Geologist (ANZSCO 234411)

On the Short-term Skilled Occupation 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 Geologist 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.

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 Geologist comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

VETASSESS describes a Geologist as someone who studies the composition, structure and other physical attributes of the earth for applications in mineral exploitation, civil engineering, environmental protection and land rehabilitation after mining. Its own page names three explicit exclusions — Geophysicist, Hydrogeologist and Earth Science Technician — meaning general earth-science evidence that actually belongs to one of those specialisms will not satisfy this code's occupation description, however broadly "geologist" is used as a job title in the applicant's home country.

Where these applications come unstuck

This is the one cluster in the whole family where nominating the broader, more familiar title is the mistake that costs the applicant a better outcome, not a worse one. Someone whose real specialism is geophysics or hydrogeology gains nothing by defaulting to Geologist — the excluded neighbours it names on its own page sit on a materially stronger list (see reality below) — so treating "Geologist" as the safe, general-purpose earth-science title is exactly backwards for anyone whose actual evidence is geophysics- or hydrogeology-specific.

An honest read on this pathway

Geologist sits on STSOL and CSOL — no 189, no 485 — reaching 186, 190, 407, 482, 491 and 494. Its own excluded neighbours, Geophysicist and Hydrogeologist, both sit on MLTSSL and CSOL with full access to all eight visas including 189 and 485. That is the reverse of the usual pattern in this family, where the more specific code is the narrower one: here, the specific, correctly-matched code is the better-listed one, and defaulting to the generic title is what closes off the points-tested and post-study routes.

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 Geologist 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