Australia Changes Skilled Visa Processing Priorities Again: What Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 Mean

Australia changed the processing priorities for skilled visas again on 19 September 2026. Ministerial Direction 121 now governs the temporary Subclass 482, Ministerial Direction 122 governs the provisional and permanent skilled visas, and together they replaced every priority set by Direction 119, which had been in force only since 25 July.

For skilled migrants and sponsoring employers, three things moved. The top priority group is wider. The temporary Subclass 482 now follows its own order, separate from the provisional and permanent visas. And an occupation in a priority sector reaches the top of the queue whether the applicant lodged in Australia or from overseas.

Equally important is what the change does not do. It does not change visa eligibility, it awards no points, and it guarantees neither an invitation nor a processing time.

How this builds on Direction 119

Direction 119 took effect on 25 July 2026 and replaced Direction 105. It set an order for employer nominations as well as visa applications. For visa applications it used five groups, each tied to where the primary applicant was at lodgement:

1. Law enforcement and defence occupations, lodged in Australia.
2. Law enforcement and defence occupations, lodged outside Australia.
3. Healthcare, teaching and construction occupations, lodged in Australia.
4. All other applications lodged in Australia.
5. All other applications lodged outside Australia.

The third group carried a condition that is easy to miss: the healthcare, teaching and construction priority applied only to applicants who were in Australia when they lodged. An applicant in one of those occupations who lodged from overseas fell into the last group.

Minister Tony Burke explained the problem at the National Press Club on 17 September. One direction had applied almost identical rules to the permanent and the temporary program, so sometimes an applicant who could not get through on the permanent side could not get through on the temporary side either. He announced that the priority list would be widened, and the two new Directions now separate the temporary program from the permanent one.

What is different now

Priority 1 under both new Directions covers visa applications made by a primary applicant in relation to an occupation in:

• construction
• healthcare
• teaching
• agriculture
• aquaculture
• fishing
• resources
• or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests.

Under Direction 119 only law enforcement and defence occupations sat at the top. Healthcare, teaching and construction now move up from third place to join them, and agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, which had no priority at all, join them for the first time. The onshore condition has also gone: neither Direction ties Priority 1 to where the applicant was at lodgement. For a nurse, teacher or electrician applying from overseas, this is the change that matters most.

The other changes are structural. The Subclass 482 and the provisional and permanent visas now follow different orders, the Specialist Skills stream of the Subclass 482 has its own category, and offshore primary applicants whose application is never combined with anyone else’s now sit ahead of the remaining offshore caseload.

Direction 121: the Subclass 482

Direction 121 covers the Skills in Demand Subclass 482 and the remaining Temporary Skill Shortage Subclass 482 applications lodged before the Skills in Demand visa replaced it on 7 December 2024. Applications are processed in this order:

1. Applications in the Priority 1 sectors, or related to law enforcement and defence.
2. Specialist Skills stream applications.
3. Other applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at lodgement.
4. Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia at lodgement and the application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
5. All other applications.

So a Specialist Skills application does not automatically head the queue. A Core Skills nurse is processed ahead of a Specialist Skills application in an occupation outside the priority sectors. For more on the visa itself, see what the 482 lets you do.

Direction 122: provisional and permanent skilled visas

Direction 122 covers the Employer Nomination Scheme Subclass 186, the Skilled Independent Subclass 189, the Skilled Nominated Subclass 190, the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) Subclass 191, the Skilled Work Regional Subclass 491 and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Subclass 494, along with the legacy Subclasses 187, 489, 887 and 888. The order is:

1. Applications in the Priority 1 sectors, or related to law enforcement and defence.
2. Other applications where the primary applicant was in Australia at lodgement.
3. Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia at lodgement and the application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
4. All other applications.

Applications already lodged

The new Directions are not limited to applications lodged after 19 September. Both state that they apply to applications made but not finally decided before they commenced, so pending applications in the covered subclasses are now processed under the new order. A few categories are excluded, such as matters remitted by the Administrative Review Tribunal and applications that plainly fail the criteria.

You do not need to withdraw and re-lodge to benefit. Applicants in healthcare, teaching and construction have moved from third place to first, and offshore applicants in those occupations from last to first. Resources, agriculture, aquaculture and fishing applicants have moved up too. Law enforcement and defence applicants now share the top group rather than holding it alone, and others may find more categories sitting ahead of them.

Priority 1 is not a fast approval

Priority sets the order in which Home Affairs deals with applications. It guarantees no decision date and no grant. How quickly a case moves still depends on how complete the application is, the program planning levels, application volumes, and whether the Department has to request further information. Both Directions also require a delegate to take an individual application out of order where it involves compelling circumstances, such as community safety.

Family members included in a combined application take the primary applicant’s priority.

Eligibility has not changed

Both Directions say expressly that they do not change the skilled occupation lists and that applicants must still meet the requirements of the Act and the Regulations. Depending on the visa, that still means an eligible occupation, a skills assessment, relevant work experience, English language ability, the salary threshold, sponsorship and nomination, the age limit, and health and character.

A Priority 1 application that does not meet those criteria is still refused.

This is separate from the points test reform

On 17 September the Minister also said the points test has been redesigned, with stronger recognition for housing trades. That is a separate reform. The Minister gave no commencement date, and no new points table had been published when this article was written. We cover it in what applies now and what is still a proposal.

Directions 121 and 122 do not change the points test or add SkillSelect points. They do not raise an Expression of Interest score or guarantee a Subclass 189 invitation, and they do not guarantee state nomination for a Subclass 190 or 491.

What it means for 189, 190 and 491 applicants

Direction 122 includes all three subclasses, but it only applies once a visa application has been lodged. It does not decide who is invited under the 189, who receives state or territory nomination, how a state ranks Expressions of Interest or Registrations of Interest, or how many points anyone has.

A candidate can therefore end up with Priority 1 processing after lodging without having had any advantage at the invitation or nomination stage.

Onshore still counts, below Priority 1

One feature of Direction 119 survives. Outside Priority 1, primary applicants who were in Australia when they lodged still come before the remaining offshore caseload. Under Direction 121 they follow the Specialist Skills stream. Under Direction 122 they are the next group directly after Priority 1. The test is where the primary applicant was on the day of lodgement, not where they are now.

Offshore applicants applying alone

Both Directions add a category for an offshore primary applicant whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time. That places certain offshore sole applicants ahead of the rest of the offshore caseload.

The words “at any time” matter: adding a partner or child to the application later takes it out of this category. Do not leave a genuine family member off an application for the sake of the queue. Family composition has wider migration consequences, and those depend on the facts of the case.

Which occupations count as Priority 1

The Department’s summary page names the sectors but lists no occupations. The Directions themselves go further. Construction, healthcare and teaching are defined by lists of ANZSCO groups and codes. Resources covers a nominated position that directly supports the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas, or coal, including mine closure and rehabilitation, with a list of included occupations. Agriculture, aquaculture and fishing are defined by what the nominated position does, such as cultivating crops, raising livestock or processing seafood.

For a nurse, a school teacher or an electrician the answer is usually clear. Because construction, healthcare and teaching are closed lists, an ICT specialist working for a construction group falls outside them, whatever the employer builds. Resources and agriculture turn on what the nominated position does, and that is where the harder questions arise:

• an accountant employed by a mining company
• a marketing specialist employed by an agricultural business.

An employer’s industry does not prove that every occupation it sponsors will receive Priority 1 processing. The Directions attach priority to the occupation, and for resources and agriculture to what the nominated position does, not to the business.

What it means for employers

For employers in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, sponsoring from overseas has become more attractive from a processing point of view. That applies to the visa application for a Subclass 482, 186 or 494.

It does not apply to the nomination. Direction 119 also set an order for employer nomination applications, and Directions 121 and 122 order visa applications only. The sponsorship, nomination and visa criteria are unchanged. What has changed is where an eligible visa application sits in the Department’s processing order.

The practical question now

The September changes are the second stage of the processing reforms that began in July. Direction 119 set a sector-based, onshore-weighted order. Directions 121 and 122 separate the temporary and permanent queues, widen Priority 1 and drop its onshore condition, give the Specialist Skills stream its own place, keep the onshore preference below Priority 1, and add a category for offshore sole applicants.

For applicants and employers, the useful question is where a particular lodged application now sits in that order. That can change how quickly Home Affairs allocates and progresses a case, even though the requirements for the visa itself have not moved. Our MARA-registered advisers can check your eligibility and tell you where an application would sit.

This article provides general information only and is not individual migration advice. Migration law, processing arrangements and government policy change, and advice should be based on the circumstances of the individual case and the rules in force at the time.

Sources

• Skilled visa processing priorities, Department of Home Affairs, last updated 18 September 2026
• Ministerial Direction 121, Order for considering and disposing of visa applications for certain temporary Skilled Visas, signed 18 September 2026
• Ministerial Direction 122, Order for considering and disposing of visa applications for certain provisional and permanent Skilled Visas, signed 18 September 2026
• Ministerial Direction 119, Order for considering and disposing of nominations and visa applications for certain Skilled Visas, dated 24 July 2026, revoked by Direction 121
• Migration reform to end rorts and bring in the skills Australia needs for a strong economy, Minister for Home Affairs media release, 17 September 2026
• Speech, National Press Club, Minister for Home Affairs, 17 September 2026