Butcher or Smallgoods Maker Visa Pathway Australia
✓ MARA·Last reviewed: July 2026·5 min read·MARN 2518872
Butchers and smallgoods makers on the STSOL can apply for either the 482 TSS temporary visa (valid for 2 years) or the 186 ENS permanent residency pathway. Both require a positive TRA skills assessment and employer sponsorship. A 482 visa typically leads to a 186 permanent residency transition after 2 years of work.
Shortage in: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA · Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025-10
Source: DHA SkillSelect, March 2026
Note: This occupation is on the Short-term Skilled
Occupation List (STSOL). The independent Subclass 189 visa is not
available. PR pathways require state nomination (190), regional
nomination (491), or employer sponsorship (482 → 186).
Before anything else, it is worth knowing where this occupation sits in the labour market. Demand drives which visa pathways are realistic and how a state is likely to view a nomination.
Jobs and Skills Australia records this occupation as in shortage. A shortage rating does not guarantee an invitation or a nomination; it tells you the labour-market conditions are working in your favour rather than against you.
Visa pathways for Butcher or Smallgoods Maker
The occupation lists decide the pathway. Each list maps to a different group of visa subclasses, so the first question is always which list — or lists — this occupation appears on.
This occupation appears on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List. The short-term list supports state-nominated and employer-sponsored pathways, but not the independent skilled visa.
Inclusion on the Core Skills Occupation List makes the Skills in Demand visa's Core Skills stream available, subject to the usual sponsorship and nomination requirements.
Skills assessment for Butcher or Smallgoods Maker
A skills assessment is not a formality. It is the step where an independent authority decides whether your qualifications and experience actually match the occupation you are claiming — and a negative outcome ends the application before it starts.
We do not publish a fee for this authority. Its fee schedule is not available in a form we can source reliably and keep current, and a stale figure on a page like this is worse than no figure at all — it looks authoritative and it is wrong. Use the link to the authority's own page.
State and territory nomination
Nomination is run by the states and territories, not by the Department, and each maintains its own occupation list and its own requirements. These move frequently. Always work from the nominating body's current page rather than from a summary anywhere else — including this one.
How to apply, step by step
Confirm the correct ANZSCO code for your occupation. Everything downstream depends on it, and an assessment obtained for the wrong code does not transfer.
Obtain a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority for that occupation.
Meet the English language requirement for the visa you are applying for.
Lodge an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect, claiming only points you can evidence.
If you are seeking state nomination, apply to the nominating body separately and on its terms.
Wait to be invited. You cannot apply for the visa until an invitation is issued.
Lodge the visa application within the period allowed by the invitation, with the evidence for every claim you made.
Practitioner Note
Claim only what you can prove. Points you cannot evidence at the visa stage are worse than points you never claimed, because an invitation obtained on an unprovable claim ends in a refusal rather than a grant.
MARN 2518872 (AU) · immi.tv
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Do I need a skills assessment for this occupation?
Yes — and it must be for this occupation specifically. A positive assessment in a neighbouring occupation does not transfer, which is why establishing the correct ANZSCO code first is not a clerical detail.
Does meeting the minimum points score mean I will be invited?
No. The minimum allows you to lodge an Expression of Interest. Invitations are issued in rank order from the highest scores down, so the score that actually secures an invitation depends on who else is in the pool for your occupation.
Can a state nominate me for this occupation?
That depends entirely on the state. Each maintains its own list and its own requirements, both of which change regularly, so the answer today may not be the answer next quarter. Work from the nominating body's own page.
This page provides general information only and
does not constitute migration advice, legal advice, or any form of
professional advice. It is not tailored to your individual
circumstances and must not be relied upon as the basis for any
decision, action, or omission.
Skilled occupation lists change frequently —
occupations may be added, removed, or transferred between lists at
any time by ministerial direction. This page reflects list status
at the date shown above. Always verify current list membership on
the
Department of Home Affairs website
before lodging a visa application.
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