Graphic Designer (ANZSCO 232411)
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 Graphic Designer 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 Graphic Designer comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS assesses Graphic Designer as a Group B occupation: an AQF Bachelor-or-higher qualification, plus one to six years of post-qualification employment depending on how closely the degree's field matches graphic design, with the six-year Pathway 4 route available where the degree is unrelated but the qualification itself is never waived. A portfolio of design work, capped at 5MB per sample, must be submitted for assessment.
Where these applications come unstuck
Graphic Designer's own page names Illustrator, Multimedia Designer, Web Designer, Industrial Designer, Advertising Specialist and Multimedia Specialist as excluded occupations, and separately warns that an applicant without a graphic-design qualification or employment history who is currently working as a UX or UI Designer is unlikely to be considered under this code at all — UI/UX sits under Web Designer instead. Nominating Graphic Designer on title-familiarity alone, without checking actual duties against the exclusion list, is the single most common error in this family.
An honest read on this pathway
Graphic Designer sits on the STSOL only, with no CSOL listing — the only one of the four 2324 unit-group occupations without it. That means no 186 or 482 employer sponsorship under this code, even though Illustrator, Multimedia Designer and Web Designer, which share almost the same task description, all reach those visas. Confirming the right code before nominating changes which visas are genuinely open, not just which paperwork applies.
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 Graphic Designer 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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Related occupations
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents