Biotechnologist (ANZSCO 234514)

On the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills 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 Biotechnologist 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.

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 Biotechnologist comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Biotechnologist's own page excludes Chemist, Industrial Pharmacist, Biochemist, Biostatistician/Statistician and Microbiologist — a longer exclusion list than its mutual neighbour Biochemist carries, spanning laboratory science, pharmaceutical and statistical roles that could plausibly share a biotechnology-adjacent job title. The standard Group A rule applies: a bachelor's degree or higher in a highly relevant field, plus at least one year of post-qualification employment at an appropriate skill level within the last five years, working 20 hours or more a week.

Where these applications come unstuck

The Biostatistician/Statistician exclusion is worth flagging specifically, since data-analysis-heavy biotechnology roles can plausibly be described in statistical terms — VETASSESS treats that as a separate occupation from Biotechnologist itself, so evidence built around statistical analysis of biotechnology data, without the underlying biotechnology research and development work, risks a mismatch. The Chemist exclusion matters the same way for lab-bench biotechnology work that leans heavily on chemical-process description rather than biological-systems development.

An honest read on this pathway

Biotechnologist sits on MLTSSL only, with no CSOL — it reaches 189, 190, 407, 485, 491 and 494 but not the employer-sponsored 186 or 482 that its mutually-excluded neighbour Biochemist carries. That's a real difference between two codes VETASSESS treats as adjacent but distinct: an applicant with an employer ready to sponsor should check whether Biochemist is the better-matched code first, since this one has no direct employer-sponsorship route under its own listing.

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 Biotechnologist 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