The Australian Skills Classification (ASC) was decommissioned by Jobs and Skills Australia in December 2023, with the decommissioning process progressing through to the removal of the ASC from our website in January 2025. The product had not been updated since December 2023.
This decision to remove the ASC from our website follows the identification of several limitations in the product, including the timeliness of the data, the importance of external validation, and the need to consider the information in the context of additional data sources.
Some organisations that still require access to the ASC dataset for research purposes only can do so through data access agreements with Jobs and Skills Australia. Interested organisations should email nationalskillstaxonomy@jobsandskills.gov.au to engage in a data access agreement.
Background
The ASC was the first attempt by the Australian Government to develop a common language to understand the skills and tasks within the Australian workplace. By attempting to understand the skills needed within occupations, the ASC delivered a range of benefits across industry, government, and education.
Since its inception in 2020, the understanding of how skills are developed, their complexity, and the importance of skillsets such as cognitive skills have evolved. Additionally, technological improvements have highlighted the need to consider new ways of developing skills frameworks.
Jobs and Skills Australia is currently developing a new National Skills Taxonomy. This new taxonomy will consider the importance of skills within Australia, including how they are learned, developed, and demonstrated. Once developed, the National Skills Taxonomy aims to act as a much-needed translator for people, educators, and employers, helping to find better ways of supporting workers to achieve their occupational goals and allowing the economy to continue to grow.