What are the 3 nomination types for Australia Subclass 407 in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

As of the August 2026 version of the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Training visa (subclass 407) page, there are exactly three nomination types under this visa: occupational training required for registration, occupational training to improve skills in an eligible occupation, and occupational training for capacity building overseas. The third one covers overseas qualification, government support and professional development training. The Home Affairs page states the rule that makes choosing between them matter: nomination requirements differ depending on the purpose or type of training being nominated.

The practical consequence is that the nomination — not the visa application — is where the purpose of your training is defined. Your sponsor tells the department who the nominee is, what the training is for, and how and where it will happen. Pick the wrong framing and the nomination is assessed against criteria that were never designed for your situation, so the comparison below starts from the purpose of the training rather than from job titles or forms.

What are the three nomination types at a glance?

Nomination type	What the training is for	What the file has to show
Occupational training required for registration	Training you need to obtain registration or a licence to practise your occupation	That the registration requirement exists and the training matches it, taking your existing experience into account
Occupational training to improve skills in an eligible occupation	Structured workplace training to improve skills for your current occupation, area of tertiary study or field of expertise	That the occupation is an eligible one and that the nominee has the relevant recent experience
Occupational training for capacity building overseas	Overseas qualification, government support, or professional development	Which of the three sub-purposes applies, and the supporting evidence that comes with it

What is occupational training required for registration actually for?

This type is for training that exists because someone cannot practise without it. The purpose is compliance with a registration or licensing requirement, not general career improvement. That framing sets the length of the program: the training should line up with what the registration requirement demands, and it should reflect experience the nominee already has rather than repeating it.

It is the narrowest of the three in one sense and the broadest in another. It applies because of a registration requirement, so it is useless if no such requirement exists for the person's occupation; but the Home Affairs procedures guidance treats registration and capacity-building training as not being confined to a skilled occupation list in the way the skills-improvement type is.

When is "improve skills in an eligible occupation" the right fit?

This is the type most people mean when they say "workplace training". The Home Affairs visa page describes the visa's purpose as improving skills for your current occupation, your area of tertiary study, or your field of expertise — that language maps to this nomination type.

Two things tend to separate it from the others. First, the occupation must be an eligible one; the department's Procedures Advice Manual (PAM3) refers to the skilled occupation lists set by legislative instrument for this type, and those lists change, so the current instrument and the department's occupational training types page are the reference. Second, the nominee's own work history is part of the test: PAM3 guidance refers to at least 12 months of full-time-equivalent relevant experience in the 24 months before nomination. Because these specifics sit in instruments and internal guidance rather than on the main visa page, treat them as subject to the latest official publication.

Assume an applicant who has been working as a qualified tradesperson for two years and whose employer wants to send them to an Australian workshop to learn a specific technique used there. That is a skills-improvement fact pattern. Assume instead that the same person cannot legally perform the job in Australia until they hold a local licence — that is a registration fact pattern.

What counts as capacity building overseas?

This is the type with the widest span, and the one most often misunderstood. The Home Affairs page groups three different purposes under it: overseas qualification, government support, and professional development.

Overseas qualification: training linked to a qualification held or sought outside Australia.
Government support: training backed by government support.
Professional development: a structured development program, which the visa page separately confirms you can use this visa to complete.

Professional development is where the documentary difference is clearest. The Home Affairs document checklist for this visa asks for a statement from the sponsor confirming they are satisfied the nominee is doing the professional development training specified in the application and has the relevant managerial or other professional skills and work experience to take part, plus a signed letter on company letterhead from the nominee's current manager describing their current position and duties. Qualifications and a CV are required as well. The registration and skills types do not centre on that manager's letter; their evidence leans toward registration requirements and occupational experience respectively. PAM3 guidance also describes the professional development stream as aimed at managerial or professional occupations, with classroom-based delivery making up a substantial part of the program — check the current guidance before relying on any particular proportion.

Which type does your purpose point to?

A useful way to settle it is to ask one question: what would happen if the training did not occur?

If the answer is "the person cannot be registered or licensed to do the job", it is registration training.
If the answer is "the person can already do the job but would be better at it", it is skills improvement in an eligible occupation.
If the answer is "the person would take that capability back to an overseas role, qualification or government-supported program", it is capacity building overseas.

The first two questions look similar but produce different files. Registration looks outward at a regulator's requirement; skills improvement looks inward at the nominee's occupation and recent experience.

What stays the same regardless of nomination type?

The type changes what the nomination must prove, not the surrounding framework. On the Home Affairs page, you must have an approved sponsor, approved as a temporary activities sponsor. Unless the sponsor is an Australian Commonwealth Government agency, they must submit a nomination and the department must approve it before you can apply for the visa; Commonwealth agencies sponsor without nominating.

The same page also states that this is a temporary visa that may be granted for a stay of up to two years, that you can leave and re-enter Australia while it is valid, and that it is not for ongoing work in Australia. Training described in the department's guidance as workplace-based is assessed as a genuine training opportunity rather than ordinary employment; generic training plans or arrangements that effectively fill a labour gap are the pattern the guidance flags as problematic.

Eligibility that sits outside the nomination type still applies: you must usually be 18 or older at the time of decision, have functional English, hold adequate health insurance for the whole stay, meet health and character requirements, be a genuine temporary entrant, and satisfy the department's other criteria. Cost is worked out through the visa pricing estimator on the Home Affairs site, and the main visa page notes a lower application cost for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens; there is also a separate charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you.

What happens if the training or the sponsor changes?

Nomination is tied to a specific training program, so a change of program restarts part of the process. If you move to a different organisation in Australia, that organisation must sponsor you and lodge a new nomination; once approved, you can train with them for the time left on your visa. If you stay with the same sponsor but change the training program, the sponsor must lodge a new nomination about the new program, and if it is approved you must then lodge a new visa application. If your sponsor ends your training, you must tell the department.

Applying for a new subclass 407 later requires continuing sponsorship, and the department says you may have to explain why the training could not be completed within the initial training period.

This article is general information about how the subclass 407 nomination framework is published and does not amount to personalised advice on any individual case; occupation lists, instruments and internal guidance can change, so the current Department of Home Affairs pages and the Migration Regulations 1994 are the authority, and anyone applying should confirm their own position against those sources.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there really only three nomination types for subclass 407?

Yes. The Department of Home Affairs lists occupational training required for registration, occupational training to improve skills in an eligible occupation, and occupational training for capacity building overseas. The third explicitly includes overseas qualification, government support and professional development.

Does a Commonwealth Government agency sponsor need to nominate?

No. The Home Affairs page states that unless your sponsor is an Australian Commonwealth Government agency, they must submit a nomination and it must be approved before you apply. Commonwealth agencies must have their sponsorship application approved instead.

Can professional development be its own nomination type?

Professional development sits inside the capacity building overseas type rather than being a fourth category. It still needs the same underlying elements — an approved temporary activities sponsor and an approved nomination — plus the sponsor statement and current manager letter described in the department's document checklist.

Do all three types limit which occupations qualify?

Not in the same way. Departmental guidance treats the skills-improvement type as tied to eligible occupations set by legislative instrument, while registration and capacity-building training are not described as confined to those lists in the same manner. The lists change, so the current instrument is the reference.

How long can a subclass 407 visa last?

Home Affairs describes it as a temporary visa that may be granted for a stay of up to two years, with travel in and out of Australia allowed while it is valid. Time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa, and the visa cannot be extended for a longer stay.

What if my sponsor changes the training program after approval?

Your sponsor must submit a new nomination covering the new program, and if it is approved you must lodge a new visa application. Moving to a different organisation requires that organisation to sponsor you and lodge a new nomination.