Apiarist - ANZSCO 121311
Skilled occupation profile
Apiarist
ANZSCO 121311Apiarist plans, organises, controls, coordinates and operates apiaries to produce honey, queen bee pollen, beeswax and royal jelly, breed queen bees and pollinate crops.
Recent SkillSelect information
Recent SkillSelect information for Apiarist
SkillSelect information published for May 2026 provides a historical snapshot of available EOI activity for Apiarist, ANZSCO 121311. Selected published indicators relevant to this occupation are shown below.
Subclass 491 – Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) visa – State or Territory nominated
* <20: the official source published a small-number value below 20. The exact number is not shown by the official source.
† PointsView-calculated indicator: calculated from the published SkillSelect points distribution where sufficient data is available.
This information gives historical SkillSelect EOI information. It does not predict invitation chances, guarantee visa outcomes, or state a minimum invitation score.
Occupation guide
Occupation details and migration pathways
This guide brings together the key occupation tasks, possible visa pathways and skills assessment information for Apiarist ANZSCO 121311.
Typical tasks and duties
Apiarist ( Beekeepers ) may perform the following tasks:
- build or put together parts of ready-made beehives
- treat and paint beehive parts to prevent wood rot
- negotiate with property owners and government agencies for sites on which to keep their bees
- transport hives to sites that have been assessed for honey or pollen production potential
- insert sheets of wax stamped with a honeycomb imprint into frames to be placed into hives
- remove honeycomb from the hive and extract honey
- look after and repair beehives and honey-extracting equipment
- control bee diseases, pests and parasites in working hives
- re-queen colonies and raise queen bees for their own use or sale
- negotiate with farmers to provide pollination services in the growing of nut, fruit, seed and vegetable crops
- process and clean beeswax
- package and sell honey, pollen, propolis and beeswax.
Possible visa pathways
This occupation appears on STSOL and 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, Apiarist usually requires a suitable skills assessment. Relevant assessing authorities may include:
Additional occupation-specific assessment information
Apiarist is classified as Group B occupations by Vetassess. The criteria for skills assessment of Group B occupations are the following:
- Qualification(s) assessed at AQF Bachelor degree or higher degree 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 AQF Bachelor degree or higher degree with an additional qualification at least Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Diploma level in a highly relevant field of study and at least two years of post qualification highly relevant employment in the last five years; Or
- Qualification(s) assessed at AQF Bachelor degree or higher degree without a highly relevant field of study and at least three 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 bachelor degree level , you are required to have five years of highly relevant employment in addition to at least one year of highly relevant employment at an appropriate skill level 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 Apiarist — ANZSCO 121311 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 Apiarist is your nominated occupation, complete our skilled visa assessment form so we can review your possible migration pathways.
Apiarist historical SkillSelect report
The current PointsView report includes historical SkillSelect data through June 2026 for ANZSCO 121311.
Historical information does not predict invitations, visa outcomes or migration eligibility.

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