Take three minutes with us. Understanding these changes protects your application.
Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has released its draft 2026 review of the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), the schedule that underpins most points-tested and employer-sponsored visas. The review is the most substantive redesign of the list since the CSOL replaced the STSOL, MLTSSL and ROL frameworks in late 2024, and it sets the direction the Department of Home Affairs will follow when it publishes the binding legislative instrument later in the year.
Three themes dominate the draft. First, critical care roles across the health system are being escalated. Registered nurses across acute, aged-care, mental-health and perioperative streams are proposed for full inclusion, together with enrolled nurses working in high-need regional facilities. Nurse practitioners and midwives, already on the list, are proposed to move into a priority processing lane that mirrors the treatment currently given to medical practitioners. The change reflects sustained shortages identified in every state and territory workforce plan submitted to JSA over the past 18 months.
Second, the clean-energy transition is being written into the migration program in a way it has not been before. Wind and solar engineers, grid-scale battery technicians, high-voltage electricians with renewable-project experience, and hydrogen process engineers are all proposed for inclusion. Several of these occupations do not currently have a matching ANZSCO code, and JSA has flagged the need for interim mapping so applicants are not caught in classification limbo while the ABS updates the framework.
Third, cyber-security analysts, cloud security architects, and application-security engineers are proposed for inclusion after two consecutive years of unmet demand identified in Home Affairs sponsor data. Several ICT support roles previously subject to caveats — including ICT customer support officers working in critical-infrastructure environments — are proposed for full inclusion without the caveats that have historically caused refusals at the nomination stage.
Occupations proposed for removal or downgrading are fewer but still significant. A handful of management-consulting and generalist marketing roles are flagged for removal after JSA's labour-market analysis found sustained oversupply of domestic candidates. Applicants currently in the pipeline for those occupations are unlikely to be affected mid-application, but new lodgements after the instrument takes effect will need to pivot to a different occupation.
The Department of Home Affairs is expected to adopt the revised list from the fourth quarter of 2026. Historically the gap between JSA recommendation and legislative instrument has been between three and six months, and there is no indication this cycle will move faster. Applicants with occupations under review should lodge Expressions of Interest early where their current occupation is still on the list, keep skills assessments valid, and monitor state nomination criteria — which typically update within weeks of a federal list change.
For employers, the review has direct implications for Skills in Demand (subclass 482) nominations. Roles added to the Core Skills stream unlock a longer visa validity and clearer permanent-residence pathway than the Specialist Skills or Essential Skills streams. Employers considering sponsorship in a proposed-added occupation may wish to time nominations after the instrument commences so that candidates are placed in the strongest stream from the outset.
AMSA is preparing detailed briefings for each of the affected occupation groups. If your occupation appears in this article — or you are unsure whether it does — book a free 30-minute assessment and we will map your ANZSCO code, likely stream, and best-fit state pathway against the draft list.