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).

Processing priority

Sugar Cane Grower isn't in any of the ANZSCO groups that Directions 121 and 122 list for the priority sectors. Some of the first group is defined by the job rather than the code: a nominated position directly involved in agriculture, aquaculture or fishing, one that directly supports mining, oil and gas or coal production, or one related to defence. Otherwise the application is processed after the priority sectors. For the permanent and provisional skilled visas, applicants who were in Australia when they applied come next, then those who applied from outside Australia. For the 482, Specialist Skills stream applications come before both.

Priority changes the order in which lodged applications are looked at, not whether they are granted. Who is invited to apply through SkillSelect is decided separately. See all 202 occupations in the priority sectors.

Skills assessment

A positive skills assessment for Sugar Cane Grower comes from:

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.

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