New Zealand and Australia to Introduce New Job Classification System, Replacing ANZSCO
October 2024 – New Zealand and Australia are preparing to introduce a new job classification system; New Zealand's new framework will be called the National Occupation List (NOL). This will replace the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO), which both countries have been using to classify jobs.
In Australia, the new system will be called the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA). The first version, OSCA 2024, will be released on 6 December 2024. Dr Gruen mentioned that while managing ANZSCO together worked well for many years, the differences in each country's job market now require separate systems.
This announcement was made by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), showing that each country is now taking a more customised approach to job classification.
Transition Period
Immigration New Zealand has said there will be a transition period before fully switching to the NOL. During this time, they will continue using ANZSCO for visa applications. The full switch to the NOL is expected by 2025, with more updates to come as the transition plan is finalised.
For now, ANZSCO will still be used to classify jobs by skill level, from level 1 (highly skilled) to level 5 (less skilled).
Why the Change?
Statistics New Zealand and ABS made this decision together. Since ANZSCO was introduced in 2006, both countries' job markets have changed a lot. It has become difficult to maintain one shared classification system that fits both countries' needs.
Dr. David Gruen, Australian Statistician, and Mr. Mark Sowden, New Zealand Government Statistician, explained that even though the two countries will use separate systems, they will continue working together to make sure the systems remain comparable. This means that the economic analysis and recognition of skills between Australia and New Zealand will stay in sync. Tools will also be created to help compare jobs between the two systems so cross-border data analysis continues smoothly.
For more information about the NOL and its implementation, visit the Stats NZ website.
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