Cardiothoracic Surgeon (ANZSCO 253512)

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 Cardiothoracic Surgeon 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 Cardiothoracic Surgeon comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Cardiothoracic Surgery is one of RACS' nine named surgical specialties, distinct from General Surgery, Neurosurgery and the college's other seven. RACS' Specialist Assessment process applies: a document-based review first — training, recent specialist practice, continuing development — proceeding to interview only where the paper review has not already reached "not comparable". An applicant can seek Area of Need assessment alongside Specialist Recognition in the same application, provided the criteria for both are met.

Where these applications come unstuck

RACS' recency-of-practice standard bites hardest in narrow surgical subspecialties like cardiothoracic work: the college looks for documented evidence of roughly twelve months worked in the specialty within the past twenty-four, which a cardiothoracic surgeon coming from a mixed general/cardiothoracic overseas role may not clearly satisfy. A second trap shared across all RACS specialties: the supervising position itself must use RACS-approved supervisors — an applicant cannot simply start under any consultant willing to sign off.

An honest read on this pathway

A substantially comparable finding still means up to twelve months FTE of supervised practice; partially comparable, up to twenty-four. RACS states plainly it assesses training-programme comparability holistically rather than ticking off individual credentials, which cuts both ways — genuinely comparable but differently structured training can still pass, but a program that looks similar on paper is not judged credential by credential either.

Whichever authority assesses you, the paperwork is the part applicants underestimate. The Document Vault keeps a single register of every document, what it was needed for, and what is still missing.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Cardiothoracic Surgeon 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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