Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic (ANZSCO 342111)
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 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic 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
Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic 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 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic comes from:
- Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) (official site) · our guide to the TRA process
What the assessment actually involves
Trades Recognition Australia treats this as one of only four licensed occupations excluded from its general Migration Skills Assessment. Anyone applying for permanent migration in this occupation must instead use the Offshore Skills Assessment Program, which TRA states is “compulsory if you are applying for permanent migration” in this trade. OSAP runs through TRA-approved training organisations and typically takes around fifteen weeks. A pass produces an Offshore Technical Skills Record, not a finished qualification and not a work licence — it opens step one of TRA's own five-step route to an actual state or territory trade licence: provisional licence, gap training, an Australian VET qualification, then the licence application itself.
Where these applications come unstuck
Applying through the general Migration Skills Assessment instead of OSAP is not eligible for this occupation at all — TRA names it directly among the licensed occupations excluded from MSA. TRA also will not accept years of hands-on refrigeration or air-conditioning work, or an existing overseas licence, as a substitute for a formal qualification: “No. TRA does not accept work experience as a substitute for a qualification.” This code sits on TRA's Construction Occupations List as Prioritised for queue order, but the same list's own footnote excludes it from Streamlined assessment specifically because of “face-to-face practical assessment requirements, industry standards and licensing.”
An honest read on this pathway
The migration pathway is genuinely open — this code sits on the MLTSSL and reaches every visa this pipeline tracks, including the independent and graduate subclasses. But a positive assessment is the first of five named steps, not the outcome. Arriving with an Offshore Technical Skills Record and assuming it lets you start unsupervised work skips a provisional licence, gap training and an Australian VET qualification that TRA's own licensing page lists as still to come. Anyone planning to actually do the trade on arrival needs a separate, direct check with the relevant state or territory licensing regulator.
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 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic 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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