Horse Trainer and Jockey: a TRA skills assessment, then a separate state racing licence

Migratio Editorial · Last updated 5 September 2026

TL;DR: Horse Trainer (361112) and Jockey (452413) are both assessed for migration by Trades Recognition Australia, and both are the only TRA-assessed code in their own ANZSCO unit group — every neighbouring animal-care or sportsperson title around them is assessed by VETASSESS instead. TRA's assessment supports the visa application; it says nothing about the actual right to train a horse or ride in a race. That right comes from a state or territory Principal Racing Authority — Racing NSW, Racing Victoria and six others — each licensing separately under a nationally shared rulebook it then supplements with its own rules. A jockey's licence carries a further apprenticeship requirement on top. Horse Trainer has the widest visa reach in this family; Jockey, on the ROL list only, has the narrowest.

Two very different jobs, the same assessing body, and the same structural gap once the visa is in hand. Horse Trainer and Jockey are each the only occupation in their own ANZSCO unit group that Trades Recognition Australia assesses — everything else nearby, from Dog Handler to Footballer, sits with VETASSESS. That single fact is worth knowing before anything else here, because it means the general advice for an animal-care visa, or for a professional-sportsperson visa, usually does not apply to either of these two. What is common to both is what happens after the skills assessment: nobody at TRA licenses a person to train a horse or ride in a race. That decision sits with a state, not a national body, and it is the part of this pathway most likely to be assumed away.

TRA's assessment, and the four occupations it exists alongside

TRA runs Horse Trainer and Jockey through the same Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) program used elsewhere in this corpus: qualification and employment compared against Australian standards, an Employer Template form and pay evidence required for every employment period claimed, no work experience or occupational licence accepted as a substitute for a formal qualification. Self-employment is explicitly permitted — TRA's FAQ confirms "people who are self-employed and can meet the requirements outlined in the Migration Skills Assessment Program Guidelines are eligible to apply", which matters for Horse Trainer specifically, since owner-trainer and sole-trader arrangements are common in racing.

Horse Trainer is the only TRA-assessed code among six occupations in ANZSCO unit group 3611 (Animal Attendants and Trainers) — Dog Handler or Trainer, Pet Groomer, Zookeeper, Kennel Hand and Animal Attendants nec are all assessed by VETASSESS instead, and none of them reaches the medium/long-term skilled list the way Horse Trainer does. Jockey is likewise the sole TRA code among five in unit group 4524 (Sportspersons) — Footballer, Golfer, Lifeguard and Sportspersons nec all sit with VETASSESS, and three of the four reach visas Jockey does not.

TRA's assessment ends at the visa. Racing licensing starts with the states.

Neither TRA's own occupational-licensing pathway (which covers three unrelated trades — air-conditioning and refrigeration mechanics, electricians and plumbers) nor any national dental- or health-style regulator has anything to do with horse racing. Licensing sits with the sport's own governance structure: Racing Australia describes itself as "the peak body for Australian breeding and racing consisting of the six State and two Territory racing authorities which are recognised by the Australian Rules of Racing as Principal Racing Authorities (PRAs)" — Racing NSW, Racing Victoria, Racing Queensland, Racing and Wagering Western Australia, Racing SA, Tasracing, Thoroughbred Racing NT and the Canberra Racing Club. Those eight bodies, not TRA and not Racing Australia itself, are the ones that actually grant a trainer's or jockey's licence.

The requirement is stated identically for both roles in the nationally-shared "Australian Rules of Racing": a person can only train a horse if "the person has been issued with a licence or permit to train from the PRA where the horse is being trained", and to ride in a race a person "must hold the appropriate licence and/or qualification to ride granted by the PRA of the State or Territory in which the race is run". Wanting to work in more than one state doesn't carry the licence with it — training across state lines requires being separately licensed "by the PRA in each of those States or Territories".

Jockey carries an extra gate: the apprenticeship

A jockey's licence is not just a formality once the visa lands. Under the shared Australian Rules, an apprentice jockey is defined as someone "bound to a trainer in accordance with the Local Rules of the PRA" where that trainer is based, and Racing NSW's own Local Rules state that "no jockeys licence may be granted to any person unless he or she has completed an apprenticeship or held a licence as a jockey, under the Rules of Racing of a Principal Club." A TRA skills assessment does not touch this requirement at all — it assesses qualification and employment history for migration purposes, not whether the racing authority's own apprenticeship gate has been cleared.

One concrete NSW example of how far the rules go beyond the licence itself: apprentice jockeys carry a weight allowance that tapers as they accumulate wins — "3kg until the apprentice jockey has ridden 20 winners on the flat in a metropolitan area", stepping down to 2kg at 50 winners and 1.5kg at 80. This is a NSW Local Rule, not part of the nationally-shared Australian Rules — treat any state's specific numbers (weight allowances, insurance requirements, licence categories) as belonging to that state alone until you've checked the equivalent Local Rules where you actually intend to work.

The visa reach is very different between the two

Horse Trainer has the widest visa reach in this family by a large margin: 186, 189, 190, 407, 482, 485, 491 and 494, via the MLTSSL and CSOL lists — including the points-tested 189/190 routes, which is why TRA also offers a separate Migration Points Advice service for successful Horse Trainer applicants (it reports comparability to Home Affairs but, TRA states directly, "does not allocate points; this is determined by Home Affairs"). Jockey sits at the opposite end: ROL only, reaching just the 407, 491 and 494 visas, with no employer-sponsored 186/482 route and no independent route at all — a materially narrower set than several of its own VETASSESS-assessed unit-group neighbours, including Footballer, which reaches all the way to 189 and 485.

Frequently asked questions

Does TRA license horse trainers or jockeys to work in Australia?

No. TRA runs the migration skills assessment that supports the visa application, but the actual licence to train a horse or ride in a race comes from a state or territory Principal Racing Authority — Racing NSW, Racing Victoria and the other six state and territory bodies — under the shared Australian Rules of Racing plus each state's own Local Rules.

If I'm licensed to train in one Australian state, can I train interstate too?

Not automatically. The Australian Rules of Racing state that a person or training partnership operating across more than one state or territory "must be licensed to do so by the PRA in each of those States or Territories" — a licence granted in one state does not carry over to another.

Can my TRA skills assessment substitute for a jockey apprenticeship?

No. TRA's assessment evaluates qualifications and employment for migration purposes. Under Racing NSW's Local Rules, a jockey's actual licence to ride requires having "completed an apprenticeship or held a licence as a jockey, under the Rules of Racing of a Principal Club" — a separate requirement the racing authority applies, not TRA.

Why does Horse Trainer reach so many more visas than Jockey?

Horse Trainer sits on the MLTSSL and CSOL lists, reaching eight visa subclasses including the points-tested 189 and 190. Jockey sits on the ROL list only, reaching just the 407, 491 and 494 visas, with no employer-sponsored or independent route in its list membership.

Can a self-employed sole-trader trainer apply for the TRA skills assessment?

Yes — TRA states directly that "people who are self-employed and can meet the requirements outlined in the Migration Skills Assessment Program Guidelines are eligible to apply", though the same documentary evidence standard (an Employer Template form and pay evidence for each employment period) still applies.

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