Motor Mechanic (General) (ANZSCO 321211)

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 Motor Mechanic (General) 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 Motor Mechanic (General) comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

CORRECTED 2026-09-04. The 2026-08-29 entry here stated a specific Certificate qualification and an experience-instead-of-a-qualification fallback. A verified pass across TRA's whole captured site found neither: TRA publishes no per-occupation qualification requirement, and its own FAQ says the opposite of the fallback — "TRA does not accept work experience as a substitute for a qualification." Trades Recognition Australia runs six named assessment programs, and which one applies turns on your occupation, passport country, where you studied and the visa you're seeking — not on preference. Motor Mechanic (General) is not on either program's compulsory licensed-occupation list (that carve-out names only Electrician, Plumber and the air-conditioning trade), so the Offshore Skills Assessment Program versus the Migration Skills Assessment fallback genuinely depends on whether your occupation-country combination sits on the OSAP list at the time you apply. TRA publishes no per-occupation page for this code, so a specific qualification level or evidence list can't be stated here as fact.

Where these applications come unstuck

Motor Mechanic (General) shares ANZSCO unit group 3212 with Diesel Motor Mechanic, Motorcycle Mechanic and Small Engine Mechanic — all four carry identical MLTSSL/CSOL status and reach the same eight visas, so nominating the wrong sibling doesn't cost you a visa. It can still cost you at the technical interview, if the code claims light-vehicle petrol work your actual history is heavy-vehicle diesel. A real 2008 forum thread also shows this exact occupation was once assessed by VETASSESS, not TRA — the assessing authority isn't fixed for all time, so confirm the current one before you lodge.

An honest read on this pathway

Motor Mechanic (General) is on both the MLTSSL and the CSOL with the full eight-visa spread, including the independent 189 and the graduate 485 — the strongest reach in this trade family, matched only by Panelbeater. None of that converts a positive TRA outcome into a state licence: this code sits outside TRA's own federal licensing pathway, and NSW names "motor mechanic" directly on its own separate tradesperson-certificate scheme, which has to be sorted on arrival.

Going through Trades Recognition Australia? TRA pathways lean heavily on documented work history and evidence of on-the-job experience. The Employment History Builder reconstructs it with gap detection, so the record you submit holds together.

We've also written a full pathway guide for this occupation: read the Motor Mechanic (General) pathway guide.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Motor Mechanic (General) 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.

Compare registered agents — free

Related occupations

All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents