What is Ministerial Direction Number 111?

Ministerial Direction 107 has been revoked and replaced by Ministerial Direction 111

The international education sector is important to Australia, and the Australian Government is committed to ensuring its equality, quality, integrity and sustainability.

MD107 has been revoked

Ministerial Direction 107 Order for considering and disposing of Student Guardian visa applications and offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications (MD107) was designed to support providers with strong recruitment practises for international students and support the Department of Home Affairs at a time of increasing volumes and of risk in the caseload. The Australian Government acknowledges that the Student visa processing arrangements in accordance with MD107 unevenly impacted education providers.

MD107 was revoked on 18 December 2024.

New Ministerial Direction 111

Ministerial Direction 111 Order for considering and disposing of offshore Subclass 500 (Student) visa applications (MD111) came into effect on 19 December 2024 replacing MD107. MD111 applies to onhand, unfinalised Student visa applications lodged from offshore, as well as those lodged on or after that date, and sets out priority categories for processing Student visas applications.

Under MD111, priority processing (Priority 1 – High) will apply to offshore Student visa applications associated with a provider in the higher education and vocational education and training sectors who have not yet reached their prioritisation threshold as indicated by PRISMS, the Department of Education’s system that manages enrolment information. Once the prioritisation threshold has been reached for a provider, visa processing will continue at Priority 2 - Standard priority.

This new approach creates a more even approach to visa processing across a range of different provider types and locations, including for regional and small providers. MD111 will continue to support the well-managed and orderly processing of visa applications that supports the education sector equitably, while achieving Government’s wider international education objectives.

Priority 1 – High will move faster through processing relative to Priority 2 – Standard. MD111 is not a cap, nor does it set the criteria to approve or refuse a student visa application. As always, the department will continue to prioritise the offshore Student visa caseload as we move into Semester 1 2025, while the onshore caseload will also continue to be processed.

What is most important, is that intending students lodge their visa applications​ ​as early as possible, and complete​ with all requested information at time of lodgement to support smooth processing.

The development of MD111 and its prioritisation approach has been informed by consultation with the international education sector undertaken by the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations throughout 2024. The Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Education and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations are working with the education sector to provide information about this new processing arrangement for Student visas. This will include targeted engagement through webinars, discussions with peak bodies in the education sector, as well as our website updates and social media outreach.

So who is eligible for ‘Priority 1 – High’ visa processing?

In brief, Priority 1 – High, processing will apply to Student visa applications associated with providers who have not yet reached their prioritisation threshold, which is 80 percent of their 2025 indicative allocation of new overseas student commencements in the higher education and Vocational Education and Training sectors.

Indicative allocations for both higher education and vocational education and training providers can be found at:

• Indicative allocations for higher education new overseas student commencements 2025 - Department of Education, Australian Government and
• Indicative allocations for VET new overseas student commencements 2025 - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Australian Government​

Priority 1 – High visa processing will also ap​ply to a range of sect​ors and student types, for example, the schools and higher degree by research sectors, as well as scholarship and TAFE students, and those from the Pacific and Timor-Leste.

Priority 2 – Standard visa processing will apply to providers who have reached their prioritisation threshold, subsequent entrants, and any other offshore Student visa application.

➡️ See the full Ministerial Direction ​111​.