Wood Machinist (ANZSCO 394213)

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 Wood Machinist 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).

Processing priority

Wood Machinist 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 Wood Machinist comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

TRA assesses Wood Machinist through its general programs, with no page written for this trade specifically. Wood Machinist sits on both the Short-term Skilled Occupations List and the Core Skills Occupation List, and its STSOL membership puts it cleanly inside TRA's Migration Skills Assessment eligibility wording, which names MLTSSL and STSOL occupations with TRA as the assessing authority. TRA does not accept work experience as a substitute for a formal qualification, and any skills assessment lodged with a visa application must be no older than three years from the date it was issued. Non-English evidence needs a NAATI-accredited translator in Australia, or an embassy-approved translator if the applicant is still overseas.

Where these applications come unstuck

ANZSCO's task description is specific — cutting, planing, turning, shaping and sanding wood stock to specification, with named specialisations like Automatic Profile Sander Operator, Copy Lathe Operator and Edge Bander Operator, all machine-operating roles working raw stock, not finishing or assembling a completed piece. Someone who actually finishes furniture surfaces is more accurately Furniture Finisher; someone who assembles finished cabinetry or furniture is more accurately Cabinet Maker or Furniture Maker. Wood Machinist is also easy to confuse with the narrower Wood Turner code, which covers lathe-turning specifically and carries a far smaller visa reach — nominating the wrong one changes which visas are even available.

An honest read on this pathway

Wood Machinist carries the fullest visa reach in this family — 186, 190, 407, 482, 491 and 494 — through combined STSOL and CSOL membership, though like every other occupation here except Cabinetmaker it does not reach subclass 189 or 485. Its clean STSOL membership means the TRA-eligibility ambiguity that affects the CSOL-only and ROL-only codes in this family does not apply here. Neither ANZSCO nor TRA flags a licensing requirement for this occupation, and this research found no state-specific licensing overlay for wood machining distinct from general workplace-safety regulation around machinery.

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 Wood Machinist 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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