Futures Trader (ANZSCO 222212)
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 Futures Trader 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 Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
Processing priority
Futures Trader 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 Futures Trader comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS assesses Futures Trader under the identical Group B structure as Financial Market Dealer, Stockbroking Dealer and Financial Dealers nec — same Bachelor-level pathways, same highly relevant fields (Finance, Business, Commerce, Accounting, Economics, Actuarial Studies), same core task list around obtaining and interpreting securities data and executing orders. Its own description is that the role buys and sells commodity futures on behalf of clients, which is how the other three dealer codes' pages distinguish it from their own work.
Where these applications come unstuck
Nothing in the assessment criteria signals what the occupation lists then do. An applicant whose duties would equally support Financial Market Dealer or Financial Dealers nec, but who nominates Futures Trader because it matches a job title, ends up on the worst list outcome in the entire finance family without any warning built into the evidence requirements themselves — the mismatch only shows up once the visa list is checked separately.
An honest read on this pathway
Futures Trader is the outlier of the whole family: Regional Occupation List only, reaching the 494 regional visa alone, while its three near-identical Group B siblings sit on STSOL and reach 190, 407, 491 and 494. It cannot reach 482 or 186, nor can it reach 190 — the narrowest visa footing of any of the sixteen occupations covered here.
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 Futures Trader 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.
Related occupations
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents