Fitter-Welder (ANZSCO 323213)
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 Fitter-Welder 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
Fitter-Welder is listed in the resources sector of Directions 121 and 122 (named in the Directions, ANZSCO 323213), but it counts as a priority occupation only where the nominated position directly supports the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas, or coal resources (including mine closure, decommissioning and rehabilitation). When it does, the application is in the first group processed.
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 Fitter-Welder comes from:
- Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) (official site) · our guide to the TRA process
What the assessment actually involves
ANZSCO builds Fitter-Welder around the same base fitting duties as Fitter (General), with welding added as the specific secondary skill, distinguishing it from Fitter and Turner's machining add-on inside the same unit group, 3232. All three share the identical full MLTSSL/CSOL, eight-visa spread, so the code has to match the applicant's documented duties rather than any visa-list advantage. TRA's own evidence criteria for weighing welding duties inside a fitting nomination could not be verified in this research — its website did not resolve during this session.
Where these applications come unstuck
Fitter-Welder sits at an intersection this family's confusable-code trap runs through twice: it could be mistaken for a general welding-trades code like Welder (First Class) in unit group 3223, when it is actually a fitting-trades code in unit group 3232 built around welding as an added skill to base fitting work, not a primary welding occupation. An applicant whose real work was structural welding rather than fitting-plus-welding should check which unit group — 3223 or 3232 — their actual duties belong to before nominating either code.
An honest read on this pathway
Fitter-Welder reaches the same full eight-visa spread as the rest of unit group 3232. Because its name overlaps in sound with the separate welding-trades unit group, 3223, the practical risk for this code is less about state licensing — not separately confirmed for either fitting or welding trades in this research — and more about nominating the wrong unit group entirely based on the word "welder" in the title, when the base duties defined for this code are fitting duties with welding layered on top.
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 Fitter-Welder 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
- Fitter (General) (323211)
- Fitter and Turner (323212)
- Metal Fitters and Machinists nec (323299)
- Metal Machinist (First Class) (323214)
- Textile, Clothing and Footwear Mechanic (323215)
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents