Simon Mander Consulting P/L

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

If you are waiting on an Australian skilled visa or thinking about applying for one you need to understand MD119.

A new processing direction, Ministerial Direction 119, changed the order in which many skilled and employer-sponsored visa applications are dealt with.

One of the biggest changes is that whether you are onshore or offshore can now affect your position in the processing queue.

Your occupation can matter as well.

That does NOT mean Australia has closed skilled migration to people overseas.

It does mean that two people applying for similar visas can now face very different processing circumstances.

I explain the change in this 90-second video.

If you want individual advice about your own Australian migration options, you can book a consultation with me at simonmander.com/book.

02/06/2026

One of the hardest parts of this profession is telling people the truth when the answer isn’t what they hoped for.

Not every occupation is in strong demand.
Not every pathway is realistic from offshore.

Sometimes the most valuable advice a migration agent can give is helping someone avoid spending years and thousands of dollars pursuing a pathway with very limited prospects.

I would rather give honest guidance than false hope.

12/05/2026

Big Changes for Australia’s Migration System! 🇦🇺✈️

The Federal Budget is out, and the migration landscape is shifting. Labor is forecasting Australia’s population to grow by another one million people by 2030, but there’s a major push to change who is coming.

The Key Takeaways:

Tradies are the Priority: $85M is being injected to fast-track skills assessments for trades like electricians and plumbers. 🛠️

Backpacker Crackdown: Expect a "ballot system" for Working Holiday Visas as the government looks to manage numbers more strictly.

The Points Test Overhaul: The test is being redesigned to favor younger, higher-skilled migrants to boost productivity.

Net Migration: Forecasted at 295,000 this year, aiming to drop to 225,000 by 2027.

What do you think? Will focusing on "Tradies over Backpackers" help fix the housing shortage? Let’s chat in the comments! 👇