FLYING INSTRUCTOR | ANZSCO 231113

WHAT DOES A FLYING INSTRUCTOR DO?

A Flying Instructor under ANZSCO 231113 teaches the theory and practical skills of flying aircraft. The occupation sits within ANZSCO Unit Group 2311, Air Transport Professionals, and carries a Skill Level 1 rating in Australia, with recognised specialisations for Gliding Pilot Instructor and Helicopter Pilot Instructor. Registration or licensing is required, and the usual entry point is a Bachelor degree or higher qualification, with at least five years of relevant experience able to substitute for the formal qualification in some cases.

Typical day to day duties include:

• Preparing and submitting flight plans, taking into account weather conditions and aircraft performance
• Giving in-flight instruction, supervising solo flights, and accompanying students on training flights
• Demonstrating techniques for controlling aircraft and correcting student errors in flight and on the ground
• Delivering classroom based theory instruction covering aviation regulations, navigation, meteorology and aircraft systems
• Assessing student progress and readiness to advance to solo flight, licence tests or higher ratings
• Coordinating with air traffic control during training flights
• Maintaining accurate training and student progress records in line with regulatory requirements

SUBCLASS 482 FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS – CSOL LIST

The Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa replaced the older Temporary Skill Shortage visa in December 2024, and a new occupation list came with it. The Core Skills Occupation List, known as the CSOL, brought together the previous strategic skills lists into one single list covering several hundred occupations across professional, trade and technical fields.

Flying Instructor sits on the CSOL under the code ANZSCO 231113, alongside closely related roles such as Aeroplane Pilot and Helicopter Pilot. This is the code an employer nominates against for a Core Skills stream 482 visa, and it is also the same code used where the occupation applies to the Direct Entry stream of the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme.

SUBCLASS 482 ANZSCO REQUIREMENT FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS

Your nominated occupation has to genuinely reflect the work you will actually be doing for your sponsoring employer. The Department looks past job titles and checks the duties set out in your nomination against the ANZSCO definition for 231113.

Flying Instructor sits at ANZSCO Skill Level 1. If the role on paper is genuinely focused on commercial or charter flying rather than instruction, the nomination may need to be assessed against the related but different occupation of Aeroplane Pilot instead, which runs through CASA rather than VETASSESS. Gliding Pilot Instructor and Helicopter Pilot Instructor are recognised specialisations within this code, so instructors in those specific disciplines are still assessed under Flying Instructor rather than a separate code.

ANZSCO requirement for Flying Instructors includes a Bachelor degree or higher qualification, with at least five years of relevant experience able to substitute for the formal qualification in some circumstances, alongside the CASA flight instructor rating required to teach in Australia (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

SC 482 VISA REQUIREMENT FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS

To be granted a Subclass 482 visa under the Core Skills stream as a Flying Instructor, applicants generally need to meet the following:

• A genuine, approved sponsor. Your employer, typically a flight school, aero club or aviation training organisation, must be an approved Standard Business Sponsor, or in the process of becoming one
• An approved nomination for ANZSCO 231113, with a salary at or above the Core Skills Income Threshold and the market rate for the role
• At least one year of full time equivalent work experience in flight instruction, within the past five years
• English requirements as outlined further below, unless an exemption applies
• A clear health examination through an approved panel physician, in addition to the separate aviation medical certificate required by CASA
• Police clearance certificates from every country lived in for twelve months or more

The Core Skills Income Threshold, which sets the minimum salary an employer must offer for a Core Skills stream nomination, is indexed and reviewed every year, so it is always worth checking the current figure on the Home Affairs website before a nomination is lodged. The visa itself can be granted for a period of one to four years, depending on individual circumstances, and a partner and dependent children can be included as secondary applicants.

SUBCLASS 482 VISA APPLICATION CHARGES

Visa application charges are indexed and change from 1 July each year. The government charges are structured as a base charge for the main applicant, a matching charge for each adult dependent aged 18 or over, and a reduced charge for each dependent child under 18. Because these figures move every financial year, it is worth confirming the current charge on the Home Affairs website at the time of lodgement rather than relying on a figure from a previous year, and budgeting separately for any nomination fee, the Skilling Australians Fund levy paid by the employer, the VETASSESS skills assessment fee, and any CASA instructor rating conversion or medical costs.

SKILLS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR FLYING INSTRUCTOR – SUBCLASS 482 SKILLS IN DEMAND (SID) VISA

Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services, known as VETASSESS, is the relevant skills assessing authority for Flying Instructor (ANZSCO 231113). This is a useful distinction to understand, since the closely related Aeroplane Pilot and Helicopter Pilot occupations are instead assessed by CASA.

A skills assessment is not required for every Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa applicant. It only becomes mandatory where the Department of Home Affairs' legislative instrument on mandatory skills assessments lists the specific occupation and passport country combination as requiring one. That mandatory list currently focuses heavily on trade and technical occupations, and Flying Instructor does not appear among the occupations named. Even so, mandatory requirements are reviewed periodically, so applicants and employers should always confirm the current position before lodging.

Even where it is not mandatory, a positive VETASSESS skills assessment gives an employer and a case officer clear, independent confirmation that an applicant's qualifications and experience genuinely match the nominated occupation, and many sponsors ask for one as standard practice regardless of the legal minimum.

The VETASSESS assessment for this occupation can be satisfied in four different ways:

• A Bachelor degree or higher qualification in a field highly relevant to Flying Instructor duties, together with at least one year of post qualification, highly relevant employment within the last five years
• A Bachelor degree or higher qualification with an additional Diploma level qualification in a highly relevant field, together with at least two years of post qualification, highly relevant employment within the last five years
• A Bachelor degree or higher qualification that is not in a highly relevant field, together with at least three years of post qualification, highly relevant employment within the last five years
• At least six years of relevant work experience, including at least one year of highly relevant employment within the last five years, for applicants without a closely matching qualification

A positive assessment of both the qualification and the employment history together is needed for an overall positive outcome.

Applicants should provide comprehensive documentary evidence, including:

• Academic transcripts and certified qualification documents
• Employment reference letters on company letterhead outlining job title, duties, employment dates and hours worked
• Certified copies of log book entries showing instructional and flying hours
• Current flight instructor rating documentation, or evidence of eligibility to convert an overseas rating to the Australian equivalent

Providing complete and well organised evidence helps VETASSESS assess an application efficiently and may reduce processing delays. Remember that this evidence supports the migration skills assessment specifically, and sits alongside, rather than instead of, the separate CASA process needed to actually hold a valid instructor rating in Australia.

SUBCLASS 186 FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS – EMPLOYER NOMINATION SCHEME

The Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme is Australia's main permanent employer sponsored visa, and for many Flying Instructors already working in Australia on a 482 visa, it is the natural next step. The Direct Entry stream is the relevant pathway for applicants who have not yet worked long enough with their employer to qualify for the Temporary Residence Transition stream, or who are applying from outside Australia altogether.

Unlike the 482, a grant under the 186 gives the applicant and their family permanent residency from the day it is approved, with no further visa renewals needed.

SC 186 VISA REQUIREMENT FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS

For the Direct Entry stream, applicants generally need to meet the following:

• A nomination from an approved Australian employer for a genuine, full time, ongoing position as a Flying Instructor
• A salary that meets or exceeds the relevant income threshold and the market rate for the role
• A positive skills assessment in the nominated occupation, unless an exemption applies
• At least three years of relevant work experience, unless exempt from the skills assessment and experience requirements
• Being under 45 years of age at the time of application, with limited exemptions
• Competent English, at an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with no band below 6.0, or an accepted equivalent
• Health and character clearances

This is a noticeably higher bar than the 482, both on English and on work experience, which is one reason many Flying Instructors use the 482 as a stepping stone before applying for the 186.

SKILLS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS – SC 186 VISA

Unlike the 482, a positive skills assessment from VETASSESS is mandatory for almost every Direct Entry 186 applicant in this occupation, and it needs to be current at the time the visa application is lodged.

The same four qualification and employment pathways described above apply here. Because the Direct Entry stream also requires three years of relevant experience on top of the assessment itself, it helps to start gathering employment evidence, reference letters, log book records and qualification documents well before applying, since both VETASSESS processing and document preparation take time.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Every skilled or employer sponsored visa in Australia comes with an English language test, and the score needed depends on which visa is being applied for. For Flying Instructors, there are effectively two English requirements worth understanding: the general visa requirement, and the separate aviation English standard required for the instructor rating itself.

For the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, Core Skills stream, applicants generally need Competent English, which works out to an overall IELTS score of 5.0 with no band below 5.0, or an accepted equivalent test result.

For the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, Direct Entry stream, the standard is higher. Competent English here means an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with no band below 6.0. Separately, CASA requires a current Aviation English Language Proficiency assessment for pilots and instructors operating in Australia, which tests aviation specific radio communication rather than general English.

EXEMPTIONS ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Citizens of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland are generally exempt from formal English testing for visa purposes, along with applicants who have completed a set period of study conducted in English. Test results typically need to be current within three years of lodgement. The separate Aviation English Language Proficiency assessment required by CASA has its own validity period and is not covered by these general visa exemptions.

LICENSING IN AUSTRALIA (FLYING INSTRUCTOR)

A positive VETASSESS skills assessment and an approved visa get an applicant through the migration process, but to actually teach flying in Australia, an instructor needs a flight instructor rating issued by CASA, on top of holding the relevant underlying pilot licence for the category of aircraft being taught. CASA issues instructor ratings at different grades, reflecting the level of supervision and complexity of instruction an instructor is authorised to deliver, and instructors must also pass periodic instructor proficiency checks to maintain their rating.

Overseas flying instructors without an existing CASA issued rating generally need to complete CASA's assessment and testing process for the flight instructor rating relevant to their category, which may include a knowledge deficiency assessment, a common exam covering instructional technique, and a flight test. This licensing process runs alongside, and is separate from, the VETASSESS migration skills assessment described above.

SALARY EXPECTATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

Many flying instructors are paid on a per instructional hour basis rather than a flat annual salary, so total earnings depend heavily on how many billable flying and ground instruction hours an instructor can deliver, along with local weather conditions and student demand. Instructors who progress into Chief Flying Instructor or training management roles generally see the largest step up in pay.

WHY FLYING INSTRUCTORS ARE IN DEMAND IN AUSTRALIA

• Australia's own pilot shortage has increased demand for flight training capacity, since every new commercial pilot needs to be trained by a qualified instructor first
• Airline cadet programs and flight schools are expanding intake to help meet the pipeline of pilots needed by domestic and international carriers
• Experienced instructors are attractive to airline sponsored cadet programs, but many instructors move on to airline flying roles themselves, creating ongoing turnover in training positions
• Most Australian states and territories are currently reporting a shortage of flying instructors, reflecting genuine, widespread demand rather than a localised gap
• The inclusion of Flying Instructor on the Core Skills Occupation List reflects this recognised, ongoing shortage of qualified instructors at a national level

EMPLOYER SPONSORSHIP FOR FLYING INSTRUCTORS IN AUSTRALIA

Australian flight schools, aero clubs, aviation training organisations and airline cadet programs can sponsor overseas Flying Instructors through the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa, the Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) visa, and other eligible employer sponsored visa pathways when suitably qualified Australian workers are unavailable. With a well documented shortage of instructors across most of the country, employer sponsorship has become an important way for these organisations to recruit experienced overseas instructors and maintain training capacity.

At Migration Republic, we assist employers with every stage of the employer sponsorship process, including Standard Business Sponsorship applications, labour market testing where required, nomination applications, visa lodgements, and ongoing sponsorship compliance. Our Registered Migration Agents make sure your business meets all Department of Home Affairs requirements while keeping the sponsorship process as straightforward as possible.

Whether you need to sponsor a Flying Instructor for a flight school, an aero club, or an airline cadet program, we can help you identify the most suitable employer sponsored pathway. We work with aviation training businesses of all sizes across Australia, helping employers sponsor skilled instructors under the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa and secure permanent residence pathways through the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, where eligible.

We help employers with:

• Standard Business Sponsorship applications
• Sponsoring overseas Flying Instructors under the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa
• Employer Nomination Scheme (Subclass 186) applications
• Labour Market Testing
• Employer nomination applications
• Employer sponsorship compliance obligations
• Permanent residency pathways for sponsored instructors

If your business is looking to sponsor a Flying Instructor in Australia or recruit a skilled overseas instructor, Migration Republic can provide expert advice and manage the visa side of the process from start to finish.

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HOW MIGRATION REPUBLIC CAN HELP YOU

Migrating to Australia as a Flying Instructor means navigating a VETASSESS skills assessment across four possible pathways, a separate CASA instructor rating process, and two visa pathways with different English and experience thresholds. Our registered migration agents at Migration Republic handle this every day, and we can help you get it right the first time.

Here's what we take care of for you:

• Confirming that ANZSCO 231113 genuinely matches your qualifications and day to day duties
• Preparing a complete, decision ready VETASSESS skills assessment application
• Structuring your employment references and log book evidence so they meet VETASSESS requirements
• Comparing the 482 and 186 pathways to find the right fit for your circumstances
• Managing your full visa application from lodgement through to grant

Frequently Asked Questions – Employer Sponsorship for Flying Instructors