Sugar Cane Grower (ANZSCO 121217)
On the Regional Occupation List
From the official Home Affairs skilled occupation lists, as at 2026-08-12. Lists change at each government update — always confirm on the official page before acting.
Which lists is Sugar Cane Grower on?
ROL — Regional Occupation List. Occupations on the ROL are limited to the regional provisional visas — mainly the Skilled Work Regional 491 and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional 494.
Visas this occupation can access
Being on a list makes the occupation nominatable for these visas — each visa still has its own requirements (points, age, English, a positive skills assessment, and for sponsored visas a willing employer or state).
- Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) — Provisional, regional, points-tested · all occupations for the 491
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
- Training visa (subclass 407) — Temporary, workplace training · all occupations for the 407
Skills assessment
A positive skills assessment for Sugar Cane Grower comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS assesses Sugar Cane Grower as a Group B occupation, requiring a qualification comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree or higher through one of four pathways. Its own page describes the role in a short, direct sentence: planning, organising, controlling, coordinating and performing farming operations to grow sugar cane. Evidence follows the standard professional-occupation checklist — a Statement of Service on employer letterhead, payslips, and taxation records showing the employer's name and the applicant's.
Where these applications come unstuck
Sugar Cane Grower's broader task description is close to identical to five sibling codes in this family, naming grain, cotton, fruit and nuts, turf and vegetables in the same sentence VETASSESS uses across those pages. The crop actually grown, not the seniority or scope of the role, is what separates this code from its neighbours — a reference letter vague about which crop was the applicant's primary focus invites the wrong code being nominated.
An honest read on this pathway
Sugar Cane Grower sits on the Regional Occupation List only, so the Skills in Demand and Employer Nomination Scheme visas are not available under this code, leaving the training visa and the two regional visas, both with a regional-residence condition. The Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement's "Protected Cropping Grower" role names sugar cane specifically among the crops it covers, at a much lower Certificate III or IV bar — a separate, employer-led door.
VETASSESS assesses qualifications and employment separately. Both need documentation that agrees with itself. The Employment History Builder and Document Vault organise each trail before you lodge.
Talk it through with a registered agent
Whether nominating Sugar Cane Grower is your best route depends on your points, experience evidence and timing — exactly what a MARA-registered agent works through in an initial consultation. Describe your situation once through Migratio and compare real consultation quotes from registered agents, free.
Compare registered agents — free
Related occupations
- Cotton Grower (121211)
- Crop Farmers nec (121299)
- Fruit or Nut Grower (121213)
- Grain, Oilseed or Pasture Grower (121214)
- Grape Grower (121215)
- Mixed Crop Farmer (121216)
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents