Respiratory Scientist (ANZSCO 234612)
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 Respiratory 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).
- Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) — Temporary, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 482
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) — Permanent, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 186
Processing priority
Respiratory Scientist is a healthcare occupation under Directions 121 and 122 (ANZSCO Unit Group 2346, Medical Scientists). Since 19 September 2026, skilled visa applications by a primary applicant in this occupation are in the first group processed: for the 482 under Direction 121, and for the permanent and provisional skilled visas, including the 186, 189, 190, 491 and 494, under Direction 122.
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 Respiratory Scientist comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS describes Respiratory Scientists as conducting lung function tests to support the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory and sleep disorders, in consultation with other medical professionals — a clinical-testing framing distinct from most of this family's laboratory or field-science occupations. It has its own dedicated Group A occupation page, with the standard bachelor's-degree-plus-one-year-of-highly-relevant-employment structure applying, that year of employment undertaken within the last five years at 20 hours or more a week.
Where these applications come unstuck
This code carries a genuine, mechanically-verified inconsistency worth knowing before nominating it: the residual 234999 Natural and Physical Science Professionals nec page independently lists "Respiratory Scientist" as an occupation considered suitable under the nec code as well, alongside Sleep Scientist. Two separate VETASSESS pages both claim this occupation, which is not a research error on either side — it is the authority's own published material disagreeing with itself, and neither page resolves which one correctly describes the role. A direct enquiry to VETASSESS is the only way to settle it before committing to either nomination.
An honest read on this pathway
Respiratory Scientist is CSOL-only — 186 and 482 are the only visas it reaches, both requiring employer sponsorship, with no points-tested EOI route at all. The 234999 nec code it overlaps with is MLTSSL-listed and reaches all eight visas including 189, 190, 485 and 491 — a materially better list position. That gap is the real stakes behind the open contradiction above: which page is correct for a given applicant is not just an academic question, it decides whether a points-tested pathway exists at all.
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 Respiratory 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.
Related occupations
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents