Australian Regional Migration Occupations

Skilled visas require migrants to be working in an eligible skilled occupation. Skilled visas are those designed to grow the Australian economy by filling skills gaps or building productive capacity in the labour market. Details of the revised Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL), Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) and the Regional Occupation List (ROL) are available on the links below.

On 11 March 2019, the skilled migration occupation lists were updated to respond to labour market changes, and help ensure that Australian workers are given the first priority for jobs, while allowing business access to the critical skills they need to grow.

Regional employers and skilled migrants applying for regional visas have access to more occupations than are available to metropolitan areas. 

Following the 11 March 2019 changes, there are 77 additional regional occupations available on the Regional occupation list.

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:

• Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) visa (subclass 186)
• Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa (subclass 187)*
• Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) – Points-tested stream
• Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190)
• Training visa (subclass 407)
• Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa (subclass 482)
• Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) – Graduate Work 
• Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489)
• Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491)
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 494).

The combined list specifies:

• the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) code for each occupation. The ANZSCO provides information on the skill level of jobs, qualifications and/or experience needed to work in occupations
• caveats which exclude the use of the occupation in certain circumstances (applies to the ENS and TSS visas only)
• whether the occupation is included on theMedium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL), the Short-term Skilled Occupation List (STSOL), the Regional Occupation List (ROL) or the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) ROL List.
• the assessing authority for skills assessments

A current list of eligible skilled occupations can be found in a legislative instrument for the relevant visa program.

*The RSMS ROL list is a separate list of occupations that applies to the RSMS visa only.

To respond to changes in the Australian labour market and regional variations across Australia, the list is reviewed regularly by the Department of Jobs and Small Business.

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