ANZSCO and OSCA Codes for a 482 Nomination

An ANZSCO code is the 6-digit occupation code from the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, and a 482 nomination must name the ANZSCO 2022 code whose tasks match the job. Find it by comparing the job’s main tasks with the unit group and occupation descriptions on the Australian Bureau of Statistics website, not by matching the job title, and then check that code on the Core Skills Occupation List. The Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA), released by the ABS on 6 December 2024, replaces ANZSCO for statistics, but the 482 and 186 instruments still use ANZSCO 2022 as at 24 September 2026.

What is an ANZSCO code?

An ANZSCO code places an occupation in a five-level hierarchy published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its ANZSCO 2022 classification structure: major group (1 digit), sub-major group (2 digits), minor group (3 digits), unit group (4 digits) and occupation (6 digits). Each occupation has a skill level from 1 to 5.

The eight major groups are:

1. Managers
2. Professionals
3. Technicians and Trades Workers
4. Community and Personal Service Workers
5. Clerical and Administrative Workers
6. Sales Workers
7. Machinery Operators and Drivers
8. Labourers

Retail Manager (General) shows how a code breaks down: 1 Managers, then 14 Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers, then 142 Retail Managers, then 1421 Retail Managers, and finally 142111 Retail Manager (General).

Why the code matters for a 482

The code decides five things in a 482 nomination:

1. whether the occupation is one of the 456 on the Core Skills Occupation List, and so available in the Core Skills stream;
2. whether the Specialist Skills stream is open, which depends on the major group (1, 2, 4, 5 or 6 only);
3. whether a mandatory skills assessment applies, because IMMI 18/039 names occupations by code;
4. which applicable circumstance, if any, attaches to the occupation;
5. which assessing authority the 186 occupations instrument names, for a later Direct Entry application.

How do you find the right code?

The code follows the tasks and the skill level of the position, not its title. Under section 6(1)(c) of LIN 24/089 on the Federal Register of Legislation, a listed occupation applies to a nominee only if the tasks to be performed correspond to the ANZSCO tasks for that code. The six steps above work through that test.

Three situations need extra care:

• A code from an earlier visa. Updates to ANZSCO may have split an older occupation into several specialisations or reclassified it, so the code must be the one aligned to the position’s current tasks, according to the Home Affairs skilled occupation list page.
• An occupation outside ANZSCO. Some labour agreements and DAMAs use the code 070499 for occupations that have no ANZSCO code, such as Trade Waiter in the Restaurant (premium dining) industry labour agreement and the Northern Territory DAMA’s non-ANZSCO occupations.
• A skills assessment. Assessing authorities check the code against the applicant’s qualifications and experience. VETASSESS assesses many non-trade occupations: IMMI 18/039, for example, names it for Program or Project Administrator 511112. The guide to VETASSESS for a 482 explains that process.

Worked example: a retail manager

A store’s position description lists setting the product mix and stock levels, pricing, budgeting, and supervising staff. The code is found in six checks:

The same unit group shows why the code matters. Only two occupations from unit group 1421 are on the Core Skills Occupation List, Retail Manager (General) 142111 and Travel Agency Manager 142116, so a manager whose tasks fit another occupation in that unit group cannot use the Core Skills stream. The full rules for this occupation are in the guide to the retail manager 482 visa.

What is OSCA and does the 482 use it?

No. The ABS released OSCA 2024, version 1.0, on 6 December 2024 to replace ANZSCO for use in Australia, with correspondence files linking the two (ABS OSCA release). New Zealand now uses its own National Occupation List. Migration has not moved:

• Section 4 of LIN 24/089 specifies ANZSCO as in force on 23 November 2022, and Home Affairs uses ANZSCO 2022 for the 482 and 186.
• Jobs and Skills Australia benchmarked its 2025 CSOL advice, given on 20 October 2025, to OSCA 2024, but no new occupation instrument had been made as at 24 September 2026 (JSA consultation page).
• When migration instruments will move to OSCA is not published.

Supplementary: the nomination

The nomination names the occupation and its ANZSCO code, and Home Affairs tests the position against that code. The position must be genuine under regulation 2.72(10) of the Migration Regulations 1994, and its tasks must correspond to the ANZSCO tasks under section 6(1)(c) of LIN 24/089. The position description, the employment contract and the worker’s reference letters should describe the same tasks. The code must also sit on the Australia occupation list that applies to the stream. The other 482 nomination requirements, from salary to labour market testing, are set out in the employer’s guide.

A migration lawyer makes the nomination more likely to succeed by settling the code before the nomination, the skills assessment and the reference letters are prepared. That matters because the code sets the stream, the list, any mandatory assessment and the 186 options, and it must match the tasks the employer describes.