Legal Secretary (ANZSCO 521212)
On the Regional 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 Legal Secretary 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.
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 in Demand visa (subclass 482) — Temporary, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 482
- Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186) — Permanent, employer sponsored · all occupations for the 186
- Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa (subclass 494) — Provisional, regional employer sponsored · all occupations for the 494
Skills assessment
A positive skills assessment for Legal Secretary comes from:
- Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS) (official site) · our guide to the VETASSESS process
What the assessment actually involves
Group C: an AQF diploma or higher, with four alternative pathways trading how relevant the qualification's field is against extra years of employment — from one year (diploma highly relevant plus one year post-qualification) up to four years total. VETASSESS describes the role as secretarial, clerical and administrative support 'in support of legal professionals applying knowledge of legal terminology, procedures and documents' — proofreading, filing, diary and phone duties, dictation. A positive outcome needs both the qualification and the employment duration to assess positively.
Where these applications come unstuck
Legal Secretary carries CSOL, reaching 186/482/494 — better visa reach than the more senior-sounding Legal Executive, which VETASSESS caps at 494 alone. That inversion is the trap: an applicant whose actual work is client-facing case preparation, not office administration, risks the assessment failing on task-content grounds if they nominate Legal Secretary to chase the wider list, since VETASSESS tests employment against the specific task list named on each occupation's own page.
An honest read on this pathway
A genuinely open support-tier pathway, and the more accessible of the two CSOL-bearing legal support codes on qualification level. The task list VETASSESS actually tests is office administration with legal-terminology fluency — proofreading, filing, correspondence, diary management — not substantive legal casework, so it only fits an applicant whose day-to-day duties genuinely match that description. A 'paralegal' job title on a payslip proves nothing either way.
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 Legal Secretary 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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Related occupations
All skilled occupations · Points calculator · Skilled visa agents