Ministerial Direction 122 is now available.
The new order of visa processing (higher to lower priority) is: 1. Priority Occupations (both onshore and offshore equal priority) 2. Non-Priority Occupations (where primary applicant is onshore) 3. Non-Priority Occupations (where primary applicant is offshore AND there ARE NO other applicants) 4. Non-Priority Occupations (where primary applicant is offshore AND there ARE other applicants)
Official Notification
Processing priorities for visa applications for certain Skilled visas Visa applications for certain Skilled visas are processed according to Government policy priorities, which are outlined in Ministerial Direction 121 for temporary skilled visas and Ministerial Direction 122 for provisional and permanent skilled visas. Both Directions came into effect on 19 September 2026. From this date, Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 have replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.
Certain provisional and permanent Skilled visa applications are processed in the following order of priority: - Visa applications relating to Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, and Resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests. - Visa applications where the applicant was in Australia at the time they lodged their application. - Visa applications where the primary applicant was outside of Australia at the time they lodged their application and whose application is not combined with another personβs application at any time. - All other visa applications.
Visa subclasses included in this Direction: - Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa - Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) visa - Skilled Independent (subclass 189) visa - Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa - Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191) visa - Skilled Regional (Provisional) (subclass 489) visa - Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa - Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494) visa - Skilled Regional (subclass 887) visa - Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) (subclass 888) visa.
Official DHA Notification here Priority occupations are listed in the PDF and include construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources and defense sectors.
@gregormendel · 1mo ago
DHA hasn't clarified what exact ANZSCO codes are priority for Agriculture sector, so for now, I have implemented based on my understanding, marking Agricultural Consultant as priority. This may be updated later if DHA provides clarity.