Software Engineers Are Off Australia's Shortage List in 2026

For the first time since Jobs and Skills Australia started tracking in 2021, software engineers are no longer in shortage in any state or territory. If you moved here on the plan of "get into IT, get sponsored", that is the ground shifting under you.

Here is the part nobody tells you upfront: this is not "give up on tech". The shortage moved, it did not disappear. This post covers what actually changed, why a sponsor's case for a generic dev role just got harder, and the specific tech roles that are still in national shortage and still strong for sponsorship.

Why this matters

This is a labour-market signal, not a visa rule, and that is exactly why it is easy to miss. Your visa eligibility for a developer role did not change overnight. What changed is the business case your employer has to make. When a role is rated "in shortage", a sponsor can argue they could not find a local. When that rating drops, that argument gets weaker, and a weaker case is a slower, riskier nomination.

If you are lining up a course, a job target, or a sponsor right now, you are making that bet on old information. The smartest play is no longer "any IT job". It is the tech role Australia is actually short of, matched to an employer who can still justify hiring you.

Who this is for

This is for you if:

• You came to Australia planning to "do IT and get sponsored" and have not locked a role yet.
• You are a software or dev graduate watching sponsorship offers get harder to land.
• You are picking your next course or specialisation and want it to point at a role that still sponsors.
• You are on a 485 VISA and want your next move to feed a real 482 VISA pathway.

What actually changed

Every year Jobs and Skills Australia publishes the Occupation Shortage List, the national read on which jobs employers genuinely cannot fill locally. In the 2025 list, the generic software and dev roles came off it. Software engineers, developer programmers, ICT quality assurance engineers and penetration testers all moved off shortage.

One important nuance, because the wrong version of this is already going around. Software developer roles are still on the Core Skills Occupation List, so they are still technically sponsorable. You are not banned from a 482 as a developer. What dropped is the shortage rating, and that rating is what powers the labour-market argument behind a nomination. So the honest framing is "harder to justify", not "removed from the visa list". Anyone telling you developers can no longer be sponsored is overstating it.

The practical effect is real though. A sponsor backing a generic dev role in 2026 has a thinner story than they did in 2024, and thinner stories take longer and break more often.

The tech roles still in shortage

Here is the turn. Same tech background, sharper target. As of the 2025 list, these roles are still in national shortage, though shortage ratings are reviewed and can shift:

🎯 Cyber security engineers: in shortage nationwide.

🎯 Cyber security governance, risk and compliance specialists: in shortage everywhere except the NT.

🎯 Cyber security operations coordinators: in shortage nationwide.

🎯 Software testers: in shortage nationwide.

Notice the pattern. The market did not turn against people who can build and break software. It turned toward the people who can secure it and verify it. A developer background is a head start into every one of those roles, not a dead end. The move is to point your next certification, project, or job application at where the shortage actually sits.

What you can do about it

Step 1: Check your target role against the current list

Before you send another application or sign up for another course, look up your exact target role on the Jobs and Skills Australia Occupation Shortage List. If it is off shortage, you are not finished, but you are swimming upstream on the sponsorship argument. Know that before you commit, not after.

Step 2: Pivot the same background toward a role still in shortage

You do not need a new degree to move from "generic developer" to "security engineer" or "software tester". You need the right projects, the right keywords on your resume, and a target that a sponsor can defend. A cyber or testing angle on the same tech foundation reads completely differently to an employer trying to justify a hire.

Step 3: Confirm the visa detail with someone licensed

The shortage list shapes the business case. The Core Skills Occupation List shapes eligibility, and line items there can shift on Department updates. A registered migration agent is the only person who can confirm whether your specific role is sponsorable at the point you actually lodge. Get that confirmed before you bank your plan on it.

Sources and further reading

📊 ACS Information Age, There's no shortage of software engineers in Australia anymore. Breaks down the JSA 2025 Occupation Shortage List: software engineers off shortage in every state for the first time since 2021, developer programmer, ICT QA engineer and penetration tester also off, cyber security and software testing roles still in shortage.

📋 Jobs and Skills Australia, Occupation Shortage List. The primary national dataset on which occupations are in shortage, by state and territory.

🛠️ Department of Home Affairs, Core Skills Occupation List. The list of occupations eligible for Core Skills stream sponsorship. Confirm your role is still listed at the time you lodge.

This is general information based on public 2025-26 labour-market and visa data, not personal migration, legal or financial advice. Shortage ratings and occupation lists change. A registered migration agent is the only person who can confirm what applies to your specific role and nomination.