Electrician Migration to Australia: OSAP, Visas & State Licensing

Electricians can't use Australia's general Migration Skills Assessment — TRA requires the 3-stage Offshore Skills Assessment Program instead. This covers OSAP's cost and timeline, the visa options it opens, and why a visa alone doesn't let you start work as an electrician. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 Electricians can't use
  2. 0:16 Two codes, same visa options
  3. 0:29 OSAP: 3 stages
  4. 0:40 OSAP: up to $5,320,
  5. 0:50 Same visa options either way
  6. 1:07 Visa charge, 1 July 2026:
  7. 1:21 A visa isn't a licence.
  8. 1:41 Victoria: at least 12 months
  9. 1:52 Migration agent (optional):
  10. 2:03 Common OSAP rejection:
  11. 2:13 Where to read more

Transcript

If you're an electrician planning to migrate to Australia, here's the one thing to know first: you can't use the general Migration Skills Assessment. TRA requires a different, 3-stage process instead.

Electrician General, ANZSCO 341111, and Electrician Special Class, 341112, sit on the same lists — so the code you choose doesn't open or close a visa.

That process is OSAP, and it runs in 3 stages: documentary evidence, a technical assessment, then a hands-on practical assessment.

Total OSAP fees run up to $5,320, and processing commonly takes around 15 weeks from when your documentary evidence is submitted.

A positive OSAP result opens the same visa options either code carries: the 189, 190 and 491 without a sponsor, the 482 and 494 with one, and the 186 for permanent residence.

The visa application charge itself, as at 1 July 2026, is $6,135 for the 189, and $6,140 for the 190 or 491.

A visa doesn't let you work as an electrician. Every state licenses that separately, after you arrive.

The general pattern: a supervised or provisional licence tied to your OSAP result, then Australian-context gap training, then the state's licensing assessment, then your full licence.

In Victoria specifically, that's a minimum of 12 months on a Supervised Worker's Licence, then the Licensed Electrician's Assessment, before you hold a full, independent licence.

A migration agent is optional, and typically costs $1,500 to $3,500 — separate from OSAP fees and the visa charge.

The most common OSAP rejection: employer references that describe a job title instead of the specific electrical tasks and standards you actually worked to.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.

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