What a skills assessment is

A skills assessment checks that your trade qualifications and work experience meet Australian standards. For most skilled visas you need a positive skills assessment before you can apply — and for points-tested visas, you usually need one before you can even submit your Expression of Interest (EOI).

For construction trades, TRA checks your qualifications and experience against the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) for your nominated occupation.

“Non-licensed” — what that means

Some trades need an individual state trade licence to work as an employee — electricians, plumbers and gasfitters, for example. Non-licensed construction trades generally don’t need one for employment: think carpenters, bricklayers, solid plasterers (renderers), wall and floor tilers, and roof tilers.

Licensing rules can still apply if you run your own building business, so always confirm the current rules with your state’s building or trades licensing regulator.

Five trades with a clear pathway

These five common trades are all on the Core Skills Occupation List and assessed by TRA:

• Carpenter — ANZSCO 331212
• Bricklayer — ANZSCO 331111
• Solid Plasterer (Renderer) — ANZSCO 333212
• Wall and Floor Tiler — ANZSCO 333411
• Roof Tiler — ANZSCO 333311

Always check the current occupation list for the visa you’re considering before you rely on any table — occupation lists are reviewed and can change.

How the process runs, step by step

1. Confirm your occupation and ANZSCO code — match your day-to-day duties to the right code.

2. Work out which TRA program fits your situation — the Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP) is the standard pathway for most skilled migration applicants; TRA has also made a streamlined Migration Skills Assessment (MSA) available to some construction occupations and passport holders at times. Check the current TRA website for what applies to you.

3. Gather your evidence — qualifications and employment records that show your duties and experience. For non-licensed trades, OSAP’s work-experience benchmarks are 5 years of full-time work experience where you have no formal training, or 3 years where you have formal training — including at least 12 months of full-time work in the three years before you apply. (The higher 6/4-year figures you’ll see quoted for OSAP are the benchmarks for licensed trades such as electricians and plumbers — a different group with different requirements.)

4. Submit and wait for an outcome — processing windows change; check current timeframes on the official pages.

5. Use your outcome before it expires — skills assessments have a validity period, so note the expiry date.

Where state nomination fits

Several states run dedicated or fast-tracked nomination arrangements for building and construction workers — Queensland, for example, runs a Building and Construction pathway alongside its general skilled pathways. Pathways like these are reset each program year: occupation lists, quotas and thresholds move, while the structure stays.

The visa subclasses that matter for these trades are stable: the Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190), the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 491), and the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) Core Skills stream. One note on assessments for the 482: most Core Skills stream applicants don’t need a skills assessment for the 482 itself — for these trades, a TRA assessment is usually needed for a later subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) application, depending on your circumstances.

Costs, windows and quotas move from year to year. The parts that stay stable are the building blocks: a recognised assessing authority, an ANZSCO code, and evidence that matches your claims.

Common questions, answered

Last reviewed: 17 October 2026. We re-check assessing-authority requirements and official sources as they change.