If you’re a qualified bricklayer weighing up a skilled visa to Australia, here’s the short answer: Bricklayer (ANZSCO 331111) is assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) rather than VETASSESS, sits on both the Core Skills Occupation List and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, and – as a construction trade – now sits inside the top processing tier under the skilled visa reforms that took effect on 19 September 2026, whether you’re applying from onshore or offshore. This guide walks through how TRA assesses bricklayers, what each pathway costs, which visas the occupation supports, and what the government’s new construction-focused settings actually mean in practice.
What Is the Bricklayer (ANZSCO 331111) Skills Assessment?
The Bricklayer skills assessment is the process Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) uses to confirm that your trade qualifications and work experience meet the standard required to use Bricklayer as your nominated occupation in a skilled or employer-sponsored Australian visa application. A positive TRA outcome is a prerequisite – without one, a nomination or points-tested application can’t proceed, regardless of how strong the rest of the case is.
Bricklaying sits within Kingsbridge Australia’s broader Bricklayer service line, built around this specific occupation code and its TRA assessment pathway.
Who Assesses Bricklayers – TRA or VETASSESS?
Bricklayer is a trade occupation, so – like Carpenter, Chef and Baker & Pastry Cook before it in this series – it isn’t assessed by VETASSESS. The designated assessing authority is Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), the Australian Government body responsible for assessing trade qualifications and work experience against Australian standards. If you’ve been following the VETASSESS fee increase that took effect 9 September 2026, it’s worth knowing upfront that trade occupations were specifically excluded from that rise – a Bricklayer assessment through TRA is unaffected by it.
What Are TRA’s Bricklayer Skills Assessment Pathways and Fees?
TRA applies the same set of assessment pathways across its trade occupations, including Bricklayer, depending on where you’re applying from and what stage of your career you’re at. Fees below are current TRA published rates as of August 2026 – always confirm the live figure on TRA’s own site before budgeting, as assessment fees are reviewed periodically.
- Migration Skills Assessment (MSA): around A$795. The onshore pathway for applicants who already hold a recognised Certificate III in Bricklaying/Blocklaying (or equivalent) and can demonstrate at least three years of full-time relevant work experience.
- Offshore Skills Assessment Program (OSAP): Pathway 2 (qualification plus experience) around A$2,020; Pathway 1 (practical assessment route for those without a full formal qualification) up to A$5,320. Designed for applicants assessing from outside Australia.
- Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Skills Assessment: the same fee structure as OSAP (A$2,020 Pathway 2 / up to A$5,320 Pathway 1), for 482 visa applicants.
- Job Ready Program (JRP): around A$3,410 total (roughly A$490 + A$2,845 + A$75 across its stages), a four-stage program for recent graduates of an Australian bricklaying qualification who are already in Australia on an eligible visa, culminating in a Job Ready Employment period.
Processing times and exact fees are reviewed periodically by TRA, so treat the figures above as a planning guide and confirm the current schedule directly with TRA or Kingsbridge before lodging.
Which Visas Can You Use a Bricklayer Skills Assessment For?
Bricklayer (331111) appears on both the Core Skills Occupation List and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List – the same dual-list position as Carpenter – giving bricklayers access to essentially the full spread of skilled pathways:
- Subclass 189 (Skilled Independent) – points-tested, no sponsorship required
- Subclass 190 (Skilled Nominated) – with state or territory nomination
- Subclass 491 (Skilled Work Regional) – state, territory or eligible family sponsorship
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) – both Direct Entry and Temporary Residence Transition (TRT) streams
- Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) – employer-sponsored, subject to the relevant income threshold
- Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional) – for eligible regional employers
- Subclass 407 (Training) – structured workplace-based training
- Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) – for eligible graduates, subject to the usual criteria
That breadth means bricklaying remains one of the more flexible trades for migration planning, whether you’re going the points-tested independent route or lining up an employer sponsor.
How Does the New Construction-Priority Reform Affect Bricklayers?
On 19 September 2026, two new directions – Direction 121 (covering subclass 482) and Direction 122 (covering ten other skilled subclasses including 186, 189, 190 and 491) – replaced the previous onshore-priority system and now govern how skilled visa applications are queued. Both directions name the same group of top-priority sectors: construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, alongside law enforcement and defence interests. Bricklaying is a construction trade, which places it in that top tier – and, importantly, regardless of whether the applicant is onshore or offshore, a genuinely different position to the system it replaced, which reserved top-tier processing for onshore applicants only in a narrower set of sectors.
Separately, in his 17 September 2026 National Press Club address, the Minister for Home Affairs also flagged two further construction-focused measures: giving housing-trade qualifications parity with university degrees under the permanent skilled points test, and roughly tripling annual construction-worker intake (from around 4,500 to approximately 15,000 places a year). As of this article, the government has not published a firm commencement date for either of these two measures – unlike the 19 September processing-tier change, which is already in effect – so treat them as announced policy direction rather than a locked-in start date, and check for updates before relying on either as a current setting.
Being in a priority tier affects queue position, not a guaranteed turnaround time. For a current, personalised estimate of how these settings apply to your specific visa subclass and circumstances, check Home Affairs’ own global processing times tool rather than relying on a general figure quoted online.
What Mistakes Commonly Delay a Bricklayer Skills Assessment?
- Assuming VETASSESS is the assessing authority. Bricklayer, like other trades, goes through TRA – researching from a VETASSESS-focused guide wastes time on a nomination that’s often time-sensitive.
- Underestimating the qualification-mapping step for overseas trade certificates. A Certificate III equivalent from another country needs to be properly compared against the Australian standard – start this early.
- Choosing the wrong pathway for your circumstances. OSAP, MSA, TSS and JRP suit different situations (offshore vs onshore, qualified vs experience-based, recent graduate vs established tradesperson) – the wrong choice can mean a slower or more expensive assessment than necessary.
- Treating construction’s priority-tier status as a fixed timeframe. Priority-tier placement affects queue position, not a guaranteed number of weeks or months – plan around the official processing-times tool’s current range, not an assumed figure.
- Repeating unconfirmed detail on the points-test or intake changes as if already in force. The construction-intake and points-test measures flagged 17 September 2026 have no published start date yet – only the 19 September processing-tier change is currently in effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bricklayer assessed by VETASSESS?
No. Bricklayer (ANZSCO 331111) is assessed by Trades Recognition Australia (TRA), which handles trade occupations separately from VETASSESS’s professional and managerial occupations.
Which visas can I use a Bricklayer skills assessment for?
Bricklayer sits on both the Core Skills Occupation List and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, supporting subclass 189, 190, 491, 186 (Direct Entry and TRT), 482, 494, 407 and 485 for eligible graduates.
How much does a TRA Bricklayer skills assessment cost?
As of August 2026, published TRA rates are around A$795 for the onshore Migration Skills Assessment, A$2,020 to A$5,320 for the offshore OSAP or TSS pathways depending on route, and around A$3,410 total for the four-stage Job Ready Program. Confirm the current fee schedule with TRA before lodging, as fees are reviewed periodically.
Does being a bricklayer help with visa processing in 2026?
Yes, in terms of queue position. Since 19 September 2026, construction occupations – including bricklaying – sit in the top processing-priority tier under Directions 121 and 122, regardless of whether the applicant is onshore or offshore. This affects queue position, not a guaranteed turnaround time – check Home Affairs’ official processing times tool for the current range.
Has the construction-intake increase and points-test change already started?
Not yet, as of this article. The tripling of construction-visa intake and the points-test parity for housing trades were both flagged in the government’s 17 September 2026 reform announcement, but no commencement date has been published for either. Only the 19 September processing-tier change (Directions 121/122) is currently in effect.
Key Takeaways
- Bricklayer (ANZSCO 331111) is assessed by TRA, not VETASSESS, and was unaffected by the September 2026 VETASSESS fee increase.
- It sits on both the Core Skills Occupation List and the Medium and Long-term Strategic Skills List, supporting 189, 190, 491, 186 (DE and TRT), 482, 494, 407 and 485.
- TRA offers several pathways – MSA, OSAP, TSS and JRP – with different costs and requirements depending on whether you’re onshore, offshore, or a recent graduate.
- Since 19 September 2026, construction sits in the top processing-priority tier under Directions 121/122 regardless of applicant location – a genuine change from the onshore-only priority it replaced.
- A further construction-intake tripling and points-test change were announced 17 September 2026 but have no confirmed start date yet – don’t treat them as already in force.
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.
