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The National Skills Taxonomy (NST) is an Australian initiative to create a shared, evidence-based language for describing the skills individuals gain, develop, and use across education and employment. It is being developed by Jobs and Skills Australia to support individuals, education and training providers, employers, policymakers, and workforce planners.
The taxonomy is intended to make skills more visible and transferable across occupations, industries, education, and training. Its design includes technical skills as well as capabilities such as communication, analytical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving. The framework is also being designed for interoperability with other Australian and international education, skills, and occupational frameworks.
The National Skills Taxonomy is replacing the Australian Skills Classification, which remains available while the new framework is developed. Development has involved multiple stages of consultation beginning in 2024 and continuing through 2025 and 2026.
Australia's education and workforce systems use multiple frameworks and approaches to describing skills. Jobs and Skills Australia identified this complexity as a barrier to consistent recognition of what individuals can do and to connecting education, training, and employment information.
Development began formally in June 2024 with publication of a National Skills Taxonomy Discussion Paper.
The initiative also responds to broader Australian efforts to create a more connected tertiary education and skills system and to strengthen occupational mobility, lifelong learning, workforce planning, and skills recognition.
A second major consultation phase began in October 2025 with a discussion paper focused on building a system that puts people and skills first.
Developed as part of the work program of Jobs and Skills Australia, established by the Australian Government under the Jobs and Skills Australia Act 2022.
National Skills Taxonomy — Jobs and Skills Australia
National Skills Taxonomy Discussion Paper — Jobs and Skills Australia
Skills First Discussion Paper and National Skills Taxonomy Update — Jobs and Skills Australia
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