✓ MARA·Last reviewed: July 2026·5 min read·MARN 2518872
Diving Instructors can migrate to Australia through the Temporary Skill Shortage (482) visa for employer-sponsored roles, or pursue permanent residence via the Employer Nomination Scheme (186). VETASSESS must first assess your qualifications and diving experience. Both pathways require an employment offer from an Australian dive operator or training centre.
No state-level shortage · 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 does not currently assess this occupation as being in shortage. That does not close off a skilled pathway, but it does mean you are competing on the strength of your own claims rather than on the strength of the labour market.
Visa pathways for Diving Instructor (Open Water)
Your visa options follow directly from the occupation lists your ANZSCO code sits on. Each list unlocks a different set of subclasses, and appearing on one says nothing about the others.
Sitting on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List means state nomination and employer sponsorship are the realistic routes; the independent skilled visa is not available from this list.
This occupation appears on the Core Skills Occupation List, which is the list used for the Skills in Demand visa's Core Skills stream.
Skills assessment for Diving Instructor (Open Water)
Skills assessment fees
Pathway
Fee
Full skills assessment for change of occupation
AUD $819
Skills Assessment
AUD $1,205
Assessment of employment for final Skills Assessment
AUD $937
Qualifications online application
AUD $342
Outcome Review - Qualification
AUD $374
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.
Fees are set by the authority, not by the Department. The pathways below come from the authority's own published schedule and are reconciled against it. Always confirm the current charge directly with the authority before lodging.
State and territory nomination
State and territory nomination is a separate process with its own rules. Each state publishes its own list and its own criteria, they change without much notice, and being nominated by one state does not help you with another. Check the nominating body directly.
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
Before you spend anything on an assessment, check that your work history can be evidenced the way the authority asks for it. Most negative outcomes I see are not about capability; they are about references that describe a role in the applicant's words rather than in the authority's.
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 — and this is the single most consequential misunderstanding in the skilled program. The minimum is a lodgement threshold. Invitations go to the highest-ranked candidates first, so the effective requirement is set by your competition, not by the minimum.
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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