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Australia
Australia Updates Skilled Visa Processing Priorities
Effective from: 19 September 2026
The Australian Department of Home Affairs introduced new processing priorities for certain skilled visa applications through Ministerial Direction 121 and Ministerial Direction 122.
Both directions came into effect on 19 September 2026 and replaced the previous skilled-visa processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.
What has changed?
The Australian Government now gives higher processing priority to certain skilled visa applications connected with:
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Construction
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Healthcare
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Teaching
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Agriculture
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Aquaculture
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Fishing
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Resources
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Australia's law enforcement and defence interests
The priority affects the order in which eligible applications are processed. It does not create a new visa and does not guarantee that an application will be approved or finalised within a particular timeframe.
Ministerial Direction 121 — Temporary Skilled Visas
Ministerial Direction 121 establishes the processing order for certain temporary skilled visa applications.
The current priority order is:
Priority 1 — Key sectors and government interests
Applications relating to:
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Construction
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Healthcare
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Teaching
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Agriculture
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Aquaculture
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Fishing
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Resources
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Australia's law enforcement and defence interests
receive the highest priority.
Priority 2 — Specialist Skills stream
The next priority is given to applications in the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482).
Priority 3 — Applicants already in Australia
Applications where the applicant was in Australia when the application was lodged are next in the priority order.
Priority 4 — Certain offshore applicants
Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia when the application was lodged and whose application is not combined with another person's application are then considered.
Priority 5 — Other applications
Other applications covered by the Direction are processed after the higher-priority groups.
Visa covered
Ministerial Direction 121 covers the:
Skills in Demand visa — subclass 482
The Department also lists the former Temporary Skill Shortage subclass 482 in the Direction, although the TSS visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa on 7 December 2024.
Ministerial Direction 122 — Provisional & Permanent Skilled Visas
Ministerial Direction 122 establishes processing priorities for certain provisional and permanent skilled visas.
The current priority order is:
Priority 1 — Key sectors and government interests
Applications relating to:
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Construction
-
Healthcare
-
Teaching
-
Agriculture
-
Aquaculture
-
Fishing
-
Resources
-
Australia's law enforcement and defence interests
receive the highest processing priority.
Priority 2 — Applicants already in Australia
Applications where the applicant was in Australia when they lodged the application are next.
Priority 3 — Certain offshore applicants
Applications where the primary applicant was outside Australia when the application was lodged and whose application is not combined with another person's application are then considered.
Priority 4 — Other applications
All other applications covered by the Direction are processed after these priority groups.
Visa subclasses covered by Direction 122
The Department lists the following visa subclasses under Ministerial Direction 122:
Priority 1 — Key sectors and government interests
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Employer Nomination Scheme — subclass 186
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Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme — subclass 187
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Skilled Independent — subclass 189
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Skilled Nominated — subclass 190
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Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) — subclass 191
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Skilled Regional (Provisional) — subclass 489
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Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) — subclass 491
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Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) — subclass 494
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Skilled Regional — subclass 887
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Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) — subclass 888
What does this mean for applicants?
The most important point is that processing priority is not the same as visa eligibility.
Being in a priority occupation or sector does not automatically mean that an applicant qualifies for the visa.
Applicants still need to meet the normal requirements of the relevant visa subclass, including applicable requirements relating to:
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Occupation
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Skills and qualifications
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English language
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Sponsorship or nomination, where required
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Health
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Character
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Supporting documentation
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Other visa-specific requirements
The Department also states that processing times can vary and that applications are not necessarily processed strictly in the order they were received.
Important
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Processing priority does not guarantee visa approval or a specific processing time.
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A complete application with the required supporting documents can help avoid delays.
Official Australian source
Australian Department of Home Affairs — Skilled visa processing priorities