Agricultural Research Scientist (ANZSCO 234114)

On the 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 Agricultural Research Scientist on?

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).

Processing priority

Agricultural Research Scientist 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 Agricultural Research Scientist comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

VETASSESS describes Agricultural Research Scientist as researching and studying commercial plants, animals and cultivation techniques to enhance the productivity of farms and agricultural industries — a research-and-development framing, not a general agronomy or advisory one. It is a Group A occupation, needing a bachelor's degree or higher in a highly relevant field plus at least one year of post-qualification employment in the last five years at 20 hours a week or more. Its own occupation page states explicitly that Agricultural Economist and "a Food Technologist/Scientist researching in post-production of primary products" are not considered under this code, so the boundary with adjacent research-flavoured titles is drawn in writing, not left implicit.

Where these applications come unstuck

This is the code where "Research Agronomist" specifically belongs — VETASSESS's own Agronomist page excludes that exact job title and sends it here instead, while this page separately lists it as suitable. That makes the trap concrete: an applicant with that job title who defaults to nominating Agronomist because the titles look interchangeable is nominating the wrong code by the authority's own stated rule, not by a close judgement call. The page also excludes Aquaculture or Fisheries Scientists outright, so aquaculture-adjacent research work does not belong here either, however commercial-agriculture-flavoured the employer's branding sounds.

An honest read on this pathway

Agricultural Research Scientist is CSOL-only — 186 and 482 are the only visas it reaches, both requiring an employer to sponsor the nomination. There is no 189, 190, 485 or 491 route under this code at all, which is a materially different position from its MLTSSL-listed neighbour Agricultural Scientist. An applicant doing genuine agricultural R&D work who assumes a points-tested EOI is available under this title specifically needs to know that isn't the case; the pathway here runs through finding a sponsoring employer, not through accumulating points.

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 Agricultural Research Scientist 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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