Photographer (ANZSCO 211311)
On the Short-term Skilled 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 Photographer 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.
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
- 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 Photographer comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
Photographer is a Group C occupation — a Diploma-level qualification is the floor — with narrow highly relevant fields of study: Photography and Photo Imaging, Creative Arts (Photography), or Visual Arts (Photography) specifically, not a general design or fine-art degree. VETASSESS's own page states self-employment and freelancing are normal for the role, and explicitly excludes Photographer's Assistant, Photographic Developer and Printer, Video Producer, Director of Photography, and Photo Journalist from the code.
Where these applications come unstuck
Photographer is the one code in this family where VETASSESS states a portfolio of completed work 'must be submitted for assessment' — mandatory, not advised. A photojournalist is explicitly excluded from this code by name on its own page, and separately, the Journalists and Other Writers nec code names Photo Journalist among its own suitable titles — so a working photojournalist fits neither Photographer nor any of the five specific journalist codes, only that residual nec category.
An honest read on this pathway
Photographer sits on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List, reaching four visas — 190, 407, 491, 494 — with no 189, 482 or 186 available under this code at all. Combined with the mandatory portfolio and the narrow fields-of-study list, this is one of the more evidence-heavy codes in the family relative to the visa access it actually provides — a materially higher documentation bar than Director of Photography or Video Producer, two neighbouring camera-and-screen codes it is sometimes confused with, sit under.
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 Photographer 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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