Research and Development Manager (ANZSCO 132511)
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 Research and Development Manager 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).
- Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) — Permanent, state or territory nominated · all occupations for the 190
- Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) — Provisional, regional, points-tested · all occupations for the 491
- Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) — Temporary, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 482
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) — Permanent, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 186
- 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
Processing priority
Research and Development Manager 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 Research and Development Manager comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
Research and Development Manager is a VETASSESS Group B occupation on STSOL and CSOL, reaching six visa subclasses including state nomination and direct employer sponsorship. VETASSESS excludes Market Research Analyst, Policy and Planning Manager, University Lecturer (including Research Associate or Research Fellow), and Health Information Manager — Clinical Trial Data Manager specifically — from this code. The University Lecturer exclusion is worth noticing on its own: research work performed inside an academic appointment, however senior, is not assessed under this managerial code even where the day-to-day work looks similar to running a corporate R&D function.
Where these applications come unstuck
The University Lecturer and Research Associate exclusion catches academics moving into industry, or industry researchers whose background is academic, who assume seniority in research work is itself the qualifying duty. VETASSESS is assessing management of a research and development function, not research seniority — a principal investigator or lead researcher without genuine managerial control over the R&D function risks the same mismatch the Quality Assurance Manager page states directly elsewhere in this family: title and seniority are not the test, organisational authority over the function is.
An honest read on this pathway
A genuinely open pathway for someone who manages an R&D function rather than performs research inside one — six subclasses, employer sponsorship included, and a Group B structure that lets extra years offset a less-directly-relevant degree. The distinction from University Lecturer is the one worth checking before nominating, since it is the exclusion most likely to trip up a strong candidate whose research background is academic rather than corporate.
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 Research and Development Manager 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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