VETASSESS Skills Assessment for Metallurgical or Materials Technician (ANZSCO 312912) — 2026 Guide

This is the 2026 VETASSESS skills assessment guide for ANZSCO 312912 — Metallurgical or Materials Technician. For visa pathway selection see the 312912 pathway guide; for cost/timeline see the case study.

VETASSESS pathway

Standard turnaround 12-16 weeks.

Documents

1. Certified copy of degree / diploma certificate(s).
2. Academic transcripts.
3. Detailed CV mapped to ANZSCO 312912 — commodities (gold, base metals, iron ore, coal, alumina, lithium, rare earths), sectors (assay lab, smelter, refinery, steel, aluminium), techniques routinely used.
4. Employment reference letters on letterhead with role, dates, hours/week, salary, metallurgy / materials duties.
5. Identity — passport bio page.
6. Payslips / tax records.
7. Instrument-platform training — AAS, ICP-OES, ICP-MS, XRF, XRD, SEM-EDS, optical microscopy, hardness testers (Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers).
8. NDT certifications — AINDT NDT Level 1 / 2 / 3 (UT / MT / PT / RT / ECT).
9. Welding-related certifications — WTIA Welding Inspector, AS 1796 Cert 10 (Welding Inspector), CSWIP / IWIP equivalents.
10. Standard 11 / WA Mines safety induction — sector-specific.
11. AS / NZS / ASME / API standards familiarity.

ANZSCO 312912 task focus

Reference letters must show at least 65% time on metallurgy / materials-tech work:

• Fire assay — Pb / Ni collection, cupellation, AAS / ICP finish for gold and silver.
• Wet chemistry assay — acid digestion, gravimetric, titrimetric.
• Sample preparation — crushing (jaw / cone), pulverising (LM2 / ring mill / bowl mill), splitting (riffle / rotary), retention sample management.
• Plant metallurgical support — process plant sampling, mass balances, recovery / grade calculations, reagent consumption tracking.
• Grinding circuit monitoring — ball-mill / SAG-mill operations, particle size analysis (P80).
• Flotation circuit monitoring — froth observations, reagent additions, recovery / concentrate grade.
• Leach / SX-EW circuit monitoring — cyanide, sulphide, copper SX-EW.
• Mineral processing test work — bench-scale flotation, cyanidation, gravity, magnetic separation.
• Metallurgical accounting — daily / monthly recovery reporting.
• Mechanical testing — tensile, hardness (Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers, micro-hardness), Charpy V-notch, drop-weight, fatigue.
• Metallographic analysis — sectioning, mounting, polishing, etching, microstructure assessment.
• Failure analysis support — fracture surface examination, SEM-EDS, weld defects.
• WPQR — weld procedure qualification record support per AS / NZS 3992 / AS 4458 / ASME IX.
• NDT — UT (ultrasonic), MT (magnetic particle), PT (penetrant), RT (radiographic), ECT (eddy current) per AS / NZS 3978 / ISO 9712.
• Corrosion monitoring — corrosion probes, coupons, CP system monitoring.
• Pressure-equipment in-service inspection — AS 3788.

Useful certifications

• AusIMM Member — Associate / Member / Fellow grades.
• AINDT NDT Level 1 / 2 / 3 — UT / MT / PT / RT / ECT.
• WTIA / TWI Welding Inspector credentials.
• CSWIP / API 510 / 570 / 653 pressure-equipment / piping / tank inspection.
• Engineers Australia Engineering Associate — career progression.
• Standard 11 (QLD coal) / WA Mines induction — mining sector inductions.

English

VETASSESS doesn't directly require English. Home Affairs requires Competent English; for points-tested visas target Proficient or Superior.

Common pitfalls

• Trade-only fitter / welder. On-tools work fits the relevant trade code via TRA pathway.
• Chartered metallurgist. Bachelor + CPEng / CMet status pays better under 234912 Metallurgist.
• Pure chemistry-analyst roles. Chemistry-lab work without minerals / metallurgical focus fits 311411 Chemistry Technician.

Tools

• Document checklist
• Points calculator
• Visa fee calculator

Authoritative sources

• VETASSESS
• AusIMM
• AINDT
• WTIA
• Home Affairs — fees
• Office of MARA

Next step

Want a personalised VETASSESS plan for 312912? Book a 30-minute free strategy call.