Who this may suit
Interior designers, interior architects and design consultants preparing a VETASSESS assessment or considering an Australian role.
Key considerations
- VETASSESS currently identifies 232511 as Group B with a bachelor-level qualification requirement.
- Interior design must be distinguished from decoration, architectural drafting and narrow product design.
- The occupation is on the STSOL and CSOL, with different visa requirements for each route.
Check that the role concerns interior-space design
VETASSESS recognises commercial, residential and retail interior designers. It separates this occupation from interior decoration, architecture, drafting and visual merchandising.
Prepare a description of a project that explains the client’s needs, how the space was planned and the design decisions you made. A room rendering is only one part of that explanation. Consider the functional use, circulation and coordination with other specialists, without presenting yourself as responsible for work completed by others.
If your job focuses only on furniture sales, lighting products or decorative styling, review the occupation fit before applying. Working inside an architectural practice does not automatically make every employee an Interior Designer.
Use the current assessment criteria
The current VETASSESS occupation page places Interior Designer in Group B, requiring an AQF Bachelor-equivalent qualification or higher. Older material may describe a different group, so check the current requirements rather than relying on a saved checklist.
The relevant-degree pathway includes at least one year of suitable post-qualification work in the last five years, at 20 hours or more per week. Other study backgrounds have different employment requirements. Both qualification and employment must be assessed positively.
Interior Design and Interior Architecture are identified relevant fields. A general architecture degree is not automatically highly relevant; its interior-design content needs examination. Gather transcripts and course information where the title does not make the content clear.
Read current Interior Designer criteria →
Show the project process in your portfolio
VETASSESS asks for supplementary evidence of interior-design duties, such as project documentation and project lists. Follow its instructions for portfolio links or samples.
For your preparation, choose projects where you can explain the brief, your role, the design development and the final outcome. Label whether drawings, visualisations and photographs are your own work or shared team outputs. Explain what you contributed to each.
Use authorised examples. Avoid including private residential addresses, security-sensitive plans or unpublished client material in an informal enquiry. Clarify how to provide sufficient evidence where a client or employer restricts disclosure.
Make self-employed and employed work understandable
An independent practice can involve design, project administration, procurement and business development. Build a timeline showing when you performed the claimed professional design work and what evidence can verify it.
For employment, align the project history with the employer’s confirmation. For self-employment, follow VETASSESS requirements for business and payment records rather than assuming invoices alone explain the work.
Review the Date Deemed Skilled and recognised employment in the assessment outcome before calculating points. A completed portfolio and a long career do not automatically mean all calendar years can be claimed.
Compare state nomination with employer sponsorship
232511 is on the STSOL, so state-nominated 190 or 491 can be examined, subject to selection and other requirements. It does not satisfy the MLTSSL requirement for a new 189 Points-tested or family-sponsored 491 application.
It is also on the CSOL for 482 Core Skills and 186 Direct Entry. Check the genuine Australian position and the relevant stream’s requirements separately from your assessment. Home Affairs uses ANZSCO 2022 for those employer-sponsored subclasses and ANZSCO 2013 for other skilled subclasses.
Compare employer sponsorship →
How we can help
Ausdirect can help review qualification relevance, distinguish design from adjacent roles and connect the assessment with a suitable nomination or sponsorship strategy.
Questions to consider
Is a diploma enough under the current occupation guidance?
The current Interior Designer page identifies Group B and a bachelor-equivalent-or-higher requirement. Do not rely on an older Group C information sheet; review your qualification against the current criteria.
Is an architecture degree automatically highly relevant?
No. VETASSESS says architectural study is generally not highly relevant, although sufficient interior-design study may be considered case by case. Provide the actual course content for review.
Can I use decoration-only work for this occupation?
The occupation concerns interior-space design. Decoration or another narrower activity requires a careful comparison with the appropriate occupation instead of relying on the employer’s title.
Your next step
Prepare your transcripts, project list and a portfolio overview showing your own spatial-design contribution. General information checked on 17 October 2026.