Telecommunications Network Engineer (ANZSCO 263312)
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 Telecommunications Network Engineer 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).
- Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) — Permanent, points-tested, no sponsor needed · all occupations for the 189
- Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) — Permanent, state or territory nominated · all occupations for the 190
- Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) — Provisional, regional, points-tested · all occupations for the 491
- 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
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
- Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) — Temporary, recent Australian graduates · all occupations for the 485
- Training visa (subclass 407) — Temporary, workplace training · all occupations for the 407
Processing priority
Telecommunications Network Engineer 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 Telecommunications Network Engineer comes from:
- The Institution of Engineers Australia (Engineers Australia) (official site) · our guide to the Engineers Australia process
What the assessment actually involves
Engineers Australia assesses Telecommunications Network Engineer at the same Professional Engineer tier as its sibling code, through the accredited pathway or a Competency Demonstration Report depending on the qualification. ANZSCO lists its alternative titles as Communications Consultant, Communications Specialist (ICT), Telecommunications Consultant and Telecommunications Specialist, and describes the function as planning, designing and monitoring complex telecommunications networks and associated broadcasting equipment — a network-operations role, not a device-design one.
Where these applications come unstuck
The code this one is most often confused with is 263311 Telecommunications Engineer, which designs devices and products rather than planning networks. Getting the pair backwards here has a real visa consequence, not just an assessment-accuracy one: this code carries the full eight-visa reach while its sibling's published visa list currently omits the 482 and 186 employer-sponsored routes despite matching list membership.
An honest read on this pathway
On the MLTSSL and the CSOL, reaching all eight skilled visas — 186, 189, 190, 407, 482, 485, 491 and 494 — with none of the reach uncertainty that affects its sibling code. An applicant genuinely doing network planning, monitoring or consulting work should nominate this code rather than the device-design one, on both accuracy and visa-reach grounds. Telecommunications carriers, infrastructure providers and network consultancies are the more plausible sponsors here, alongside mining and utilities employers who run their own communications networks.
Preparing a CDR for Engineers Australia? The CDR Organiser structures your three career episodes and summary statement against the assessment criteria — your own writing, organised properly. Engineers Australia runs plagiarism detection, so a ghost-written CDR is a real risk to your application.
Talk it through with a registered agent
Whether nominating Telecommunications Network Engineer 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