Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic
Assembles, installs, maintains and repairs industrial, commercial and domestic airconditioning and refrigeration systems and equipment. Registration or licensing may be required.
ANZSCO 2013, the edition the department applies to the points tested visas (189, 190 and 491).
Duties
Published for unit group 3421 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanics
- establishing job requirements from drawings and specifications, and laying out installation reference points
- drilling holes, installing mounting brackets and cutting, bending and threading piping
- installing and repairing components such as compressors, motors, condensers, evaporators, switches and gauges, and copper lines for steam, gas, refrigerant, compressed air, oil and chilled water
- bolting, soldering, riveting, welding and brazing pipes to connect equipment, and checking alignment and accuracy of fit
- filling systems with gas or fluid to check for leaks
- test-operating refrigeration systems, checking mechanisms and making adjustments
- removing test gas and fluid using vacuum pumps, and filling with refrigerant
- checking and overhauling refrigeration systems, diagnosing faults and repairing and replacing defective components
- adjusting system controls and mechanisms and reassembling systems
- recording causes of malfunctioning and action taken
- Occupation:
- 342111 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic
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:
- establishing job requirements from drawings and specifications, and laying out installation reference points
- drilling holes, installing mounting brackets and cutting, bending and threading piping
- installing and repairing components such as compressors, motors, condensers, evaporators, switches and gauges, and copper lines for steam, gas, refrigerant, compressed air, oil and chilled water
- bolting, soldering, riveting, welding and brazing pipes to connect equipment, and checking alignment and accuracy of fit
- filling systems with gas or fluid to check for leaks
- test-operating refrigeration systems, checking mechanisms and making adjustments
- removing test gas and fluid using vacuum pumps, and filling with refrigerant
- checking and overhauling refrigeration systems, diagnosing faults and repairing and replacing defective components
- adjusting system controls and mechanisms and reassembling systems
- recording causes of malfunctioning and action taken
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 Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic 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.