Does your work fit Software Engineer 261313?
ANZSCO describes a Software Engineer as someone who designs, develops, modifies, documents, tests, implements, installs and supports software applications and systems. The occupation is Skill Level 1. In the ANZSCO classification, that normally corresponds to a bachelor degree or higher, although relevant experience and vendor certification may sometimes substitute for a formal qualification.
Your job title is not enough on its own. The stronger question is whether your actual work covers the software lifecycle at the level expected of a software engineer. Relevant work may include:
- analysing system or program needs and identifying technical limitations;
- designing software applications, systems or technical solutions;
- developing and maintaining program code against system requirements and technical specifications;
- testing, debugging and correcting faults;
- preparing technical or operational documentation; and
- implementing, installing or supporting the resulting software or system.
This does not mean every duty must appear in every role. It gives you a practical comparison point for your employment evidence and for choosing the closest occupation.
Check the neighbouring occupations before choosing 261313
Several occupations in ANZSCO unit group 2613 overlap. The main difference is the centre of your work:
| Occupation | Usually the closer fit when your work centres on… |
|---|---|
| 261313 Software Engineer | Designing and delivering software applications or systems across development, testing, implementation and support. |
| 261312 Developer Programmer | Interpreting specifications and technical designs, then building, modifying, testing and documenting application code. |
| 261311 Analyst Programmer | Analysing user needs, producing requirements and system plans, then coding, testing and maintaining the solution. |
| 261314 Software Tester | Developing test plans and scripts, running regression or automated tests, and documenting defects and test results. |
Choose the occupation that best reflects what you actually did, not the occupation with the most attractive visa options. ACS assesses whether your qualifications and employment are closely related to the nominated ANZSCO occupation and at the appropriate professional level.
What the visa result on this page means
The visa and state tables show where this occupation appears in the source data used by ANZSCOLOOKUP. They do not confirm that an individual applicant qualifies for a visa or nomination.
A positive occupation-list result still leaves separate questions, including:
- whether ACS gives you a suitable skills assessment for 261313;
- whether your age, English, points, employment, salary or other visa criteria are met;
- whether a state stream is open to your applicant category; and
- whether the occupation list and stream requirements are still current when you apply.
ACS evidence checkpoint
ACS says it assesses qualifications and work experience against professional IT standards and checks whether they are closely related to the nominated occupation. Its current employment-reference requirements include the position title, dates, hours, salary, work location and bullet-point duties for each role, together with employer and signatory details.
Do not copy the ANZSCO wording into an employment reference. ACS states that references with duties copied directly from ANZSCO or another reference will not be accepted. The reference should describe the work you genuinely performed, in the employer's own terms, while making the technical scope and level of responsibility clear.
Before relying on 261313
- Compare your real duties with 261313 and the neighbouring unit-group occupations above.
- Check the current ACS assessment pathway and evidence rules that apply to your qualifications and experience.
- Treat the visa and state results as a shortlist, then verify the full stream criteria on the responsible government website before applying.