Sound Technician (ANZSCO 399516)

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 Sound Technician 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 Sound Technician comes from:

What the assessment actually involves

Sound Technician carries both the Short-term Skilled Occupation List and the Core Skills Occupation List, operating audio equipment to record, enhance, mix and amplify sound for television, radio, film, video or stage productions. It is the broadest single code in this family: ANZSCO lists nine named specialisations under it, spanning Audio Operator, Dubbing Machine Operator, Foley Artist, Re-recording Mixer, Sound Editor, Sound Effects Person, Sound Mixer, Sound Recordist and Video and Sound Recorder — a very different day-to-day job can share this one nomination. TRA runs no dedicated page for it; assessment is the standard document-based Migration Skills Assessment.

Where these applications come unstuck

With nine specialisations under one code, the specific evidence gathered needs to actually match the day-to-day work claimed — a Foley Artist's employment history looks nothing like a live Sound Mixer's, even though both nominate the identical occupation code. The dual list membership also invites a different mistake: assuming every visa in the combined spread is equally straightforward, when in practice the sponsored routes (186, 482) and the points-tested or post-study routes (190, 407, 491, 494) sit on genuinely different lists with different eligibility logic, even though both apply to this one code.

An honest read on this pathway

Sound Technician reaches subclass 186, 190, 407, 482, 491 and 494 — six visas, the widest spread of any code in this family and one of the broader spreads TRA assesses at all, combining sponsored and non-sponsored routes on the strength of its dual list membership. It does not reach the points-tested 189 or post-study 485, since it carries no Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List membership. No forum thread specific to this occupation's TRA assessment was found despite a targeted search, so real applicant experience for Sound Technician specifically is currently unsourced.

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 Sound Technician 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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