Shearer (ANZSCO 361211)
On the Regional 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 Shearer on?
ROL — Regional Occupation List. Occupations on the ROL are limited to the regional provisional visas — mainly the Skilled Work Regional 491 and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional 494.
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 Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
Skills assessment
A positive skills assessment for Shearer comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
Shearer is a VETASSESS Group D occupation covering the removal of wool and hair from sheep, goats, alpacas and other animals, assessed against the standard Certificate III/IV structure used across the Group D tier. The same four pathways apply, from a highly relevant Certificate IV plus one year of employment down to four years of total employment including at least one year highly relevant within the last five for applicants without a matching qualification. Evidence follows VETASSESS's usual model: a Statement of Service on employer letterhead naming hours, dates, duties and salary, plus at least two independent forms of payment evidence.
Where these applications come unstuck
Shearer sits in a unit group of its own within this family and is not confusable with the other nine codes on task description, but its Regional Occupation List placement means it is easy to overestimate the visa options it opens. It carries no CSOL or STSOL reach in this family, so an applicant assuming 482 sponsorship is available on the strength of a shearing qualification alone is working from the wrong list. This dossier could not verify whether shearing carries any voluntary industry accreditation functioning like a licence — check with a shearer training organisation directly rather than assuming one exists.
An honest read on this pathway
Shearer sits on the Regional Occupation List only, reaching the 494 regional visa and no other pathway in this family's visa set. No dedicated Home Affairs labour agreement covers shearing — the current list of industry agreements runs to Aged Care, Dairy, Fishing, Horticulture, Meat, Minister of Religion, On-Hire, Pork and Premium Dining, and shearing is not among them. A regional employer sponsoring under 494, or a regional DAMA that happens to list the code, are the only routes this research found, and DAMA coverage could not be verified for this code.
VETASSESS assesses qualifications and employment separately. Both need documentation that agrees with itself. The Employment History Builder and Document Vault organise each trail before you lodge.
Talk it through with a registered agent
Whether nominating Shearer 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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