Economist (ANZSCO 224311)
On the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills 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 Economist on?
MLTSSL — Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List. The widest list — occupations on the MLTSSL can access the points-tested permanent skilled visas including the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), which needs no state nomination or employer.
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 Independent visa (subclass 189) — Permanent, points-tested, no sponsor needed · all occupations for the 189
- 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
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) — Temporary, recent Australian graduates · all occupations for the 485
- Training visa (subclass 407) — Temporary, workplace training · all occupations for the 407
Skills assessment
A positive skills assessment for Economist comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS assesses Economist under Group A, the same single-pathway, Bachelor-plus-one-year structure as Actuary, Statistician, Land Economist and Valuer — but Economics is the only field named as highly relevant, with no case-by-case alternative field list at all, narrower than every other Group A occupation in this cluster. Its own page excludes Actuary, Mathematician, Statistician, Financial Investment Adviser, Financial Investment Manager and the Financial Dealer occupations by name.
Where these applications come unstuck
Its own page states plainly that roles focused on financial analysis will not meet the requirements for this occupation — a common mismatch, given how similar a financial analyst's day-to-day work and job title can look to an economist's on a CV. Applicants whose real work is investment research or financial analysis, rather than macroeconomic or microeconomic policy analysis, risk a task-mismatch finding despite an Economics-adjacent background.
An honest read on this pathway
Economist is the outlier of its own Group A cluster: it sits on MLTSSL only and reaches 189, 190, 407, 485, 491 and 494, but not 482 or 186 — while Actuary, Statistician, Land Economist and Valuer, assessed under the identical Group A structure, all reach 482 and 186 via CSOL. The gap is a list-membership fact, not a reflection of assessment difficulty.
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 Economist 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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