Cook (ANZSCO 351411)

On the Short-term Skilled Occupation 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 Cook on?

STSOL — Short-term Skilled Occupation List. Occupations on the STSOL can access state-nominated and regional skilled visas (190/491), but not the Skilled Independent 189.

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 Cook 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." Cook is assessed under one of TRA's five programs — chosen by occupation, passport country, study location and visa type — and TRA cannot process an application lodged into the wrong one. Most applicants use the documentary Migration Skills Assessment: passport identification, the qualification and its transcripts, an Employer Template per job, and pay evidence. No English test is required. ANZSCO decides what "Cook" actually means by task, not title: preparing, seasoning and cooking food, examining foodstuffs and regulating equipment, with menu planning listed only as something a cook "may" do. Cook sits at ANZSCO Skill Level 3, on STSOL and CSOL, and TRA does not accept work experience as a substitute for the formal qualification this assessment requires.

Where these applications come unstuck

The costly mistake in this family is nominating Cook because it is the familiar word, when the real duties — planning menus, costing dishes, ordering supplies, directing kitchen staff — match Chef's ANZSCO description instead. Chef sits one skill level higher, on the MLTSSL, and is the only one of the four occupations that reaches the 189 and 485 visas; Cook reaches neither. Someone doing Chef's job who nominates Cook out of habit forecloses those two pathways entirely. The reverse mistake — inflating Cook-level duties into a Chef nomination — risks an unsuccessful assessment against the higher description instead.

An honest read on this pathway

Cook reaches the 186, 190, 407, 482, 491 and 494 visas but not the 189 or 485, and no amount of experience changes that ceiling — it is set by ANZSCO's classification, not by the strength of an individual application. The Restaurant (Premium Dining) Industry Labour Agreement does name Cook directly by its ANZSCO code alongside Chef, but grants "Nil concessions — as per ANZSCO" and still requires two labour market testing attempts, so a sponsorship offer under it is not an easier bar to clear.

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 Cook 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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