482 Core Skills Occupation List: Check Your Job
To check whether a job fits the subclass 482 Core Skills stream, start with the actual duties, identify the relevant occupation classification and verify the occupation against the current official migration list. A matching job title gives you a starting point. You still need to examine the employer's position, the worker's background and the other requirements for sponsorship and the visa.
This guide explains how an applicant and employer can prepare a useful occupation review. It does not reproduce a long list that can become outdated. Use the official tools linked below for the current entry, then keep a dated record of the occupation and any conditions relevant to your case.
Use the list for the intended visa stream
Home Affairs uses ANZSCO 2022 for subclass 482 and subclass 186, including occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List. Its skilled-occupation page explains that other skilled visa subclasses use a different ANZSCO version. It also warns that a reclassification may require you to select the occupation matching the actual duties and responsibilities. Source: Home Affairs skilled occupation list.
Write “482 Core Skills” on your review worksheet before searching. A points-tested state nomination list, a regional visa list and a labour-market shortage report serve different purposes. An occupation's appearance in one source does not establish eligibility under another programme.
The 482 Specialist Skills and Labour Agreement streams require their own review. If a proposed role does not appear eligible under Core Skills, ask which alternative stream, if any, the facts could support. Obtain an explanation tied to the actual rules rather than assuming that a higher salary or a regional address resolves the occupation issue.
Follow a repeatable official-source check
Open Home Affairs' skilled-occupation tool. Search the occupation name and code, choose the intended visa and classification where the tool provides those filters, then examine the entry and linked requirements. Record the date. If you use an official PDF, confirm that it remains the relevant version before relying on it.
Save a short source record containing the page title, URL, occupation title, code, classification version and relevant restriction. Keep the legal instrument reference provided by the official material. Your adviser can then check the operative provision rather than starting again from an undated screenshot forwarded through a group chat.
If an official page and a commercial list disagree, identify the date and scope of each. A consultation document may propose a change without implementing it. Ask your adviser to resolve the difference before treating the occupation as available. Use the Home Affairs Core Skills list as a reference alongside the current official tool and governing instrument.
Describe the job before choosing its code
Ask the employer to write a factual duty summary. Include the work performed in a normal week, approximate time allocation, reporting line, decision-making authority, tools used and the customers or internal teams served. A generic advertisement may omit the detail needed to distinguish neighbouring occupations.
Compare the summary with the classification description. Identify duties that match, duties that differ and responsibilities the employer has not explained. Discuss those gaps with the manager who understands the position. Do not change the description to make the role appear to involve work the employee will not perform.
A hypothetical technology company calls a position “Business Analyst”. One employee investigates software requirements and another handles commercial sales reports. The shared title does not establish that both positions belong to the same occupation. Their task evidence, professional background and proposed responsibilities need separate review.
Build an occupation-matching worksheet
Review item | Employer evidence | Applicant evidence | Question to resolve |
Actual tasks | Position description and manager explanation | Examples of relevant past work | Do the duties align with the proposed occupation? |
Responsibility level | Organisation chart and authority | References describing level and scope | Is the proposed level supported? |
Work setting | Business activity and work location | Experience in comparable work | Does the setting change the occupation analysis? |
Classification | Proposed code and applicable version | Existing assessment, if any | Do all records use a compatible occupation? |
Professional requirements | Required licence or registration | Current registration documents | Is further action needed before work begins? |
Complete the worksheet with references to genuine records. It should help the adviser ask better questions, not replace the adviser's assessment. Leave an entry marked “unconfirmed” when the employer has not supplied the information. An honest gap is easier to resolve than an unsupported assertion repeated throughout the file.
A promotion can change the analysis
Explain the proposed future role rather than relying only on the applicant's current title. An employee moving into management may gain responsibility for budgets, staffing or strategy. The employer should describe the actual change and why the business needs the position.
Keep the employee's current role and proposed role in separate columns. Include the effective date and evidence of the new responsibilities. An internal promotion letter can help, but it may need an updated position description and organisation chart to show what the employee will do.
Avoid adding “manager” to a title merely to reach an occupation category. Ask whether the business structure and daily responsibilities support a managerial role. If the facts support a different occupation, assess that occupation on its own terms rather than using a title that obscures the work.
Distinguish an eligible occupation from a suitable worker
A listed occupation concerns one part of the proposed nomination. The worker still needs the background and evidence relevant to the visa. Collect qualifications, employment dates, hours, references and any required registration. Identify gaps before the employer commits to an unrealistic start date.
Prepare an employment table showing employer, location, dates, weekly hours and principal duties. Explain overlapping jobs and periods of study or leave. Give the adviser enough information to examine the quality and relevance of the experience, rather than presenting a total number of years without context.
An applicant who worked under a broad overseas title may have evidence that supports a more specific Australian occupation. Obtain a truthful reference describing the work. Do not ask a former employer to replace the historical job title or copy a classification description without explaining the actual duties.
Check whether a skills assessment applies
An occupation list may show an assessing authority, but you should separately establish whether the particular 482 applicant needs a mandatory assessment and whether any exception applies. Nationality, occupation, visa stream and the applicable rules can affect the review. Ask the adviser to record the basis for the conclusion.
Where an assessment is needed, check the authority's requirements, processing steps and timing before filing. Keep an existing assessment's occupation, classification version, outcome date and validity information. A positive result for a different occupation does not answer every question about the employer's proposed role.
VETASSESS explains that its assessments for the 482 Core Skills and 186 Direct Entry streams align with ANZSCO 2022. Applicants considering those routes should compare the assessment and intended nomination with the same classification framework. Source: VETASSESS occupation guidance.
Keep salary and occupation reviews connected
After identifying the proposed occupation, review remuneration under the current rules. Separate base pay, compulsory superannuation, allowances and conditional bonuses. The headline value of a package may differ from the earnings relevant to the nomination. The employer should provide a clear contract and supporting calculation.
Use current official salary-threshold and market-salary guidance when assessing the offer. This guide does not hard-code a salary figure because indexed amounts and the relevant filing dates require a fresh check. Ask the adviser to state which threshold and date apply to the nomination under review.
Discuss the consequences if the employer revises the role or pay. A material change can affect the occupation analysis and the evidence needed. Keep the final position description, contract and nomination instructions consistent, and record who approved the final business details.
Consider the employer's evidence
The employer should explain its business activity, the need for the position and how the employee fits into the organisation. A small business can have a genuine specialist need, but the records must describe that need. A large company also needs accurate role-specific evidence.
Ask who supervises the position, where the work takes place and whether the employee will work across several sites or clients. Explain outsourcing arrangements or related entities. These facts can change the questions the adviser needs to investigate, even when the proposed occupation title remains the same.
Use existing business records where possible: organisation charts, operating contracts, staffing information and the manager's explanation. Obtain professional advice about any recruitment or labour-market-testing requirement. Avoid creating a paper position with duties the business cannot explain or support.
Plan a permanent-residence goal separately
An applicant may use the 482 pathway as part of a longer plan, but occupation-list eligibility for a temporary visa does not secure permanent residence. Ask which later route the facts might support and what further evidence, time or employer commitment it would require.
For a possible subclass 186 application, review the intended stream on its own requirements. A Direct Entry assessment and a Temporary Residence Transition assessment involve different questions. Preserve records of the actual sponsored work rather than assuming that the passage of time alone completes the pathway.
Discuss the employer's willingness to consider future sponsorship in writing, within a realistic service and employment scope. A statement of intention should identify what remains subject to future review. Avoid paying for a promise of guaranteed permanent residence or treating an occupation code as that promise.
A practical review for applicants in Hong Kong or Taiwan
Start with a short English duty summary, your current CV and the proposed employer's position description. Include your passport nationality, current location and relevant qualifications. These facts help the reviewer distinguish the visa question from a general request to find work in Australia.
Translate technical job descriptions with care. Keep original terms alongside the proposed English translation when a title has several meanings. Explain the equipment, systems or professional responsibilities involved. A literal title translation can conceal the difference between a technician, professional specialist and supervisor.
For an initial assessment, describe missing evidence instead of sending an unorganised archive. Identify which employer can provide a reference and which records you can obtain. Agree a secure route for full identity and employment documents after the reviewer confirms the scope.
Questions to resolve before paying for a nomination
Ask the adviser to identify the proposed occupation, classification version, official source and any relevant caveat. Request an explanation of the material duty matches and differences. Understand which applicant and employer documents remain outstanding and which facts could change the conclusion.
Ask for a dated cost breakdown that separates professional work, government charges and employer responsibilities. Confirm what happens if the business changes the role before filing. Agree who will review the final contract and position description, and who will approve submission.
Keep the written assessment with the source record. This makes a later update easier if the filing date moves or the official list changes. It also helps another professional understand what the first review covered without relying on a vague statement that the occupation was “approved”.
Common questions about the Core Skills Occupation List
Can a company nominate me because my occupation appears on the list?
Appearance on the relevant list supports the occupation part of the review. The employer and applicant still need to meet the applicable sponsorship, nomination and visa requirements. Obtain a case-specific assessment before committing to relocation, resignation or a payment linked to the proposed sponsorship.
Does the list provide jobs or employers?
The migration list identifies occupations for specified visa purposes. It does not provide a job offer or establish that a particular business will sponsor you. Evaluate the employment opportunity through normal recruitment checks and examine the proposed migration arrangements with a qualified professional.
Should I change my CV to match the occupation?
Present your work accurately and explain relevant duties with genuine records. You can clarify a broad title or improve a translation without inventing experience. Keep the CV, references and application answers consistent with what you did and the employer's records.
Discuss your circumstances with PremierVisa Group
For an initial English-language enquiry, describe your objective, current nationality and location, family composition and the stage you have reached. Our Hong Kong team can clarify the review scope and coordinate the relevant programme questions. Send complete identity and financial records only through an agreed secure process. Eligibility and outcomes depend on the actual application and the responsible authority.
Related English guides
Editorial source check: 31 October 2026. General information, not an individual legal, tax or investment recommendation. Verify current official requirements and charges before applying or paying. No named professional review is claimed.
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