Mechanical Engineer
Plans, designs, organises and oversees the assembly, erection, commissioning, operation and maintenance of mechanical and process plant and installations. Registration or licensing may be required.
ANZSCO 2013, the edition the department applies to the points tested visas (189, 190 and 491).
Specialisations within it
- Airconditioning Engineer
- Building Services Engineer
- Heating and Ventilation Engineer
Duties
Published for unit group 2335 Industrial, Mechanical and Production Engineers
- studying functional statements, organisational charts and project information to determine functions and responsibilities of workers and work units and to identify areas of duplication
- establishing work measurement programs and analysing work samples to develop standards for labour utilisation
- analysing workforce utilisation, facility layout, operational data and production schedules and costs to determine optimum worker and equipment efficiencies
- designing mechanical equipment, machines, components, products for manufacture, and plant and systems for construction
- developing specifications for manufacture, and determining materials, equipment, piping, material flows, capacities and layout of plant and systems
- organising and managing project labour and the delivery of materials, plant and equipment
- establishing standards and policies for installation, modification, quality control, testing, inspection and maintenance according to engineering principles and safety regulations
- inspecting plant to ensure optimum performance is maintained
- directing the maintenance of plant buildings and equipment, and coordinating the requirements for new designs, surveys and maintenance schedules
This is what the occupation is, not what a skills assessment requires. The assessing body applies its own criteria on top of this, and those criteria are not published here. Check them with the body itself.
Who assesses this occupation
Last confirmed against the department's list on 30 July 2026.
This occupation reads differently for the 186 and 482
Two editions of ANZSCO are current at once, and the department applies ANZSCO 2022 to the employer sponsored visas while everything above follows ANZSCO 2013.
The definition is identical in both editions, but the published duties are not:
- developing and reviewing functional statements, organisational charts and project information to determine functions and responsibilities of workers and work units and to identify areas of duplication
- establishing work measurement programs and analysing work samples to develop standards for labour utilisation
- analysing workforce utilisation, facility layout, operational data and production schedules and costs, to determine optimum worker and equipment efficiencies
- designing mechanical equipment, machines, components, products for manufacture, and plant and systems for construction
- developing specifications for manufacture, and determining materials, equipment, piping, material flows, capacities and layout of plant construction and systems
- organising and managing project labour and the delivery of materials, plant and equipment
- establishing standards and policies for installation, modification, quality control, testing, inspection and maintenance according to engineering principles and safety regulations
- carrying out inspections to ensure optimum performance is maintained
- directing the maintenance and coordinating the requirements for new designs, surveys and maintenance schedules
If you are going for a 186 or a 482, this is the wording that governs you. Everything above governs the points tested routes.
Where Mechanical Engineer stands right now
Vizard tracks the live queue for this occupation: how many people are waiting at every points score for the 189, 190, 491, the recent invitation round cutoffs, and how far down the queue your own score puts you. 6 state nomination lists include this occupation.
Updated to 1 July 2026, from the department's own SkillSelect data.
See where you standWhere this comes from
Definition and duties: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ANZSCO
Assessing authorities and skilled lists: Department of Home Affairs skilled occupation list
Vizard is not a registered migration agent and nothing here is migration advice. It is published government information, organised. For advice on your own situation, speak to a registered migration agent.