You’ll often hear us talking about the ANZSCO codes in the Surveyors Australia office, but soon we’ll be saying OSCA!

These codes are utilised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to collect data during the census and help ensure Government resources are directed to the right areas, such as immigration, skills and training funding and FairWork Award classifications.

The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) is separating to serve each country under their own comparable, but tailored, occupational statistical classifications.  Australia will soon have the Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) which, according to the ABS should “reflect the different labour markets while still being able to ensure the Trans-Tasman comparisons can continue.” This update will come into effect from 6 December 2024.

We have been advocating for several code changes to help us better classify surveyors according to the type of work they are undertaking.  The new classifications proposed will be helpful to the surveying profession as we can see how many surveyors are required to meet the demands of the building and construction sector and identify the key areas required for training and development. 

• Our proposal to add Survey Manager has been accepted, acknowledging the role many senior surveyors hold managing others within the profession.  

• Professional Surveyors are now classified with Design, Engineering and Science Professionals alongside Architects and Planners. 

• There are some “naming” issues which we have raised, requested we simply be allocated as “Surveyors” rather than “Geospatial Specialists”. 

• Building Surveyors have their own code so there should be less confusion in the future 

• Land, Mining and Engineering Surveyors are recognised with allowance for Geodetic and Hydrographic Surveyors. 

• Some minor changes recommended for Survey Technicians particularly around BIM  

We believe the changes will come into place before the next Census in 2025.  We will keep you updated to help you complete the form and we believe we will have much more accurate data for the next Demand Study

Melanie Gibbons, Head of Advocacy, Surveyors Australia
melanie@consultingsurveyors.com.au