Closely Related Skilled Occupation — Skilled Migration Points Guide
What Is a Closely Related Skilled Occupation for Points Purposes?
Your employment must have been in your nominated skilled occupation or a closely related skilled occupation. You can only claim skilled employment if: In the 10 years before you are invited to apply you completed at least 20 hours of paid work per week (this may be adjusted for shift or fly-in-fly-out workers) in your nominated occupation and/or a closely related occupation.
How Is a Closely Related Occupation Defined?
- Same ANZSCO Unit Group — the occupation falls under the same four-digit ANZSCO Unit Group as your nominated occupation. This is the most straightforward way to establish closely related status.
- Career advancement pathway — the occupation is consistent with a recognised career advancement pathway toward your nominated occupation. For example, a junior role that logically progresses to the nominated senior role.
- Assessing authority determination — your skills assessing authority has specifically stated in your assessment that the occupation is closely related to your nominated occupation. This determination must appear in your actual assessment document.
When Does Skilled Employment Begin?
For pr points calculator purposes, skilled employment begins on the date your assessing authority determines you reached a skilled level — not necessarily the date you started the job. Two ways this is established:
- Your assessing authority states in your assessment that your employment is skilled — use the date stated in the assessment as your employment commencement date in your EOI
- Your employment experience meets the skilled employment standards published by your assessing authority on their website — even without an explicit date in your assessment
Always use the date from your skills assessment — not your actual employment start date — when the two differ. Claiming employment points from before the assessment’s skill determination date can result in over-claiming, which risks visa refusal or NSW nomination rejection for ICT applicants.
Examples — What Counts and What Does Not
Closely related
- A Software Developer (ANZSCO 261312) who also worked as a Software Engineer (ANZSCO 261313) — same four-digit ANZSCO Unit Group (2613)
- A Junior Accountant who worked toward the nominated occupation of Accountant (General) — consistent career advancement pathway
- An applicant whose ACS skills assessment specifically states their ICT Support Technician role is closely related to their nominated ICT Business Analyst occupation
Not closely related
- A nominated Registered Nurse whose employment history is as a Business Analyst — different field, no ANZSCO Unit Group overlap
- A nominated Carpenter who worked primarily as a Project Manager — the management duties are not the duties prescribed for Carpenter in ANZSCO
- A nominated Accountant who worked as an IT Consultant — different ANZSCO Unit Group, different field
When in doubt, check the four-digit ANZSCO code for both your nominated occupation and your past role. If they share the same four digits, the employment is almost certainly closely related. If they do not, seek a VisaAid migration consultant’s assessment before claiming those points.
Closely Related Occupation — Why It Matters for Your Points Claim
The closely related occupation rule affects two key areas of your skilled migration application:
- Work experience points — only employment in your nominated or closely related occupation counts toward your skilled migration points total. Claiming unrelated employment inflates your score and risks refusal when the Department verifies your documents at visa application stage.
- Australian Study Requirement — for the 485 Post-Vocational Education Work stream, your qualification must be closely related to your nominated occupation. The same three-criteria test applies.
Related pages:
- Work Experience Points for Skilled Migration
- Skilled Visa Points Test Table
- Australian Study Requirement Points
- Skills Assessment Form
- 189 Skilled Independent Visa
Book your free assessment — VisaAid’s consultants confirm whether your past employment qualifies as a closely related occupation and calculate your correct pr points calculator score before you submit your EOI.