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Two new Ministerial Directions took effect on 19 September 2026 and changed the order in which skilled visa applications are picked up. Direction 121 governs temporary skilled visas, and Direction 122 governs provisional and permanent skilled visas. Together they replaced all processing priorities that previously applied under Direction 119.
The important point is what they do not do. Neither Direction changes who is eligible for a visa, which occupations are on the lists, or what a sponsor or nominator has to prove. They change the order of the queue, nothing else. This guide sets out exactly which tier your application falls into, and what that means in practice.
Waiting on a skilled visa decision? Our immigration lawyers in Sydney can tell you which priority tier your application sits in and whether anything in your file is holding it up.
Ministerial Directions are instructions given by the Minister under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958 that tell the Department how to prioritise its workload. They are not legislation and they do not create or remove rights. They decide the order in which officers reach applications.
From 19 September 2026, two Directions replaced the single set of priorities that had applied under Direction 119:
Both Directions are published by the Department on its skilled visa processing priorities page.
Directions 121 and 122 change the order applications are processed in. They do not change eligibility criteria, occupation lists, sponsorship requirements or nomination requirements.
Temporary skilled visa applications are processed in this order of priority:
The five tiers matter most to applicants outside the priority sectors. If you are an onshore Skills in Demand applicant in the Core Skills stream, you sit in tier three, behind every priority sector application and every Specialist Skills application, no matter when you lodged.
Provisional and permanent skilled applications follow a four-tier order. There is no Specialist Skills tier here, because that stream only exists in the 482:
The subclasses covered are the Employer Nomination Scheme (186), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (187), Skilled Independent (189), Skilled Nominated (190), Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (191), Skilled Regional (Provisional) (489), Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (491), Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (494), Skilled Regional (887) and Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (888).
Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing and Resources, plus Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests. If your nominated occupation sits in one of those sectors, your application is reached first whether you are onshore or offshore, and whichever Direction applies to your subclass.
If it does not, your location at the time of lodgement becomes the deciding factor. That is the single biggest practical change for most applicants.
Under both Directions, applications lodged while the applicant was in Australia are reached before applications lodged from overseas. Where you were on the day you lodged is what counts, not where you are now.
There is a further distinction below that. An offshore primary applicant whose application is not combined with anyone else’s sits in its own tier, ahead of everything remaining. A combined family application is treated at the same priority as the primary applicant, so adding family members does not push you down a tier, but a combined offshore application does fall into the final tier rather than the one above it.
This is where most of the commentary published since September has been misleading. A processing priority is not a fast track, a queue number, or a service standard.
Neither Direction alters the eligibility criteria for any visa. Neither changes the Core Skills Occupation List or any other occupation list. Neither changes what a sponsor must demonstrate, what a nominator must show, or the income thresholds that apply to the Skills in Demand visa. A tier one application that is incomplete will still sit unresolved while the Department asks for more information, and a tier four application that is decision ready can be finalised quickly.
The Directions also apply to applications already in the system. If you lodged before 19 September 2026 and your application has not been decided, it is now prioritised under the new order rather than the one that applied when you lodged.
How the change lands depends on which visa you are waiting on:
If you are moving from a 491 towards permanent residence, the pathway itself is unchanged. See our guides on 491 to 191 requirements and switching from a 491 to a 190.
Directions 121 and 122 did not sweep away every other skilled priority instrument. Two others remain in force. Direction 114, effective 12 February 2025, covers Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 188) and Business Talent (Permanent) (subclass 132) applications, both of which are closed to new applicants. Direction 120, effective 25 July 2026, covers Class BX (subclass 858) applications, including the closed Distinguished Talent and Global Talent programs and the National Innovation visa.
This matters if you have an older application still on hand. Several published summaries have treated 19 September 2026 as the date every skilled priority changed, which is not correct for the 188, 132 and 858 cohorts. Check which instrument governs your subclass before drawing conclusions about where you sit.
The situation: Two Skilled Independent (subclass 189) applicants lodged within a week of each other. One is a registered nurse who lodged while living in Sydney. The other is a marketing specialist who lodged from overseas, with a partner included in the application.
Where they now sit: The nurse falls into tier one of Direction 122, because healthcare is a priority sector. The marketing specialist is outside the priority sectors, lodged offshore, and the application is combined with another person’s, which places it in the fourth and final tier.
The point: Neither applicant’s eligibility changed on 19 September 2026, and neither did their points score. What changed is the order in which the Department reaches them, and on current settings that gap is significant.
You cannot change the priority tiers, but you can control whether your application is decision ready when it is reached, and that is what determines the outcome once it is.
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If you are waiting on a skilled visa decision and want to know where you stand under the new Directions, book a free 15-minute consultation. We will confirm your tier, review what is already lodged, and tell you whether anything in your file is likely to hold it up.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice for your specific situation. Ministerial Directions can be amended or replaced at any time. Confirm the current instruments on the Department of Home Affairs website or with a migration lawyer before acting.
Both Directions came into effect on 19 September 2026. From that date they replaced all skilled visa processing priorities that previously applied under Ministerial Direction 119. Direction 121 applies to temporary skilled visas and Direction 122 applies to provisional and permanent skilled visas.
Direction 121 covers the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa and undecided Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) applications. Direction 122 covers subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. Separate Directions still govern the 188 and 132 visas (Direction 114) and subclass 858 visas (Direction 120).
No. Both Directions deal only with the order in which applications are processed. They do not change eligibility criteria, occupation lists, points test requirements, sponsorship obligations, nomination requirements or income thresholds. An application that did not meet the criteria before 19 September 2026 is in exactly the same position after it.
Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing and Resources, together with applications relating to Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests. The same list applies under both Directions, and those applications are reached first whether lodged onshore or offshore.
Yes, outside the priority sectors it is the main differentiator. Under both Directions, applications lodged while the applicant was in Australia are processed ahead of those lodged from overseas. What matters is where you were when the application was lodged, not where you are while it is being assessed.
Yes. The Directions govern how the Department prioritises its caseload from 19 September 2026 onwards, which includes applications lodged earlier that have not yet been decided. Your application is not re-dated, but the order in which it is reached is now determined by the new tiers rather than the ones under Direction 119.
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