Apiarist (ANZSCO 121311)

On the Short-term Skilled Occupation List and Core Skills 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 Apiarist on?

STSOL — Short-term Skilled Occupation List. Occupations on the STSOL can access state-nominated and regional skilled visas (190/491), but not the Skilled Independent 189.

CSOL — Core Skills Occupation List. The employer-sponsorship list — occupations on the CSOL can be nominated for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme 186.

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

Apiarist 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 Apiarist comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Apiarist is the one code in this family VETASSESS assesses under Group D rather than Group B, following a criteria change that took effect from 12 December 2022: no bachelor's degree is required, only a qualification comparable to an Australian Qualifications Framework Certificate IV or higher, with a lighter pathway available on a Certificate III plus two years of relevant employment. Beyond the usual Statement of Service, payslips and taxation records, this occupation specifically requires a completed farm list or portfolio submitted with the application.

Where these applications come unstuck

Apiarist's own occupation page still carries one leftover sentence calling it a Group B occupation, sitting directly above the Group D pathway structure and the Certificate IV wording — an applicant or adviser relying on that line, or on older material written before December 2022, could wrongly assume a bachelor's degree is required. The page also excludes anyone whose role was feeding or handling stock on a crop or livestock farm rather than running the apiary business.

An honest read on this pathway

Apiarist is one of only two codes in this family carrying the Core Skills Occupation List, so it reaches the full visa menu including the Skills in Demand and Employer Nomination Scheme visas — the most open pathway on paper of the ten covered here. The lighter Group D qualification bar comes with two requirements none of the other nine codes carry: the farm list or portfolio, and a note that state or territory licensing or registration may separately apply.

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 Apiarist 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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