Where to Start?

First, check for your occupation on the LIN 19/051 legislative instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation. This is the best place to start because no state or territory occupation list will have an occupation that is not listed on LIN 19/051.

Second, check whether the state or territory you are intending to migrate to has its own occupation list to confirm that the occupation you are planning to apply with is on their list. Often, the state/territory-specific lists cover the occupations that are considered to have a skill shortage in that state or territory. These occupation lists can be more comprehensive than LIN 19/051, and you can get an idea about what you must do to meet the specific requirements set by the state or territory.

What is LIN 19/051?

LIN 19/051 is the legislative instrument where you can find all the occupation lists (STSOL, MLTSSL and ROL explained below) for the Skilled Migration Pathway in Australia. Visas in this Pathway include Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent), Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated) and Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visas. You might be wondering what the occupation lists are and what they have to do with the different subclasses of visas. How do they interact with each other?

Medium and Long-Term Strategic Skills List (‘MLTSSL’)

The first list you will encounter in LIN 19/051 is the MLTSSL. This list contains 212 occupations, and it is relevant to the Subclass 189 (Skilled – Independent), Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated) and Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visas. If you have an occupation listed on the MLTSSL, you are one step closer to a Subclass 189, 190 or 491 visa.

Short-Term Skilled Occupation List (‘STSOL’)

The second list you will see in LIN 19/051 is the STSOL. 215 occupations are on this list, and it is relevant to the Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated) and Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visas. Can you find your occupation on the STSOL? If so, you may have a chance to apply for the Subclass 190 and 491 visas.

Regional Occupation List (‘ROL’)

The last occupation list in LIN 19/051 is the ROL. This list consists of 77 occupations that are in demand within regional areas. Therefore, if you have an occupation on this list, you may be able to apply for the Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa. In Australia, regional areas are determined by postcodes. If you are interested in finding out which postcodes belong to a regional area in each state or territory, check out the relevant link below.

Assessing Authorities (How to Know if You are Eligible)

Last but not least, you will see another list in LIN 19/051. This list is not an occupation list; rather, it contains all the assessing authorities for the three occupation lists mentioned. To apply for any of the Skilled Migration Pathway visas, you must be skilled in an occupation specified on one of the three occupation lists. Your skills must be assessed to Australian standards by the relevant assessing authority. Column 3 of each occupation list tells you which assessing authority you would need to obtain your skills assessment from. However, as Column 3 abbreviates the names of the assessing authorities, you might want to check the Assessing Authorities list to find out what they stand for.

An Example to Help Your Understanding

Example – Meera (29-year-old) from India has worked as a full-time Retail Pharmacist for six months in Victoria on a Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa after completing her Bachelor of Pharmacy. She travelled to Tasmania for a holiday and fell in love with the Tasmanian lifestyle, and now wants to migrate and settle in Tasmania.

Additional Information

  • She has a valid and positive skills assessment for the occupation Retail Pharmacist from the Australian Pharmacy Council Ltd.
  • She has a valid English test (PTE Academic) result of ‘Superior’.

Meera checks LIN 19/051 and finds that the occupation Retail Pharmacist is on the STSOL, and the relevant assessing authority is APharmC (Australian Pharmacy Council Ltd). Now she knows that she could be eligible for the Subclass 190 (Skilled – Nominated) or Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional (Provisional)) visa. To confirm her eligibility, Meera checks the Migration Tasmania website for further details. Meera finds out that Tasmania has its own skills occupation list called the Tasmanian Onshore Skilled Occupation List (TOSOL). She also finds out that the occupation Retail Pharmacist is on both the TOSOL and Tasmania’s Critical Role List, which will boost her chances of getting nominated. However, she cannot apply just yet because she does not satisfy the minimum criteria set for the Subclass 190 visa in Tasmania by the Tasmanian government. Notwithstanding this, she is very hopeful because she still has enough time to satisfy the other requirements. Meera contacted a migration lawyer who could professionally assist her because she did not want to miss any opportunities and wanted her application done right the first time.

Helpful Links:

Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00574

Skilled Occupation Listhttps://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list

Designated Regional Area Postcodes: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia/skill-occupation-list/regional-postcodes

Australian Department of Home Affairshttps://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/working-in-australia

New South Waleshttps://www.nsw.gov.au/visas-and-migration

Victoriahttps://liveinmelbourne.vic.gov.au/migrate

Queenslandhttps://migration.qld.gov.au

Western Australiahttps://migration.wa.gov.au

South Australiahttps://www.migration.sa.gov.au

Tasmaniahttps://www.migration.tas.gov.au

Northern Territoryhttps://theterritory.com.au/migrate

Australian Capital Territoryhttps://www.act.gov.au/migration/home

Traci Chen is a Principal Migration Lawyer and the CEO and founder of Maison Chen Law Group. You can contact Traci and the team for easy-to-understand migration advice, without any jargon. Follow Traci on TikTok for free migration updates and information, with a side of dance moves and snazzy transitions.