Skilled Occupations List

The Australian Immigration Department maintains a Skilled Occupations List (SOL).  The occupations on this list are the only ones that are acceptable for the purposes of Migration to Australia under the General Skilled Migration program.

As the General Skilled Migration program is based on a points test, each of the occupations in the SOL are assigned a certain number of points which count towards the points test score.

Occupations are determined by the tasks that you perform and the responsibilities that you undertake as part of your job.  An occupation is NOT determined by the job title, though this hopefully gives some indication of the occupation.

Each occupation on the SOL has a skills assessing body assigned to it.  It is the task of this body to ensure that you meet the requirements of the skilled occupation.

A skills assessment is required before lodging an application for a visa under the General Skilled Migration program.

Some occupations attract bonus points because of a shortage of those skills in the Australian workforce (refer to Targeted Occupations)