Registered Nurse (Mental Health) (ANZSCO 254422)

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 Registered Nurse (Mental Health) 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 Registered Nurse (Mental Health) comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

ANMAC's qualification, English and Full/Modified pathway structure is the same across all RN codes. Mental Health requires a professional reference a recent, documented period of paid work in a psychiatric or mental health nursing setting within ANMAC's recency window (confirm the current period with ANMAC).

Where these applications come unstuck

In some training systems, mental health nursing is a separate initial qualification stream (rather than a specialty entered after general registration), which can create a mismatch between the applicant's underlying degree and the code being nominated — worth checking early whether ANMAC treats a mental-health-specific nursing degree the same as a general one for the qualification-comparability step.

An honest read on this pathway

A genuinely in-demand specialty in the Australian system with strong current recruitment interest, and a workable pathway for anyone with recent, specific mental health nursing experience to reference.

Registration and assessment both need paperwork. Nursing and health applications run two document trails at once — the skills assessment and professional registration. The Document Vault keeps one register of what you hold, what each body has asked for, and what is still outstanding.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Registered Nurse (Mental Health) 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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