ANZSCO Codes for Engineers: How to Choose the Right One

Take 233211 Civil Engineer. The digits narrow progressively:

Every code carries a skill level from 1 (bachelor degree or higher) to 5 (Certificate I or compulsory schooling). Professional engineering codes are Skill Level 1; the 312xxx draftsperson and technician codes are Skill Level 2.

Your nominated ANZSCO code drives four separate decisions:

1. Assessing authority. Engineers Australia or ACS — you cannot choose.
2. Visa eligibility. Whether your occupation appears on the list attached to the subclass you want.
3. State nomination. Each state and territory publishes its own occupation list, and they differ sharply.
4. What your CDR must demonstrate. Assessors read your episodes against the ANZSCO description of the nominated code.

If your three career episodes describe structural design and you nominated Transport Engineer, the assessor will say so. Pick the code first, then choose the projects that evidence it.

Full detail per occupation — salary, career episode angles and common pitfalls — is on our ANZSCO code pages.

When two codes could fit, work through this order:

1. Read both ANZSCO descriptions and mark which tasks you actually performed.
2. Check your degree. A civil degree makes a Structural Engineer nomination easy; a mechanical degree makes it hard.
3. Check the visa lists. If one code is on the MLTSSL and one is not, that difference may matter more than the closeness of fit — but never nominate a code your evidence cannot support.
4. Check state nomination lists for the states you would consider.
5. Read your own references. If they name duties from code A, nominating code B creates a contradiction the assessor will find.

Not sure? Our eligibility checker maps your degree and duties to the likely code and authority in about two minutes.