🇦🇺 Australia

Sheetmetal Worker Visa Pathway Australia

✓ MARA · Last reviewed: July 2026 · 6 min read · MARN 2518872

Sheetmetal workers can migrate to Australia via the 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa (up to 4 years) or the 186 Employer Nomination Scheme (permanent). Both pathways require TRA skills assessment and English proficiency. Sponsorship through employers or state nomination is essential.

Key Facts
ANZSCO Code
322211
Sheetmetal Worker
SkillSelect minimum
Not in DHA’s latest published round
Skills Assessor
TRA
TRA
Skills Shortage
In shortage
Shortage in: ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA · Jobs and Skills Australia, 2025-10
Visa Pathways
189, 190, 491, 485, 482, 186
Subclasses this occupation is eligible for
Source: DHA SkillSelect, June 2026

Skills demand for Sheetmetal Worker

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 Sheetmetal Worker

Which visas are available to you depends on which of the government's skilled occupation lists your occupation appears on. The lists are not interchangeable, and being on one of them does not put you on the others.

This occupation appears on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, which is the list that opens the independent and state-nominated skilled visas as well as the regional pathway.

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 Sheetmetal Worker

Every skilled application turns on the skills assessment. An independent authority — not the Department — decides whether your qualifications and experience genuinely correspond to the occupation you are nominating, and there is no way around it.

No fee is stated here. We publish a charge only where we can source it from the authority reliably and keep it current; where we cannot, we send you to the authority instead of guessing. A reader one click from the truth is better served than a reader given a number we cannot stand behind.

There is one distinction in the points test that matters more than all the others, and it is the one most often got wrong.

The minimum is a threshold for lodging an Expression of Interest, not for receiving an invitation. Because invitations go out in rank order, the score you actually need is the score of the people ahead of you — which is generally well above the minimum.

No minimum is published for this occupation in the round data we hold, so none is stated here. An occupation missing from the table has not been shown to receive nothing; it has simply not been published. We will not guess, and we will not report a zero we cannot support.

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

  1. Confirm the correct ANZSCO code for your occupation. Everything downstream depends on it, and an assessment obtained for the wrong code does not transfer.
  2. Obtain a positive skills assessment from the assessing authority for that occupation.
  3. Meet the English language requirement for the visa you are applying for.
  4. Lodge an Expression of Interest through SkillSelect, claiming only points you can evidence.
  5. If you are seeking state nomination, apply to the nominating body separately and on its terms.
  6. Wait to be invited. You cannot apply for the visa until an invitation is issued.
  7. 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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Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Are you a qualified sheetmetal worker considering migration to Australia?

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General Information Only

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.

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. 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. 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.

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