What each code means
| Chef (351311) | Cook (351411) | |
|---|---|---|
| ANZSCO skill level | 2 (diploma or equivalent experience) | 3 (Certificate III or IV or equivalent) |
| Core duties | Plans menus, estimates costs, orders, supervises and trains kitchen staff, sets standards, prepares and cooks; chef de partie, sous chef, head chef | Prepares, seasons and cooks food to the menu and standard set by others; may supervise kitchen hands |
| Typical award classification | Cook Grade 4 or 5 (trade-qualified, supervisory) under the Restaurant or Hospitality Award | Cook Grade 3 (trade-qualified, no supervision) |
| Lists and visas | Core Skills and Medium and Long-term: 482, 186, 494, 189, 190, 491, 485 | Core Skills and Short-term: 482, 186, 494, 190, 491 |
| Venue caveat | Both exclude positions in a limited-service restaurant (fast food, takeaway, fast casual, drinking venues with limited food, coffee shops and mall cafés, limited-service pizza) and mass production in a factory | |
| Mandatory TRA assessment for the 482 | Both, for passports the instrument lists: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Macau, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe; optional for other passports but required for 186 Direct Entry | |
How the Department tests it
The nomination is assessed for a genuine position: the case officer reads the position description against the ANZSCO tasks, compares the salary with the award classification and the Department’s own market-rate data for the occupation in that city, and looks at the venue (its menu, size, number of kitchen staff, trading hours) to see whether it plausibly needs the role nominated. A twelve-seat café with one cook nominating a “head chef” at A$79,423 is questioned; a hatted restaurant nominating a chef de partie at A$85,000 is routine. A chef nominated at a cook’s pay is refused as not meeting the annual market salary rate; a cook nominated as a chef with no supervisory or planning duties is refused as not genuine, and both outcomes can bring a sponsor bar.
Choosing the code
- Nominate Chef when the person plans or costs menus, supervises other cooks or runs a section, holds a diploma-level qualification or equivalent experience, and is paid at the Grade 4 or 5 level or above. Sous chefs and chefs de partie are chefs.
- Nominate Cook when the person cooks to a menu set by others and holds a trade-level qualification; most line cooks in cafés and casual restaurants are cooks, and the role is just as sponsorable as long as the salary meets the floor and the venue is full-service.
- Pay the floor either way: A$79,423 or the market rate, whichever is higher, as full-time annual earnings. The award minimum for a Cook Grade 3 sits below the floor, so a cook’s nominated salary is always above award, and the Department expects to see why the business pays it (skills, hours, responsibility).
- Think about the worker’s next visa. Chef gives a 189 or 485 option that Cook does not; a cook who later qualifies as a chef can be re-nominated, but the two years for the 186 transition start again with a new occupation.
The hiring process around the nomination, boards to agencies to the onshore pool: how to hire a chef; the whole hospitality list: hospitality occupations you can sponsor.
The mistake to avoid
Do not nominate the role under a listed occupation it is not. Calling a barista a Cook, a kitchen hand a Chef or a shift supervisor a Café or Restaurant Manager is the most common hospitality refusal: the Department tests whether the position is genuine against the duties, the venue, the award classification and the pay, and a mismatch is refused, can bar the business from sponsoring for years, and exposes the worker to cancellation. If the person genuinely does the listed job, nominate that job and pay its rate; if they do not, use the routes above.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between cook and chef for an Australian visa? Chef (351311) is a skill level 2 occupation that plans menus, costs, orders and supervises; Cook (351411) is skill level 3 and cooks to a menu set by others. Both are on the Core Skills list for the 482, 186 and 494; Chef is also on the Medium and Long-term list for the 189 and 485.
Can a café sponsor a cook? Yes, if it is a full-service café with a kitchen, not a coffee shop, mall café or other limited-service venue, and the salary meets A$79,423 or the market rate.
Does a cook need a skills assessment for the 482? Mandatory for passports the Department’s instrument lists, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Fiji, South Africa and Brazil: a Trades Recognition Australia assessment before the nomination. Optional for other passports, and required for the 186 Direct Entry.
What salary do I have to pay a sponsored cook? The higher of A$79,423 and the market rate for the role in your city, as full-time annual earnings; the award rate for a Cook Grade 3 is below the floor, so the nominated salary is above award by design.
Can I nominate my cook as a chef to help them get permanent residence? Only if they genuinely do a chef’s job: menu planning, costing, supervision, at a chef’s pay. A cook nominated as a chef is refused as a non-genuine position and can lead to a sponsor bar.
Search cooks and chefs by visa and city
Qualified cooks and chefs already in Australia on graduate, working holiday and bridging visas, and overseas candidates with TRA assessments, with qualification and visa status visible before you unlock a contact.
Want the paperwork done? WIDEN (Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536) lodges sponsorship, nomination and visa applications on fixed fees; start with a 30-minute consultation, $330 inc. GST, credited if you engage.
Candidates: a cook or chef looking for a sponsor? Start here.
General information only, not migration advice. SponsorTalent is a marketplace; migration advice is provided by WIDEN (Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536) under a service agreement. Occupation list status is read from the Department of Home Affairs lists as published; lists, caveats and labour-agreement terms change, and the Department's current page is the only authority. Figures: Department of Home Affairs price list and salary page, 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027; processing times published 29 September 2026. No outcome can be guaranteed.