Australia’s Occupation Shortage List 2026: Shortages, Visa Lists and Pathways

Jobs and Skills Australia released the 2026 Occupation Shortage List in October 2026. It rates 279 of the 1,021 occupations it assessed as in shortage, or 27%. That is down from 29% in 2025 and well below the 2023 peak of 36%. Shortages are easing overall, but they remain concentrated in the trades and the professions, and 127 occupations have now been in shortage in every list since 2021.

This guide explains what the list says, how Jobs and Skills Australia decides each rating, why shortages happen, and what the list does and does not mean for workers, employers, students and people planning to migrate. Start with the occupation search below: it answers most questions in one place.

Reading a result, with a real example. Civil Engineer (ANZSCO 233211) is rated in shortage in 2026 (On-balance) and is assessed by Engineers Australia. It is on the MLTSSL, so it can be nominated for subclass 189, and for the 190 and the state-nominated 491. It is also on the Core Skills Occupation List, for the 482 Core Skills stream and the 186 Direct Entry stream. Yet its subclass 189 minimum was 90 points in September 2024 and 85 in November 2024, and it was not invited in the three rounds since. A shortage rating does not necessarily translate into 189 invitations. For an occupation like this, a state nomination or employer sponsorship may be the more realistic route.

Compare Registered Nurse (Aged Care) (254412): in shortage (Clear), and invited for 189 at 70 to 80 points in all five rounds. Of the 212 MLTSSL occupations, 16 were not invited in any of the last five rounds.

Not sure which occupation your job fits, or what the result means for you? Discuss your occupation with our team. Our registered migration agent can look at your duties, qualifications and experience against the occupation and visa rules.

The Occupation Shortage List (OSL) is an annual, point-in-time assessment of which occupations are hard to fill in the Australian labour market. Jobs and Skills Australia, an Australian Government agency, produces it. It says its OSL reports are intended, alongside other evidence, to help government, Jobs and Skills Councils, industry, and education and training providers with workforce planning, policy development and labour market analysis.

The list has limits that Jobs and Skills Australia states itself. It is an employer-focused view of shortages. A rating does not show how severe a shortage is. Some of the data behind it lags by a year or more.

Each assessed occupation gets one of four ratings:

• Shortage: in shortage nationally.
• Regional shortage: in shortage in regional areas only, not in capital cities.
• Metropolitan shortage: in shortage in capital cities only. No occupation received this rating in 2026.
• No shortage: not in shortage.

Jobs and Skills Australia’s headline figure of 279 occupations “in shortage” counts the 264 rated Shortage and the 15 rated Regional shortage.

What is in scope. Only occupations at Skill Levels 1 to 4 are assessed. These usually need a university degree, a vocational qualification, an apprenticeship or a traineeship. Skill Level 5 occupations are excluded. So are occupations that are not recruited openly from the labour market, such as detectives, judges, military roles and professional athletes.

Jobs and Skills Australia says the result is consistent with a gradual softening of the labour market over the 12 months to July 2026. Over that period the employment-to-population ratio fell by 0.3 percentage points, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 points, and the underemployment rate rose by 0.5 points. (It excluded Jockey from all years so the figures compare like with like, so some percentages differ slightly from those first published in earlier years.)

What changed between 2025 and 2026:

• 251 occupations were in shortage in both years.
• 28 occupations moved into shortage, spread across several areas including health, science, technician and trade, and machinery operator and driver roles.
• 42 occupations moved out of shortage. Twenty were professional roles, with a cluster in health, engineering, science and ICT; 9 were machinery operator and driver roles; 8 were trades and technician roles; and the rest were labourer and community and personal service roles.
• 700 occupations were not in shortage in either year.

Moving out of shortage does not mean an occupation has no jobs. A No shortage rating can mean either that the occupation is not in shortage, or that the evidence was too mixed or limited to rate it as one. Jobs and Skills Australia rates very small occupations No shortage by default, because there is too little data to be sure. It also notes that some engineering roles remain in shortage even though a cluster of others moved out.

Trades and the professions carry most of the shortage. Almost half of Technicians and Trades Workers occupations (48%) and 37% of Professionals occupations are in shortage. No Sales Workers occupation is. Machinery Operators and Drivers fell furthest, from 28% in 2025 to 17% in 2026. Jobs and Skills Australia cautions that this group and Labourers contain few occupations, so a handful of rating changes moves their percentages sharply.

By skill level. Shortages were most common at Skill Level 3 (42%) and Skill Level 1 (30%). Skill Level 3 jobs typically need a Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training, or a Certificate IV. Skill Level 1 jobs typically need a bachelor degree or higher. In both cases, enough relevant experience can substitute for the qualification. Skill Levels 2 and 3 together account for more than 60% of the occupations in shortage. The sharpest fall was at Skill Level 4, from 15% to 11%.

Of the 127 occupations in shortage in every list from 2021 to 2026:

• 69 (54%) are Technicians and Trades Workers roles, many in construction, the engineering trades, and the electrotechnology and telecommunications trades.
• 46 (36%) are Professionals roles across health, early childhood education, and engineering and science.
• 12 are mainly care-related, machinery operator and driver roles, plus a small number of manager roles.

The largest clusters by sub-major group are Health Professionals (21), Design, Engineering and Science Professionals (19), Building Completion and Related Trades Workers (15) and Engineering Trades Workers (14).

A further 66 occupations have been in shortage every year since 2022. Most of them (39) are professional roles, and 31 are Health Professionals. Jobs and Skills Australia suggests this may partly reflect higher demand for health professionals during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the time it takes to train them.

Alongside the list, Jobs and Skills Australia published its 2026 Occupation Shortage Drivers analysis. It looks at three drivers of shortage, and gives each occupation group a share of all three, then names the largest share as the main driver:

This analysis is done on the 100 ANZSCO 2022 unit groups in shortage, which are broader occupation groups. Among the largest employing groups where an education and training gap is the main driver are aged and disabled carers, child carers, carpenters and joiners, chefs, plumbers and hairdressers. For several of these, apprenticeships and traineeships are the main training pathway, so employers taking on apprentices is part of the solution.

Most shortages have more than one driver. Managers and Professionals were mainly driven by suitability gaps, with education and training as a secondary driver. Trades, community and personal service, and machinery operator roles were mainly driven by education and training gaps. Some groups, such as motor mechanics and secondary school teachers, show strong suitability gaps as well. Jobs and Skills Australia describes the method as a proof of concept. The value of the analysis is that it points to the likeliest causes, so responses such as training, work experience or retention can be weighed against each other.

Some of the indicators that informed the ratings show the gap. In the 2025–26 assessment period, occupations in shortage filled 57% of their vacancies, against 78% for occupations not in shortage. Their recruitment difficulty rate was 54%, against 36%. Their vacancies stayed open for 10.6 weeks on average, against 7.8 weeks. They also drew only 3.3 suitable applicants per vacancy, against 6.3.

The 2026 results are presented on the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA). The Australian Bureau of Statistics released OSCA on 6 December 2024 to replace ANZSCO for use in Australia. OSCA codes have six digits like ANZSCO codes, but many codes and some occupation names differ, and some occupations moved between groups and skill levels. That is one reason Jobs and Skills Australia warns that differences between the OSCA and ANZSCO results partly reflect the reclassification and the experimental mapping between the two.

Skilled visas have not moved to OSCA. Home Affairs says it uses ANZSCO 2022 for the Core Skills Occupation List and ANZSCO 2013 for the MLTSSL, STSOL and ROL. So never match an OSCA code in this list to a visa occupation code. Use the occupation name and the legislative instrument for the visa you are considering. Jobs and Skills Australia also publishes the 2026 list on a 6-digit ANZSCO 2022 basis in its downloads. That version covers a different set of occupations, so its totals differ from the OSCA figures in this article, and its codes will not always match the ANZSCO 2013 codes in the MLTSSL, STSOL and ROL. The occupation search above joins the two only where the title matches exactly, and the code too wherever both use ANZSCO.

The shortage list and the visa occupation lists are separate. The Occupation Shortage List rates labour market conditions. The visa lists are legislative instruments that say which occupations each visa accepts. An occupation can be in shortage and absent from a visa list, or on a visa list and not in shortage.

Across all 590 occupations on these visa lists, 562 can be matched to the 2026 shortage list’s ANZSCO 2022 sheet by code and title (the occupation search matches 12 more by an identical OSCA title), and 222 of those are rated in shortage (11 of them in regional areas only). On the MLTSSL, 125 of 204 matched occupations are in shortage. On the Core Skills Occupation List, 209 of 456 are. In other words, most visa-list occupations are not rated in shortage, and the visa lists did not change when the shortage list was released.

Employer-sponsored visas have income thresholds. Home Affairs publishes them by the date the nomination is lodged:

The CSIT and the TSMIT happen to carry the same amount this year, but they are different thresholds for different visas. Meeting the threshold is not enough on its own. If the salary is under AUD250,000, the employer must also determine the annual market salary rate correctly (what an Australian citizen or permanent resident earns, or would earn, for equivalent full-time work at the same workplace and location) and pay at least that rate. Both the market rate and the pay, excluding non-monetary benefits, must reach the threshold.

Some Core Skills occupations carry extra conditions in the instrument. Examples: a chief executive or managing director position cannot have nominated earnings below AUD180,001, unless it is an intra-company transfer covered by an international trade obligation; a chef position cannot be in mass production or a limited service restaurant; some agricultural roles cannot mainly involve low-skilled tasks. The occupation search shows the conditions for each occupation.

The Minister signed Direction 121 on 18 September 2026 under section 499 of the Migration Act. It sets the order in which Home Affairs considers subclass 482 applications, including those already lodged. It does not apply to 189, 190, 491 or 186, and it says it does not change the occupation lists. The order, from first to last:

1. Applications for an occupation in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources, or one related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests.
2. Applications in the 482 Specialist Skills stream.
3. Other applicants in Australia when they apply.
4. Applicants outside Australia whose application is not combined with another person’s.
5. All other applications.

Family members who apply with the main applicant get the same priority. The Direction defines construction, healthcare and teaching by ANZSCO groups (for example, all construction trades, all health professionals and all school teachers). Agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources depend on what the nominated position involves. Defence depends on links to defence work or support from Defence, and law enforcement on nomination or sponsorship by a named police force. A decision-maker must depart from the order where satisfied that an application involves compelling circumstances. Priority affects when an application is decided, not whether it succeeds.

For the 482 and 186 Core Skills lists, the instruments say an occupation applies only if the tasks to be performed correspond to the tasks set out in ANZSCO for that code. For the points-tested visas, your skills assessment must be from the relevant assessing authority for the occupation you nominate. Either way, it is the work you actually do that matters, not the title on your contract.

Accuracy matters as much as fit. Every points-tested visa requires public interest criterion 4020. It is not met if there is evidence you gave Home Affairs, the Administrative Review Tribunal or a relevant assessing authority a bogus document, or false or misleading information in a material particular. A refusal on that ground also counts against further applications for three years.

Unsure which occupation and assessing authority fit your duties? Talk to us about your skills assessment before you pay for one.

Each state and territory runs its own 190 and 491 nomination program with its own priorities, ranking and fees. As at 29 October 2026:

See State nomination 2026–27 for every state’s rules, allocations and sources. A state’s nomination priorities are its own: check the state’s own occupation list and ranking rules, not the Occupation Shortage List.

Weighing up a 190 or 491? Discuss state nomination with us, or start with our state-by-state guide.

• Subclass 190. A state or territory nomination adds 5 points and opens the STSOL as well as the MLTSSL. The visa is permanent.
• Subclass 491. A state or territory nomination adds 15 points and opens the STSOL and the Regional Occupation List as well. Sponsorship by an eligible family member also adds 15 points, but then only MLTSSL occupations qualify. It is a 5-year provisional visa with a condition to live, work and study in a designated regional area.
• Subclass 482 Skills in Demand. An employer sponsors you. The Core Skills stream uses the Core Skills Occupation List and the CSIT. The Specialist Skills stream accepts occupations in ANZSCO Major Groups 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 at a salary of at least the SSIT, unless a listed condition applies to the position (for example, a business with fewer than 5 employees or turnover under AUD1,000,000, or a frontline retail role). A 482 holder may later be nominated for permanent residence through the 186 Temporary Residence Transition stream, if they meet its requirements.
• Subclass 186 Direct Entry. An employer nominates you directly for permanent residence in a Core Skills occupation, for a full-time position of at least two years at the market salary rate.
• Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs). These are agreements between the Australian Government and a state, territory or regional authority. They give employers in that area access to occupations not available in the standard skilled program.

Each route has its own eligibility rules, and none is a fallback that works for everyone. The occupation search above shows which of these your occupation’s lists open.

Visa application charges are set in Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations. These are the first instalments for a standard applicant (current compilation, 2 October 2026):

A main applicant holding a passport from a Pacific-regional country, and family members applying with them, pay lower charges on all five visas. An applicant aged 18 or over assessed as not having functional English may also pay a second instalment before grant: $4,885 for the 189 and 190, and $4,890 for the 491 (the 482 has none). On top of the charge, budget for:

• a state or territory nomination fee, if you need a nomination (see the table above);
• the skills assessment fee, which your assessing authority sets;
• the English test fee, which the test provider sets.

The last two are not government fees. Check each provider’s current price.

If you are planning to migrate. Check your occupation on the visa’s own list first. A shortage rating can be useful context, for example when you weigh up a career or a state’s priorities, but it does not change eligibility, points or processing. If your occupation moved out of shortage, nothing in this list changes a visa you hold or an application you have lodged. To see where you stand on points, try our points calculator.

If you are studying in Australia. For the 485 Temporary Graduate visa, the Post-Vocational Education Work stream needs an occupation on the MLTSSL, while the Post-Higher Education Work stream has no occupation requirement (Schedule 1, item 1229). A later skilled permanent visa still depends on the occupation lists above. See our 485 visa guide.

If you are an employer. The list is evidence for workforce planning and training decisions. A shortage rating is not a sponsorship approval: nominating a worker still has its own requirements, including the salary rules and the occupation lists that apply to that visa. See our 482 visa guide and 482 vs 186 comparison.

If you are choosing a course or career. Long-running shortages in construction trades, engineering trades, health and early childhood education, together with the education and training gaps behind many of them, suggest where qualified people have been hardest to find. Use the list alongside course outcomes, licensing requirements and your own interests.

If you are already working in Australia. A “No shortage” rating does not mean there is no work in your occupation. It means the evidence did not show a shortage across the market as a whole. For small occupations with little data, it can simply mean the evidence was too thin to rate.

Every figure on this page comes from an official source, read on the date shown. Where two sources had to be joined, each join is stated, and none relies on guesswork:

• Shortage ratings from the ANZSCO 2022 sheet: same code and title.
• Shortage ratings from the OSCA list, and subclass 189 history: identical title (SkillSelect publishes titles, not codes; the instrument’s own alternative titles are used where it gives them).
• South Australia and Western Australia: same code; where the state uses a different title for that code, the result shows the state’s title.
• ACT: the ANZSCO unit group (first four digits), because the ACT ranks unit groups, not occupations.

What changes, and when. The shortage list is updated once a year. Invitation rounds, state lists and state statuses can change at any time, and visa lists and charges change by legislative instrument. Re-check the official source before you act.

Review status. This page was prepared by the Global Migrations editorial team from official sources. It has not yet been reviewed by our registered migration agent, and the badge at the top will change once it has. It is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.

Ready to explore your visa options? Our registered migration agent can check how your occupation is listed for the visa you are considering and what your realistic pathway looks like. Contact Global Migrations to book a consultation.

Sources last checked 31 October 2026, against the 2026 Occupation Shortage List released in October 2026. Review by our registered migration agent is pending. This article is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.