Metal Fabricator (ANZSCO 322311)

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 Metal Fabricator 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 Metal Fabricator comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

ANZSCO distinguishes Metal Fabricator from the other codes in unit group 3223 Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers by its focus on marking off and fabricating structural steel and repairing products such as boilers and pressure vessels, work that is separate from the welding-specific duties defined for Pressure Welder and Welder (First Class) in the same unit group. All three codes sit on MLTSSL and CSOL with the full eight-visa spread, so nomination among them has to be driven by which duties the applicant's evidence actually documents, not by visa reach — the list position is identical across the group.

Where these applications come unstuck

TRA's specific evidence criteria for distinguishing fabrication work from welding work could not be checked in this research — the authority's website did not resolve. The confusable-code risk here follows the same shape found elsewhere in this family: a job title of "welder" on a foreign payslip does not by itself establish fabrication duties, and vice versa. This research did not find a Home Affairs Trades or Construction industry labour agreement for this occupation; sponsorship runs through standard 482/186/494 employer sponsorship or a regional DAMA rather than a dedicated industry agreement.

An honest read on this pathway

Metal Fabricator shares the same full visa spread as the other welding-trades codes in unit group 3223, so the list position is strong regardless of which of the three is nominated. What this research could not confirm is state-level licensing for metal fabrication work specifically — the state licensing pages fetched for this family covered electrical and plumbing trades in depth, and fabrication was not separately checked. Home Affairs names no dedicated industry labour agreement for construction or trades occupations; the WA regional DAMA and standard employer sponsorship are the sponsorship channels this research confirmed.

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.

Talk it through with a registered agent

Whether nominating Metal Fabricator 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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