19/09/2026
𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 🇦🇺
📢 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝟏𝟗 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
The Department of Home Affairs has introduced new skilled visa processing priorities under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122.
These directions replace the previous skilled visa processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟐𝟏
𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒
The processing priorities include:
1️⃣ Construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors, as well as Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests.
2️⃣ Specialist Skills stream applications under the Skills in Demand visa.
3️⃣ Applications where the applicant was in Australia when the application was lodged.
4️⃣ Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia when lodged and the application is not combined with another person’s application.
5️⃣ All other applications.
𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝟏𝟐𝟐
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒
The priorities include:
1️⃣ Construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors, together with Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests.
2️⃣ Applicants who were in Australia when they lodged their application.
3️⃣ Applicants who were outside Australia when they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another person’s application.
4️⃣ All other applications.
𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃?
The skilled visa categories covered include important pathways such as:
🇦🇺 Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme
🇦🇺 Subclass 189 Skilled Independent
🇦🇺 Subclass 190 Skilled Nominated
🇦🇺 Subclass 191 Permanent Residence Skilled Regional
🇦🇺 Subclass 491 Skilled Work Regional
🇦🇺 Subclass 494 Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional
🇦🇺 Subclass 887 Skilled Regional
Other visa subclasses are also covered by the relevant Ministerial Directions.
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒?
These directions determine the order in which certain applications are considered for processing.
Being placed in a higher processing priority does not guarantee that a visa will be granted or that an application will be finalised within a particular timeframe.
Applicants must continue to meet all relevant visa requirements and provide the required evidence.
It is also important to understand that processing priorities and published processing times are two different things.
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐈𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖
Your occupation, industry, visa subclass, location at the time of lodgement and individual application circumstances can affect the processing priority applicable to your application.
If you have a skilled visa application pending or are planning to lodge one, make sure you understand which Ministerial Direction applies to your visa subclass and circumstances.
