Work in Australia
A coherent system: employer sponsorship via Skills in Demand, or points-tested PR via subclass 189/190/491.
More about Australia
Two catches for SA passports: no working-holiday agreement at all, and no English-test exemption.
See the 6 visa routesCompare countries
Degrees that travel best
19 of 23 fields rated 4 or 5
- 5 Quantity SurveyingOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Veterinary ScienceOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 PhysiotherapyOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Agricultural ScienceOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 EngineeringRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 5 Occupational TherapyRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 5 Chartered AccountancyRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 5 Actuarial ScienceRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
Show all 23 fields
- 5 TeachingRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 4 Finance & EconomicsOpen door
- 4 Computer Science & ITOpen door
- 4 Data Science & StatisticsOpen door
- 4 Natural SciencesOpen door
- 4 MedicineExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 DentistryExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 NursingExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 PharmacyExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 PsychologyExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 LawExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 3 Business ManagementOpen door
- 3 Humanities (BA)Open door
- 3 Social WorkRecognised, paperwork only
- 3 ArchitectureExams or bridging
Good to know
- Working language
- English.
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Note that South African passports do NOT exempt you from formal English testing.
- For South African passport holders
- South Africa has no working-holiday agreement with Australia — it is on neither the subclass 417 nor the 462 list.
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South Africans are also NOT on the passport-based English exemption list for the subclass 485 (only UK, USA, Canada, NZ and Ireland are), so they must still sit IELTS or PTE.
- Shortage list
- Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL), plus the legacy MLTSSL, STSOL and ROL
The CSOL gates the Skills in Demand Core Skills stream and subclass 186, using ANZSCO 2022.More
The older MLTSSL, STSOL and Regional Occupation List (ANZSCO 2013) still apply to the points-tested visas and the 485 vocational stream. Health, engineering, ICT, teaching and trades dominate.
- Studying there instead
- The Student visa (subclass 500) costs from AUD 2,500 and allows a stay of up to 6 years in line with your enrolment.
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Typical international tuition varies widely and was not confirmed from an official source here, so check university fee pages. Post-study work is the subclass 485.
General information about published rules, not immigration advice; for an individual application use a licensed adviser in Australia. Researched 2026-10-07.