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Australia

Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ)

Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ) appears on the employer-sponsored route only. It is not rated in shortage. The sections below set out what each requires.

ANZSCO 399913Published 31 March 2026Last updated 26 August 2026Read time 9 min
Overview

The facts that shape your strategy

Start with the four signals that affect pathway choice. Detailed evidence and caveats remain available below.

Occupation code399913Other miscellaneous technicians and trades workers unit group
Skills assessmentTRATrades Recognition Australia
Visa access3 routes186, 482 and 494
Typical earnings$2,148Average weekly cash earnings, unit group
Duties

What Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ) does

Your duties—not your job title—are what determine whether ANZSCO 399913 is the right code for your assessment.

Two ANZSCO versions apply to this occupationThe summary and duties below follow your selection.
Official occupation summary

This unit group covers Technicians and Trades Workers not elsewhere classified. It includes Divers, Interior Decorators, Optical Dispensers (Aus) / Dispensing Opticians (NZ), Optical Mechanics, Photographer's Assistants, Plastics Technicians , Wool Classers and Fire Protection Equipment Technicians

Unit group 3999
Official occupation summary

Interprets optical prescriptions, and fits and services optical appliances such as spectacle frames and lenses. Registration or licensing may be required.

Occupation 399913

ABS publishes no task list for this unit group in ANZSCO 2013.

Default edition — 27 June 2013

ABS publishes no task list for this unit group in ANZSCO 2022.

Employer nomination only — 482, 186, 187

Salary

Salary context for this unit group

This is a unit-group benchmark, not a promise of individual earnings. Location, experience, employment type and overtime all affect pay.

$2,148average weekly total cash earnings
Lower-paid unit groupsHigher-paid unit groups

Other miscellaneous technicians and trades workers, all employees — May 2025 survey. The bar shows the unit group’s relative position across the ABS earnings survey.

Official source: ABS, Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia.
Visa pathways

Compare routes by how they work

Visa numbers alone are hard to interpret. Grouping them by applicant goal makes the shortlist easier to understand.

Choose your pathway type

These are occupation-level possibilities, not a personal eligibility result.

482Skills in Demand — Core Skills streamEmployer sponsorship, temporarySponsored
186Employer Nomination Scheme — Direct Entry streamEmployer-sponsored permanent residencePermanent
494Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) — Employer Sponsored streamEmployer-sponsored, regionalSponsored
Points test

What the invitation record shows

Two different scores get called “the minimum”. Here is which is which.

Latest published round

No published invitation record for this occupation. SkillSelect has not published a round result naming it, so there is no lowest-invited score to report.

🔒 Points check — Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ)Built from SkillSelect’s published invitation rounds and the Schedule 6D points test
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Where your score sits against the last published roundThe lowest score invited for this occupation, from SkillSelect’s published round results — not a prediction
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Which rounds named this occupationThe published invitation rounds that list it, with the date and minimum for each
What the points test actually awards youYour score built from Schedule 6D, factor by factor, so you can see what moves it
See where you would rank

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EOI pool

Expressions of interest lodged in SkillSelect

How many expressions of interest name this occupation, and the scores they hold.

As of July 2026, no expressions of interest for this occupation are recorded in the SkillSelect pool.

Source: Australian Government SkillSelect data, July 2026.

Application plan

Your first four decisions

A shorter, action-led sequence replaces the original seven-step list. Later lodgement steps only matter once the pathway is confirmed.

1Confirm your code

Match your actual duties—not only your job title—to Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ) 399913.

2Check TRA evidence

Map qualifications, employment proof and practical experience.

3Compare pathways

Compare the routes above side by side before committing to one.

4Build your application

Improve English and points, then pursue the strongest route first.

Skills assessment

Trades Recognition Australia

TRA decides whether your skills and experience meet the Australian standard for Optical Dispenser (Aus) \ Dispensing Optician (NZ) 399913.

Assessing authorityTRASets its own fees and timing
  • A skills assessment is tied to the occupation you nominate — the code on this page is what gets assessed, not your job title
  • Requirements, fees and timing are set by the assessing authority, not by the Department
  • A positive assessment does not by itself produce an invitation or a visa
  • Most skilled visa applications need it decided before you lodge, so start early
State nomination

Not a pathway under this ANZSCO code

State and territory nomination applies to the points-tested subclasses 190 and 491. The routes recorded for ANZSCO 399913 are subclass 186, subclass 482, subclass 494, so no state or territory nomination list applies to this code and none is shown here.

Labour agreements

Employer-led alternatives

Some employers can sponsor workers under an agreement negotiated with the government. Whether one is open to you depends on the employer, the industry and the terms of that agreement.

10 industry labour agreements are currently published.

There is no published list of which occupations each agreement covers, so this page cannot tell you either way. Only the employer holding the agreement can.

Career pathways

Where these skills sit

Related roles may share duties, but a migration assessment is always against the single occupation you nominate.

Current groupOther miscellaneous technicians and trades workersUnit group 3999
Skill neighboursBoat Builders and Shipwrights · Chemical, Gas, Petroleum and Power Generation Plant Operators · Gallery, Library and Museum Technicians · Jewellers · Performing Arts Technicians · SignwritersCompare duties first
FAQs

What applicants usually need clarified

This page names a skills assessing authority. Does that body decide my visa?

No. A skills assessing authority assesses whether your qualifications and experience meet the Australian standard for the occupation, and issues an assessment. The Department of Home Affairs decides the visa. A positive assessment is one requirement among several — it does not create an entitlement to a visa and it does not bind the Department’s decision. Which body assesses a given occupation is set by legislative instrument; it is not a choice you or we make.

This occupation is listed for a visa on this page. Does that mean I qualify for it?

No. A listing means a legislative instrument specifies this occupation for that visa. That is one criterion. Each visa has its own separate requirements — which may include age, English, a skills assessment, nomination or sponsorship, work experience, and in some cases a points score — and those are assessed against your circumstances, not against the occupation. A listing tells you a door exists. It does not tell you that you can walk through it.

Why does this page show two sets of duties, and does the code I nominate matter?

ANZSCO — the occupation classification — has more than one edition, and different migration instruments designate different editions. The Skills in Demand and Employer Nomination instruments specify ANZSCO as in force on 23 November 2022. Both editions appear here because which one applies depends on the instrument governing the visa you are applying for.

The code matters. Visa routes are specified per code, so two codes describing similar work can carry different routes. Establishing the correct code before you apply is not a clerical step.

Free with a points check

See where you stand against everyone else applying in this occupation

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General Information Only

This page provides general information only and does not constitute migration, legal or other 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.

Migration law, visa conditions, and skilled occupation lists change frequently — occupations may be added to or removed from lists by ministerial direction, and visa conditions on your grant letter are the operative document.

Every figure on this page comes from an official source. While we endeavour to keep content current, immi.tv makes no representation that any information is accurate, complete, or up to date at the time you read it. Where this page and the official source differ, the official source prevails. Always verify independently before acting.

No client or adviser relationship is created by your use of this site. To the maximum extent permitted by law, immi.tv expressly disclaims all liability for any loss or damage — including visa refusals, cancellations, condition breaches, application costs, and consequential loss — arising from reliance on this content. See our full Terms of Use.

For advice specific to your circumstances, consult a registered migration agent or immigration consultant. MARN 2518872 (AU) · RCIC R705748 (CA).
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