Legal Secretary - ANZSCO 521212
Skilled occupation profile
Legal Secretary
ANZSCO 521212Legal Secretary performs secretarial, clerical and other administrative tasks in support of Legal Professionals applying knowledge of legal terminology, procedures and documents.
Occupation guide
Occupation details and migration pathways
This guide brings together the key occupation tasks, possible visa pathways and skills assessment information for Legal Secretary ANZSCO 521212.
Typical tasks and duties
Legal Secretary may perform the following tasks:
- liaising with other staff to arrange meetings, and to gain and provide information
- preparing reports, briefing notes and correspondence, and proofreading work for typographical and grammatical errors
- maintaining appointment diaries and making travel arrangements
- processing incoming and outgoing mail, filing correspondence and maintaining records
- answering telephone calls, responding to inquiries and redirecting callers
- taking and transcribing dictation of letters and other documents
- greeting visitors, ascertaining nature of business and directing visitors to appropriate persons
- may implement management decisions and maintain records of meetings
- may handle bookkeeping and petty cash functions
Possible visa pathways
This occupation appears on CSOL and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Occupations. The right visa pathway depends on factors such as your age, English level, qualifications, work experience, skills assessment, points score, nomination options and employer sponsorship.
Skills assessment
For skilled migration purposes, Legal Secretary usually requires a suitable skills assessment. Relevant assessing authorities may include:
Additional occupation-specific assessment information
Legal Secretary is classified as Group C occupations by Vetassess. The criteria for skills assessment of Group C occupations are the following :
- Qualification(s) assessed at least AQF Diploma level with a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post qualification highly relevant employment in the last five years; Or
- Qualification(s) assessed at least AQF Diploma level with an additional qualification at least AQF Certificate IV in a highly relevant field of study and at least one year of post-qualification highly relevant employment in the last five years; Or
- Qualification(s) assessed at least AQF Diploma level without a highly relevant field of study and at least two years of post-qualification highly relevant employment in the last five years;
According to Vetassess, if you have pre-qualification employment and if all of your employment is before your qualification assessed at the AQF diploma level, three years of highly relevant employment in addition to at least one year of highly relevant employment completed in the last five years.
Legacy subclass 187 pathway
Do you currently hold, or have you previously held, a subclass 457 or 482 visa?
If you have worked for a sponsoring employer in regional Australia, please note that Legal Secretary — ANZSCO 521212 was included in the legacy Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) occupation list. The subclass 187 Direct Entry stream is closed to new applications, but the Temporary Residence Transition stream may remain available to certain transitional subclass 457 and subclass 482 workers. Eligibility is limited and depends on your visa history, relevant dates, sponsored regional employment, employer nomination, age, English and other requirements. Being included on this occupation list does not establish eligibility.
If this may describe your circumstances, we can assess whether the subclass 187 transitional arrangements may still apply to you.
Check your options
Check your skilled migration options
If Legal Secretary is your nominated occupation, complete our skilled visa assessment form so we can review your possible migration pathways.
Reviewed by Principal Migration Consultant
Reviewed by Mohammad Reza Azimi
This occupation page has been reviewed for migration context by Shada Migration Services. Mohammad has assisted clients with Australian migration matters since 2009 and holds a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law from the Australian National University.
Last reviewed: July 2026
