Ship's Officer (ANZSCO 231214)

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 Ship's Officer 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).

Skills assessment

A positive skills assessment for Ship's Officer comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

AMSA assesses Ship's Officer against two eligible certificates: Chief Mate Unlimited (STCW II/2) and Deck Watchkeeper Unlimited (STCW II/1) — Chief Mate Unlimited is the same II/2 grade AMSA also lists for Ship's Master. This code covers a chief mate, officer of the watch, or any subordinate deck officer who has not served in command; ANZSCO's definition — navigates and controls the safe operation of a ship and supervises and coordinates the activities of deck crew — carries the alternative title Deck Officer. As with the other seagoing codes, the sea-service letter naming ship, IMO number, gross tonnage and the position actually held on board is what AMSA checks the nomination against, not the certificate grade alone.

Where these applications come unstuck

The main risk runs the opposite direction to Ship's Master's: an applicant holding Master Unlimited but whose actual sea service was as chief mate is correctly nominating Ship's Officer, not the higher code — and understating a genuinely eligible nomination by second-guessing which code the certificate 'should' support wastes time against no benefit, since AMSA assesses the rank served, not the certificate ceiling. The real trap is at the certificate stage: only unlimited-grade STCW certificates are eligible, so a Deck Watchkeeper certificate carrying a near-coastal or tonnage limit is excluded outright, however substantial the sea service behind it. And this code sits on ROL only, reaching just the 494 visa — narrower than the routes Ship's Engineer or Ship's Master can reach.

An honest read on this pathway

Ship's Officer is the narrowest of the four AMSA codes on visa access: ROL only, feeding 494 alone, with no CSOL entry and none of Ship's Master's additional 407 or 491 routes. A positive skills assessment letter still only feeds the visa application; working aboard an Australian-flagged vessel needs the separate certificate of recognition, which for an officer-level applicant requires its own sea-service assessment (up to 90 days) and oral exam beyond what the migration assessment already covered. This dossier could not verify that any current Designated Area Migration Agreement lists Ship's Officer on its own schedule, so treat a sponsored pathway beyond the 494 as unconfirmed rather than assume a DAMA route exists.

Whichever authority assesses you, the paperwork is the part applicants underestimate. The Document Vault keeps a single register of every document, what it was needed for, and what is still missing.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Ship's Officer 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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