If you’re a cook wondering whether your trade can lead to an Australian visa, here’s the short answer: Cook (ANZSCO 351411) is a separate occupation from Chef, sits on the Core Skills Occupation List, and is assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), but it opens a narrower set of visa pathways than Chef does. Below: what the Cook skills assessment covers, how it differs from the Chef pathway people often assume applies, which qualifications TRA looks for, and which visas you can actually use it for.
What Is the Cook (ANZSCO 351411) Skills Assessment?
The Cook skills assessment is the process TRA uses to confirm that your trade qualification and work experience meet the standard needed to use the Cook occupation code in an Australian visa application. Without a positive assessment, a nomination or application under this occupation can’t proceed, no matter how strong the rest of your case is.
Kingsbridge Australia’s Chef (ANZSCO 351311) service line covers the closely related Chef occupation, worth checking first if you’re not sure which of the two codes actually matches your role, since the distinction below affects which visas are open to you.
Cook Is Not the Same Occupation as Chef: Here’s Why That Matters
Cook and Chef sound interchangeable in everyday English, and a lot of online guidance treats them that way. On Australia’s occupation lists, they aren’t. Cook carries ANZSCO code 351411; Chef carries 351311. Both are trade occupations assessed by TRA, and both sit on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). That is where the overlap ends.
Chef also appears on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). Cook does not; it sits on the Short-term Skilled Occupation List instead. MLTSSL membership is what lets Chef support the points-tested permanent visas, while Cook, as a CSOL-and-STSOL occupation, is limited to the employer-sponsored and state/territory-nominated routes built on the CSOL. If you’ve been assuming your cooking qualification opens the same doors a chef’s does, it’s worth checking that before you plan around it.
What Qualifications Does TRA Accept for Cook?
TRA’s current list of accepted qualifications for Cook (351411) includes:
- Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821)
- Certificate III in Catering Operations (SIT30921)
- Certificate III in Asian Cookery (SIT31121)
- Certificate IV in Kitchen Management (SIT40521)
TRA describes this list as non-exhaustive. An older or related qualification may still be accepted if it’s assessed as meeting the required standard, but that’s decided case by case against TRA’s own criteria, not assumed from a list. As with other TRA trades, such as the Baker and Pastry Cook assessment, which specific pathway applies to you (and any attached experience or English requirement) depends on your passport country and the visa you’re applying for, so it’s worth confirming your situation directly with TRA rather than relying on a general guide.
Two circumstances apply to the Cook occupation on the CSOL regardless of qualification: it doesn’t cover a position that’s genuinely mass production in a factory setting, or one at what the instrument defines as a limited service restaurant. Both exclusions also apply to Chef, so they’re not unique to Cook, just worth knowing before nominating a specific role.
Which Visas Can You Use a Cook Skills Assessment For?
Because Cook sits on the CSOL but not the MLTSSL, a positive Cook assessment supports the employer-sponsored and nominated routes built on the CSOL, not the points-tested independent visa. All three require an employer willing to sponsor you, so it’s worth reading how to find an employer sponsor in Australia alongside your skills assessment:
- Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand): employer-sponsored, Core Skills stream, subject to the relevant income threshold and any occupation caveats
- Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional): for eligible regional employers, with a pathway to the subclass 191 permanent visa after three years
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme): permanent from grant, for an employer prepared to sponsor you directly
What Cook doesn’t support: the points-tested subclass 189 (Skilled Independent), 190 (Skilled Nominated) and 491 (Skilled Work Regional) visas all draw their occupation lists from the MLTSSL, not the CSOL, so a Cook assessment on its own doesn’t open those routes the way a Chef assessment does. If an independent or state-nominated pathway matters to you, it’s worth checking closely whether your actual role and duties sit closer to the Chef occupation definition, rather than assuming the two are interchangeable.
For 482 nominations in the 2026–27 program year, the published Core Skills Income Threshold is A$79,499 (or the local market rate, whichever is higher); roles paid A$146,717 or more can instead use the Specialist Skills stream, which isn’t tied to an occupation list. These figures are indexed annually, so confirm the current threshold before finalising a nomination.
What Mistakes Commonly Trip Up a Cook Skills Assessment?
- Assuming Cook and Chef are the same occupation. They carry different ANZSCO codes, sit on different occupation lists, and open different visas; conflating them is the single most common error in this pathway.
- Planning around a points-tested visa that isn’t actually available. Subclasses 189, 190 and 491 require MLTSSL membership, which Cook doesn’t have.
- Nominating a role that falls under an excluded circumstance. A genuinely mass-production or limited-service-restaurant position doesn’t qualify, whatever the job title says.
- Relying on an outdated qualification list or fee figure. TRA’s accepted-qualification list and fee schedule are both reviewed periodically, so confirm the current version directly with TRA rather than an older guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cook the same occupation as Chef for visa purposes?
No. Cook (ANZSCO 351411) and Chef (ANZSCO 351311) are separate occupation codes. Both are assessed by TRA and both sit on the Core Skills Occupation List, but Chef also sits on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List and Cook does not, which is what gives Chef access to additional visa pathways that Cook doesn’t have.
Can I use a Cook skills assessment for the subclass 189 visa?
No. The subclass 189 (Skilled Independent), 190 (Skilled Nominated) and 491 (Skilled Work Regional) visas all draw on the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List. Cook sits on the Core Skills Occupation List and the Short-term Skilled Occupation List instead, so it supports the employer-sponsored and regional-nominated routes (482, 494, 186) rather than these three.
Who assesses the Cook occupation?
Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) is the designated assessing authority for Cook, the same body that assesses Chef and most other cookery and hospitality trades for Australian migration purposes.
What qualification do I need for a Cook skills assessment?
TRA’s current accepted qualifications include the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, Certificate III in Catering Operations, Certificate III in Asian Cookery, and Certificate IV in Kitchen Management, or an equivalent assessed as meeting the required standard.
Does a mass-production or fast-food role qualify under the Cook occupation?
Generally no. The Core Skills Occupation List specifically excludes positions that are genuinely mass production in a factory setting or at a limited service restaurant from being nominated under the Cook occupation.
Key Takeaways
- Cook (ANZSCO 351411) and Chef (ANZSCO 351311) are different occupations with different codes, so don’t assume a Cook assessment gives you everything a Chef assessment does.
- Cook sits on the Core Skills Occupation List and the Short-term Skilled Occupation List, not the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List.
- That means Cook supports the employer-sponsored and regional-nominated routes (subclass 482, 494 and 186), but not the points-tested 189, 190 or 491.
- TRA’s accepted qualifications centre on Certificate III/IV-level commercial cookery training, with mass-production and limited-service-restaurant roles excluded regardless of qualification.
- Confirm your specific pathway, fees and current requirements directly with TRA before planning a visa strategy around either occupation.
Ready to find out if you qualify?
Kingsbridge Australia offers a free 15-minute pre-assessment with Dexter Lee, our Registered Migration Agent (MARN 2518927), to see if you qualify for this pathway. Book a time below.
