- Australia+61 7 3172 4965
- India+91 9560 202061
- Philippines
- Philippines+63 917 160 0232
December 19, 2025
If you are trying to understand which ANZSCO codes are in demand in 2026 to support your Australian migration plans, you are already ahead of many applicants. You want clear guidance, real data, and a path you can actually follow, not vague promises.
Here is the thing. At E-Help Consultants, we spend our day and night helping real clients match their jobs to ANZSCO, choose the right visa, prepare skills assessments, and secure invitations. Patterns keep repeating, and those patterns show you which ANZSCO codes in demand in 2026 deserve your attention.
You might be wondering what “in demand” actually means for ANZSCO codes in demand 2026. It is not a guess. It is based on measured skill shortages, vacancy data, and employer feedback collected by Jobs and Skills Australia and the Department of Home Affairs.
ANZSCO itself is just a classification system. Each 6‑digit code describes a detailed occupation, such as:
The “in demand” part comes from several tools: the Occupation Shortage List (OSL), the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), and visa‑specific skilled occupation lists. Together, they show where employers struggle to hire and where policy encourages skilled migration.
The truth is, there is no single best ANZSCO code. Instead, clusters of occupations appear again and again in the OSL, CSOL, and skilled visa statistics. In our experience at E-Help Consultants, five clusters consistently stand out for ANZSCO codes in demand 2026: health, tech and cybersecurity, construction and engineering, trades, and education.
Australian data from October 2024 and the November 2025 OSL updates show persistent shortages across health professions and care roles, including registered nurses, GPs, and allied health.
Examples you should watch:
These codes appear across OSL shortage lists and often on CSOL or MLTSSL, which means strong visa options (189, 190, 491, 186, Skills in Demand visa).
Here is the thing. Australia still wants 1.2 million tech workers by 2030, yet 2025 reports show contraction in tech jobs and large skills gaps in AI, data, and cybersecurity.
Key ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 across tech and cyber include:
New AI and cyber roles were formally recognised and linked to ANZSCO codes during 2025 to reflect genuine employer demand in finance, health, and government.
Jobs and Skills Australia reports show that close to half of trade occupations and large parts of construction and engineering remain in shortage, even as the broader labour market eases.
You should pay attention to codes such as:
Industry forecasts to 2029 for housing and energy projects strongly suggest these ANZSCO codes in demand in 2026 will keep pressure on skilled migration.
The 2024 OSL identifies Primary and Secondary School Teachers among the top employing occupations in shortage across Australia.
For ANZSCO codes in demand 2026, common examples are:
State nomination programs, especially for regional areas, regularly highlight teachers for skilled and regional visas, which aligns with what we see every month in our client files.
| ANZSCO code & occupation | Why demand is strong to 2026 | Typical visa pathways* |
| 254412 Registered Nurse (Aged Care) | Ageing population, national shortage reports in 2024 and 2025 | 189, 190, 491, 186, Skills in Demand (SID) |
| 261313 Software Engineer | Digital economy growth, AI adoption, persistent tech skills gap | 189, 190, 491, 482/SID, 186 |
| 351311 Chef | Hospitality shortages, highest sponsored occupation in 2025 | 482/SID, 186, 190, 491 regional |
| 321211 Motor Mechanic | Ongoing shortage of automotive trades; regional demand | 189 (selected rounds), 190, 491, 482/SID |
| 133111 Construction Project Manager | Housing and infrastructure pipelines through to 2029 | 189, 190, 491, 482/SID, 186 |
| 189, 190, 491, 482/SID, 186 | National shortage, especially STEM subjects and regional schools | 189, 190, 491, 186 |
| 262112 Cyber Security Specialist | Rising cyber threats and new cyber codes added in 2025 | 189, 190, 491, 482/SID, 186 |
Let us break this down, because this part confuses many applicants.
Jobs and Skills Australia publishes the Occupation Shortage List (OSL). In November 2025, it reported that 29% of occupations remain in shortage, with strong pressure in trades, health, education, and construction.
The OSL uses vacancy fill rates, employer surveys, and labour market data to decide if your ANZSCO unit group has a national, regional, metropolitan or no shortage rating. That rating feeds into the Core Skills Occupation List and broader migration settings.
From December 2024, the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL) became the central list for the Skills in Demand visa and the 186 Direct Entry stream, containing 456 occupations based on OSL data and stakeholder input.
If your code appears on CSOL and you meet salary thresholds, you can access the Core Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa, with a built‑in pathway to permanent residence. ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 will typically show up on CSOL, sometimes with conditions or caveats.
Each state and territory runs its own skilled occupation list for visas such as 190 and 491. These lists reflect local shortages, often giving extra priority to teachers, health professionals, trades, and tech roles in regional towns.
In our experience at E-Help Consultants, applicants who tailor their strategy to state demand, rather than focusing only on national lists, usually reach invitations faster.
You might be asking, “So how do I actually confirm if my code is one of the ANZSCO codes in demand 2026?” Here is a practical, field‑tested method we use with clients.
Think of this as your mini flowchart:
Write down your day‑to‑day tasks, tools, and seniority.
Use the official ANZSCO descriptions and compare tasks, qualification level, and specialisations carefully.
Confirm if your code appears on CSOL and on skilled occupation lists for 189, 190, 491, 482/SID and 186 visas.
Review state nomination lists for your code, paying attention to special requirements such as regional study, work experience or job offers.
Quick tip: In our experience at E-Help Consultants, many applicants discover that a closely related ANZSCO code gives stronger options for 2026 than their first guess. A proper duties comparison usually reveals this.
Here is the truth. ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 help, yet they do not guarantee an invitation or grant. You still need to watch for:
Generally speaking, our clients who start this analysis in early 2025 for a 2026 plan have far more flexibility when policy tweaks appear.
Now that you see where demand sits, the key question becomes: how do ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 connect to actual visa outcomes?
For many professionals, points‑tested visas remain the core pathway for Australian skilled visa 189, 190, and 491 :
ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 on MLTSSL and state lists tend to feature heavily in these invitations.
From late 2024, the Skills in Demand (SID) visa replaced the old 482, with three pathways and a strong link to CSOL and salary thresholds.
For ANZSCO codes in demand 2026, the most relevant are:
Both can feed into subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, especially where the same ANZSCO code appears on CSOL.
If you plan to study first, you can target courses that lead directly to ANZSCO codes in demand 2026, for example:
Our education counselling team at E-Help Consultants often structures study plans around these codes and then connects them to 485 Graduate visas, state pathways, and employer sponsorship.
If your research shows that you sit within ANZSCO codes in demand 2026, the next move is clear: convert that advantage into a practical timeline. Start by locking in your ANZSCO choice, securing skills assessment, and lifting your English scores, then align that with the visa types that genuinely suit your profile.
The future of Australian migration will favour applicants who can show real skills in health, tech, care, construction, trades, and education, supported by clean documentation and a flexible strategy. If you structure your plan carefully through 2025, you will meet 2026 from a position of strength instead of reacting to every policy headline.
Ready to see how your job fits into ANZSCO codes in demand 2026? Contact E-Help Consultants today for a detailed ANZSCO and visa strategy session and move one step closer to your Australian goal.
No single ANZSCO code dominates across all sectors. Health professionals, software engineers, cybersecurity specialists, construction managers, trades, and teachers all show persistent shortages through 2024 and the 2025 OSL update, and those trends point strongly toward 2026. For you, the better question is: “Which ANZSCO code that fits my background also appears on OSL, CSOL, and state lists?”
Here is the thing. Many applicants pick ANZSCO codes based on job titles instead of duties. Assessment bodies and case officers focus on detailed tasks, qualification level, and industry context.
In our experience, we usually:
• Map your CV against 2-3 possible ANZSCO codes
• Compare every duty against the official description
• Check that your degree or trade certificate lines up with the skill level
• Run the option past the relevant assessing authority criteria
Australia adopted the ANZSCO 2022 version for migration lists, and the CSOL is built around that framework. Updates in 2024 and 2025 added more digital and cyber roles and refined several health and construction codes.
If your occupation sits in a growing sector such as AI, cybersecurity, care, or green infrastructure, those structural changes usually strengthen, rather than weaken, your long‑term options.
Yes. ANZSCO codes in demand 2026 can still face:
• Very high competition for the limited 189 places
• State quotas that fill within weeks
• Employers who prefer local experience, even where shortages exist
That is why we always combine occupation demand data with realistic score modelling and state‑by‑state policy tracking for each client.
HQ: Suite 1, Level 6, 116 Adelaide St, Brisbane Qld Australia 4000
Suite G02/9 Bay St, Southport QLD 4215, Australia
A-304-305, 3rd Floor, Chiranjiv Tower, 43 Nehru Place, New Delhi, 110019, India
+91 1681 40334
G09 City Suites Tower, F. Ramos Street, Barangay Sta. Cruz, Cebu City, 6000, Philippines
