Sportspersons nec (ANZSCO 452499)
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 Sportspersons nec 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).
- 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
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
- Training visa (subclass 407) — Temporary, workplace training · all occupations for the 407
Processing priority
Sportspersons nec 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 Sportspersons nec comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
VETASSESS assesses Sportspersons nec as a Group D occupation — AQF Certificate III or higher plus highly relevant employment — as the catch-all for professional individual or team-sport athletes not covered by a more specific code, in the same relationship to Footballer and Golfer that Other Sports Coach or Instructor holds to the named coaching titles. This occupation's own suitable and not-suitable list content was not sourced in as much depth as the family's other nec codes in this research pass.
Where these applications come unstuck
This code carries a genuine data inconsistency, confirmed against the occupations register and unresolved in this research pass: it is recorded on both STSOL and CSOL, but its published visa list does not include 186 or 482 — the two visas CSOL membership normally opens. Every other STSOL-plus-CSOL code in this family — Diving Instructor Open Water, Other Sports Coach or Instructor, Sports Development Officer — does reach 186/482; this one does not, on the data as published. Don't rely on any visa count or an 186/482 claim for this code — check the current Home Affairs list directly before treating it as open or closed to employer sponsorship.
An honest read on this pathway
Because of the unresolved lists-versus-visas mismatch, the honest position for a professional athlete considering this code is to verify the current visa list directly with Home Affairs rather than rely on the published occupations data for this one code specifically — the inconsistency is documented, not silently corrected, and nothing in this research pass explains which side of the mismatch is the error.
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 Sportspersons nec 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.
Related occupations
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents