LIFE SCIENTIST (GENERAL) | ANZSCO 234511

WHAT DOES A LIFE SCIENTIST (GENERAL) DO?

A Life Scientist under ANZSCO 234511 studies the origin, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, and behaviour of living organisms and the ways in which they interact with the environment in which they live. The occupation sits within ANZSCO Unit Group 2345, Life Scientists, alongside Biochemist (234513), Botanist (234515), Marine Biologist (234516), Microbiologist (234517), and Zoologist (234518), and carries an ANZSCO Skill Level 1 rating.

Typical day to day duties include:

• Examining the anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of humans, animals, plants, and other living organisms
• Studying the forms and structures of bodily organs and tissues through systematic observation, dissection, and microscopic examination
• Designing and conducting scientific experiments, making systematic observations and quantitative measurements
• Analysing complex biological data and preparing or supervising the preparation of laboratory reports, peer reviewed scientific papers, and research grant proposals
• Presenting research findings at national and international scientific meetings, symposiums, and academic conferences
• Supervising and mentoring the work of technical assistants, postgraduate students, or laboratory staff
• Investigating how living organisms function and interact with each other and their broader ecological systems

SUBCLASS 482 FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL) – CSOL LIST

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

Life Scientist (General) sits on the CSOL under the code ANZSCO 234511, and this is the code an employer nominates against for a Core Skills stream 482 visa. The occupation also appears on the Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List, which means it can support points tested skilled migration in addition to employer sponsored pathways. Confirming the correct list and stream for your circumstances is something worth checking with a migration agent before a nomination is lodged.

SUBCLASS 482 ANZSCO REQUIREMENT FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL)

Your nominated occupation has to genuinely match the work you will actually be doing for your sponsoring employer. The Department looks past job titles and checks the duties described in your nomination against the ANZSCO definition for 234511.

Life Scientist (General) sits at ANZSCO Skill Level 1, which lines up with a bachelor's degree or higher qualification in a highly relevant biological science field. If the role on paper looks more like a laboratory technician or research assistant position rather than a scientist role with genuine research, analytical, and experimental design responsibility, or if your day to day duties do not reasonably fit the ANZSCO description, the nomination can run into trouble. Getting the occupation description right at this stage saves a lot of back and forth later.

ANZSCO requirement for Life Scientists (General) includes a Bachelor degree or higher qualification in a highly relevant field, sometimes combined with relevant experience or on the job training (ANZSCO Skill Level 1).

SC 482 VISA REQUIREMENT FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL)

To be granted a Subclass 482 visa under the Core Skills stream as a Life Scientist (General), applicants generally need to meet the following:

• A genuine, approved sponsor. Your employer, such as a university, medical research institute, biotech company, or scientific agency, must be an approved Standard Business Sponsor, or in the process of becoming one
• An approved nomination for ANZSCO 234511, 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 biological research, or a closely related field, within the past five years
• A positive VETASSESS skills assessment where mandatory under Department of Home Affairs guidelines
• English requirements as outlined further below, unless an exemption applies
• A clear health examination through an approved panel physician
• Police clearance certificates from every country lived in for twelve months or more

The Core Skills Income Threshold currently sits at AUD 79,423 per year, applying to nominations lodged from 1 July 2026 onward, and it is indexed each year, so it is always worth checking the current figure on the Home Affairs website before an employer lodges a nomination. The visa itself can be granted for a period of up 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, and the VETASSESS skills assessment fee.

SKILLS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR LIFE SCIENTIST (GENERAL) – SUBCLASS 482 SKILLS IN DEMAND (SID) VISA

VETASSESS is the designated skills assessing authority for Life Scientist (General), ANZSCO 234511.

A skills assessment is not required for every Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa applicant. It is only mandatory where required under the Department of Home Affairs' mandatory skills assessment requirements, which apply to specified occupations and passport countries. Applicants should confirm with VETASSESS or a registered migration agent whether their specific passport and occupation combination triggers a mandatory assessment.

For a positive assessment, VETASSESS classifies Life Scientist (General) as a Group A occupation. This requires a qualification assessed as comparable to an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Bachelor degree or higher, with a major focus in biological sciences, life sciences, or a closely related discipline. Applicants must also demonstrate at least one year of highly relevant, post qualification employment at an appropriate skill level, completed within the last five years. Both the qualification and employment must be assessed positively to achieve an overall successful outcome.

Applicants should provide comprehensive documentary evidence, including:

• Academic transcripts and qualification certificates showing the relevant biological field of study
• Employment reference letters outlining job title, detailed research duties, employment dates, and hours worked
• Evidence connecting daily responsibilities to the ANZSCO 234511 description
• Supporting materials such as research publications, conference proceedings, project reports, or grant summaries

Providing a clear, consistent relationship between qualifications, employment history, and research duties helps VETASSESS assess an application efficiently and avoids unnecessary processing delays.

SUBCLASS 186 FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL) – EMPLOYER NOMINATION SCHEME

The Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme is Australia's main permanent employer sponsored visa, and for many Life Scientists 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 LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL)

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 life science research position
• A salary that meets or exceeds the Core Skills Income Threshold and the market rate for the role
• A positive VETASSESS skills assessment that is current at the time of application
• 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 a lot of Life Scientists use the 482 as a stepping stone before applying for the 186.

SKILLS ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENT FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL) – SC 186 VISA

Unlike the 482, a positive skills assessment from VETASSESS is mandatory for almost every Direct Entry 186 applicant in this occupation, unless a specific exemption applies, and it needs to be current at the time the visa application is lodged (generally issued within the last three years).

The same assessment criteria apply here as for the 482: a qualification comparable to an Australian Bachelor degree or higher with a major in biological sciences or a highly relevant related field, together with at least one year of highly relevant, post qualification employment. 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, and qualification documents well before applying, since both the VETASSESS assessment 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 Life Scientists looking at the 482 and 186 pathways, the bar is different at each stage, which catches a lot of applicants off guard.

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.

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, 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, so if an existing score is getting old, it is worth sitting the test again before applying rather than finding out partway through processing.

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION IN AUSTRALIA (LIFE SCIENTIST GENERAL)

A positive skills assessment gets an applicant through the visa process, and unlike many other skilled occupations, there is currently no legal requirement to hold a separate licence or registration to work as a Life Scientist anywhere in Australia. Life Scientists typically work within universities, medical research faculties, biotech companies, flora and fauna sanctuaries, or government research agencies.

Even without a mandatory licence, many Life Scientists build professional credibility through membership of relevant scientific bodies such as the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR), Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), Ecological Society of Australia (ESA), or the Australian Institute of Biology (AIB), alongside published peer reviewed research, grant outcomes, and conference presentations.

SALARY EXPECTATIONS IN AUSTRALIA

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, median full-time earnings for the broader Life Scientists group (ANZSCO 2345) work out to around $1,544 a week, which is roughly $80,290 a year. Actual pay for individual life scientists varies considerably with specialisation, seniority, and whether the role sits within academic faculties, government agencies (such as CSIRO), or private biotechnology companies.

Melbourne and Sydney remain Australia's largest bioscience and medical research hubs, while Brisbane and Adelaide offer growing research commercialisation facilities. All sponsored roles must meet or exceed the Core Skills Income Threshold and the local market rate.

WHY LIFE SCIENTISTS ARE IN DEMAND IN AUSTRALIA

• Ongoing expansion in Australia's biomedical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology research sectors
• Continued Australian Research Council (ARC) and NHMRC competitive grant investment in biological sciences
• A limited domestic pipeline of specialised life science researchers relative to the growing scale of research programs
• Increasing demand for biological research supporting biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, and ecology
• Ongoing need for scientists who can bridge fundamental molecular discoveries with practical, commercial, and clinical applications
• The inclusion of Life Scientist (General) on the Core Skills Occupation List reflects this recognised, ongoing need for qualified life science professionals at a national level

EMPLOYER SPONSORSHIP FOR LIFE SCIENTISTS (GENERAL) IN AUSTRALIA

Australian research institutes, universities, biotech companies, and privately funded research groups can sponsor overseas Life Scientists 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 ongoing demand for biological research skills, employer sponsorship has become an effective way for these organisations to recruit experienced overseas scientists and address workforce gaps.

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 ensure your business meets all Department of Home Affairs requirements while making the sponsorship process as straightforward and efficient as possible.

Whether you need to sponsor a Life Scientist for a university faculty, a government research agency, a biotech start-up, or a private laboratory, we can help you identify the most suitable employer sponsored visa pathway. We work with organisations of all sizes across Australia, helping employers sponsor skilled scientists under the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa and secure permanent residence pathways through the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme, where eligible.

We help research and biotech employers with:

• Standard Business Sponsorship applications
• Sponsoring overseas Life Scientists 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 life scientists

If your organisation is looking to sponsor a Life Scientist in Australia or recruit skilled overseas researchers, Migration Republic can provide expert advice and manage the entire employer sponsorship process from start to finish, allowing you to focus on your research and operations while we take care of your migration requirements.

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HOW MIGRATION REPUBLIC CAN HELP YOU

Migrating to Australia as a Life Scientist means navigating a VETASSESS skills assessment, a choice between two visa pathways with different English and experience thresholds, and salary requirements that are indexed every year. 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 234511 correctly matches your qualifications and intended role, rather than a more specific life science code
• Preparing a complete, decision ready VETASSESS skills assessment application
• Structuring your employment references and research project 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 Life Scientists (General)