Jobs and Skills Australia has updated the 2025 occupational shortage status across each state for 1,000+ occupations.
NS = No Shortage
S = Shortage (statewide)
R = Shortage in regional areas
M = Shortage in metropolitan areas
Note: the following covers only the more common occupations in each category, not the full list.
【Accounting / Auditing Figure 2】
Tax accountants are currently in shortage in every state; the other main accounting occupations are not in shortage.
External auditors are in shortage; internal auditors are not.
【Engineers Figure 3】
Anything clearly related to civil engineering is generally in shortage, and Project Construction Managers are in shortage nationwide.
【Architects Figure 4】
In 2024, only two states were not short on architects — the Northern Territory and, surprisingly, Western Australia. By 2025, no state is short on architects anywhere in Australia.
【IT / Computing Figure 5】
Most are no longer in shortage.
【Nursing Figure 6】
Outside the Northern Territory, RN nec is no longer in shortage in any state; other nursing specialisations are still short. In 2024, only NSW was not short on RN (nec); the other states were all at S.
【Social Work Figure 7】
Apart from regional Victoria, the Northern Territory and South Australia, no other state is short on social workers in 2025. Back in 2024, only NSW was not short on social workers — every other state was.
In 2025, Community Worker is only in shortage in WA and the Northern Territory.
【Teachers Figure 8】
Secondary school and early-childhood teachers remain in shortage across all of Australia. Related university lecturer and uni tutor roles, however, are not in shortage anywhere nationwide.
【Other Categories】
Aged-care workers are in shortage nationwide.
SA and WA are short on Contract Administrators.
Solicitors are in shortage nationwide.
Marketing roles are not in shortage.
Finance roles are not in shortage.
Cooks are in shortage nationwide.
Chefs are in shortage in regional areas of every state except the Northern Territory.
Carpenters, plumbers/electricians, bricklayers and other civil-construction trades are all in shortage nationwide.
【Analysis】
Authority of the data —
JSA is the Australian Government agency specifically tasked with tracking labour-market demand across different occupations, and it also provides advice on migration-related occupation lists. It is currently conducting a routine review of the CSOL list used for employer-sponsored 482 + 186 DE visas. State governments are therefore likely to reference its data when setting their own occupation lists.
“No shortage” doesn’t mean the occupation is dead —
This table is a baseline reference. When migration is involved, you also need to consider how reliant the occupation is on migration. Some occupations may appear to have no shortage, but because very few local workers take them up, they still need to stay on the various migration occupation lists to meet medium- to long-term demand.
State governments and the Department of Home Affairs don’t go by data alone —
Consultation with skills assessment bodies and industry representatives is a standard step in understanding the real situation. No matter how quickly data is updated, there is always some lag.
All up, this table gives everyone a baseline sense of which categories are in shortage and which are not — useful not only for migration but also for anyone job-hunting or thinking about switching industries, as well as for tracking what’s new each year.
