OSCA code lookup: how to find the OSCA code for your occupation

OSCA — the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia — is the Australian Bureau of Statistics successor to ANZSCO, released in December 2024. If you have come across an OSCA code in a dataset or a job ad and need to find the right one for your occupation, this is how to do it. First, the rule that matters most for migration.

Read this before you swap codes

Skilled migration still uses ANZSCO, not OSCA. As of 2026, the occupation lists, skills assessments, and visa nominations run by the Department of Home Affairs are built on ANZSCO 2022. OSCA is a statistical classification — the ABS uses it for the census and labour-market data. If you are working on a visa, keep using your ANZSCO 6-digit code. Looking up your OSCA code is useful for understanding ABS statistics, not for a skills assessment. Treat that as the default until Home Affairs announces a move, and check the official skill occupation list before relying on any code in an application.

How OSCA is built

OSCA keeps the shape ANZSCO users already know. It has five hierarchical levels, confirmed on the ABS OSCA structure page:

• Major group — 1-digit
• Sub-major group — 2-digit
• Minor group — 3-digit
• Unit group — 4-digit
• Occupation — 6-digit

There are eight major groups, and they carry the same first-digit meaning as ANZSCO: 1 Managers, 2 Professionals, 3 Technicians and Trades Workers, 4 Community and Personal Service Workers, 5 Clerical and Administrative Workers, 6 Sales Workers, 7 Machinery Operators and Drivers, 8 Labourers. The occupation sits at the 6-digit level, the same depth as an ANZSCO code. So an OSCA code looks familiar — but it is not guaranteed to be the same number as the ANZSCO code for the same role. The 2024 revision split, merged, and renumbered some occupations.

Two ways to find an OSCA code

1. From a job title — use the ABS tools. Start from what you do, not from a number. The ABS OSCA Coder and the browse-and-search classification match a job title against OSCA principal titles, alternative titles, and specialisations, and return the 6-digit occupation. This is the cleanest route when you only have a title.

2. From an ANZSCO code — use the correspondence file. If you already know your ANZSCO 2022 code, the ABS publishes correspondence tables that map OSCA to ANZSCO (and to ISCO-08 and the NOL). They are on the OSCA data downloads page. Find your ANZSCO code in the correspondence and read across to the OSCA code. Watch for one-to-many rows: where OSCA split an old code, one ANZSCO code can point to more than one OSCA occupation, and you pick the one that matches your actual work.

Worked examples

Take three common roles and work the method rather than guessing numbers:

• Sales assistant — a Major Group 6 (Sales Workers) role. Search “sales assistant” in the OSCA Coder; if you hold an ANZSCO code such as Sales Assistant (General) (621111), look that code up in the correspondence file and read across to its OSCA entry.
• General clerk — a Major Group 5 (Clerical and Administrative Workers) role. From General Clerk (531111), use the correspondence table to find the matching OSCA occupation rather than assuming the digits carry over.
• Customer service representative — also Major Group 5. Search the title in the OSCA Coder, or map from your ANZSCO code via the correspondence file.

In every case the reliable path is the same: confirm the number from the ABS coder or the correspondence file, because the OSCA digits are not assumed to equal the ANZSCO ones.

Find your code

To find your ANZSCO code — the one migration actually reads — browse the occupation index. Each occupation page shows the major group, minor group, and the lists the code sits on. If you are unsure which code fits your background, the CV matcher at app.anzscofinder.com matches your CV to the closest ANZSCO codes and shows its working. For the OSCA equivalent, take that ANZSCO code into the ABS correspondence file or the OSCA Coder.

For advice on which visa or pathway is right for your situation, speak to a registered migration agent. We find codes and show sources. We do not give migration advice.