Structural Engineer (ANZSCO 233214)

On the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List and Core Skills 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 Structural Engineer 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.

CSOL — Core Skills Occupation List. The employer-sponsorship list — occupations on the CSOL can be nominated for the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) and the Employer Nomination Scheme 186.

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 Structural Engineer comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Engineers Australia decides your occupational category from the length and accreditation of your degree, not from your job title or seniority. A four-year accredited engineering degree maps to Professional Engineer; a three-year engineering technology degree maps to Engineering Technologist. This matters more for Structural Engineer than for most codes, because structural roles are commonly held by people whose degree is a general civil qualification, and seeking an occupation that differs from the accredited qualification title sends the application down the CDR route regardless of how strong the degree is.

Where these applications come unstuck

Applicants with a three-year degree who nominate this code expecting a Professional Engineer outcome can be assessed as an Engineering Technologist instead, because EA assigns the category from the qualification. The remedy is to write career episodes that demonstrate systems-level design decisions you personally made, rather than describing a project the team delivered. Work completed before the qualification was awarded cannot be claimed, and employment counts only at 20 or more hours a week.

An honest read on this pathway

Structural engineering is among the first disciplines states brought under mandatory registration, so the licensing overlay is unusually live for this code. The ACT has required registration for structural engineering since 6 March 2024, Queensland requires it under the Professional Engineers Act 2002, Victoria requires it in five prescribed areas, and New South Wales requires it for certain building classes. South Australia currently requires none. A positive assessment is a migration document and does not by itself let you practise.

Preparing a CDR for Engineers Australia? The CDR Organiser structures your three career episodes and summary statement against the assessment criteria — your own writing, organised properly. Engineers Australia runs plagiarism detection, so a ghost-written CDR is a real risk to your application.

We've also written a full pathway guide for this occupation: read the Structural Engineer pathway guide.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Structural Engineer 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.

Compare registered agents — free

Related occupations

All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents