Developer Programmer (ANZSCO 261312)

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 Developer Programmer 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).

Processing priority

Developer Programmer isn't in any of the ANZSCO groups that Directions 121 and 122 list for the priority sectors. Some of the first group is defined by the job rather than the code: a nominated position directly involved in agriculture, aquaculture or fishing, one that directly supports mining, oil and gas or coal production, or one related to defence. Otherwise the application is processed after the priority sectors. For the permanent and provisional skilled visas, applicants who were in Australia when they applied come next, then those who applied from outside Australia. For the 482, Specialist Skills stream applications come before both.

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 Developer Programmer comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

ACS assesses Developer Programmer through the same Migration Skills Assessment as the rest of the 2613 group, with the experience requirement set by qualification level, ICT major or minor, and whether that content is closely related to this specific code. Employment counts only if it was paid, at twenty or more hours a week, at the complexity of the nominated occupation, with a salary reflecting that skill level, and began after you turned eighteen. Unpaid internships and volunteer work are excluded outright.

Where these applications come unstuck

The line ACS draws is that a developer programmer interprets specifications, technical designs and flow charts and builds code from them, while an analyst programmer produces the requirements in the first place. Since the published duty bullets are identical across both, the distinguishing signal ends up being your job title on the reference letterhead and that lead definition. Work that was a mandatory part of your degree, such as a required internship or placement, does not count as experience here.

An honest read on this pathway

MLTSSL and CSOL listed, and on South Australia's Adelaide City Technology and Innovation DAMA list at skill level one. If your work genuinely straddles this code and Software Engineer, ACS's own answer is not to agonise: the portal lets you nominate up to three occupations in one application and issues a separate outcome letter for each code assessed successfully. Whether that carries an extra fee we could not confirm from ACS's published material.

Assembling an ACS application? ACS wants employment evidence that lines up exactly with the dates and duties you claim elsewhere. The Skilled Visa EOI Organiser keeps your claims consistent across the skills assessment, EOI and Form 80 — inconsistencies between them are a common cause of delay.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Developer Programmer 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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