Plumber (General) (ANZSCO 334116)

On the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List and Core Skills Occupation List · ANZSCO codes 334116, 334111

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 Plumber (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 Plumber (General) comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Plumber (General) changed its own ANZSCO code between editions, and the consequences of that reach further than a numbering tidy-up. The 2021 edition used 334111, with fire-services work as a mere specialisation under it; the 2022 edition renumbers general plumbing to 334116 and carves fire-protection work out into its own code, 334117, redefining 334116 to explicitly exclude "water-based fire protection systems." occupations.json uses the current 334116 numbering, and 334116 sits on MLTSSL with the full eight-visa spread — the strongest list position in the plumbing family, and the one Fire Protection Plumber (334117) does not share.

Where these applications come unstuck

The trap is not hypothetical: NSW's own published OSAP occupation list, fetched directly for this research, still cites "Plumber (General) [334111]" — the retired 2021 code — meaning a state regulator's current page has not caught up with the numbering occupations.json now uses. An applicant cross-checking their code against that NSW list could reasonably, but wrongly, conclude 334116 isn't recognised, when it is the same occupation under its current number. Cross-check the occupation's task description, not just the code number, against any state list that looks out of date.

An honest read on this pathway

Plumber (General) 334116 carries the strongest visa position in the plumbing family — full MLTSSL/CSOL reach — against Fire Protection Plumber 334117's CSOL-only, two-visa reach for what NSW would recognise as effectively the same trade with a narrower specialisation. NSW is explicit that "qualifications from outside Australia are not recognised for contractor licences or certificates in NSW" for plumbing without a further process, and the OTSR TRA's offshore program produces is described as a partial Certificate III credential, not a finished one.

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 Plumber (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.

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