Ministerial Direction 119: What The New Skilled Visa Processing Priorities Mean For Employers

On 25 July 2026, the Department of Home Affairs replaced Ministerial Direction 105 with Ministerial Direction 119. The new direction changes the order in which skilled nomination and visa applications are processed, and for the first time it brings the Skills in Demand visa into the priority framework. If your business sponsors overseas workers, this changes how you should think about processing times and where your applications sit in the queue.

What is Ministerial Direction 119?

Ministerial Direction 119 is a formal instruction from the Home Affairs Minister that tells the Department how to order its work on skilled nomination and visa applications. It replaces Ministerial Direction 105 in full and applies to every on hand application, not just new ones lodged from 25 July 2026 onward. If your business has nominations or visa applications already sitting with the Department, they are now assessed against this new order.

What determines priority under Ministerial Direction 119?

Two factors now decide where an application sits in the queue: the occupation nominated, and whether the applicant was in or outside Australia at the time of application. Occupations tied to law enforcement and defence sit at the top, followed by construction, healthcare and teaching. Applicants already in Australia are processed ahead of those applying from offshore.

What is the new priority order?

1. Priority 1: Law enforcement or defence occupations, applicant in Australia.
2. Priority 2: Law enforcement or defence occupations, applicant outside Australia.
3. Priority 3: Construction, healthcare or teaching occupations, applicant in Australia.
4. Priority 4: All other occupations, applicant in Australia.
5. Priority 5: All other occupations, applicant outside Australia.

Priority processing is not a guarantee of a faster outcome, and it does not change the criteria an applicant must still meet. It only affects the order in which the Department picks up applications for assessment.

How does this differ from Ministerial Direction 105?

The shift is significant, and worth understanding if your sponsorship strategy was built around the old settings. Ministerial Direction 105 prioritised employer-sponsored visas for regional areas first, then healthcare and teaching occupations, then applications from accredited sponsors, ahead of all other permanent and provisional visas. Regional location and accredited sponsor status no longer carry that weight. Under Ministerial Direction 119, the two factors that matter are occupation category and whether the applicant is onshore or offshore. A business with accredited sponsorship status or a regional presence, whose nominated occupation falls outside law enforcement, defence, construction, healthcare or teaching, will now sit in Priority 4 or 5 rather than benefiting from the higher standing it may have held under the previous direction.

Is the Skills in Demand visa affected?

Yes, and this is the change with the broadest reach for employers. The Skills in Demand visa was not covered by Ministerial Direction 105 at all. It now falls squarely within Ministerial Direction 119, which means occupation and applicant location will influence processing order for Skills in Demand nominations and visa applications going forward.

Which visas does Ministerial Direction 119 cover?

The direction applies to the following visa classes and subclasses:

• 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
• Skills in Demand visa
• Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa (closed legacy applications only)
• 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

Two related directions took effect on the same day or shortly before it and cover other visa categories: Ministerial Direction 120 (25 July 2026) covers the National Innovation visa and legacy Distinguished Talent and Global Talent applications, and Ministerial Direction 114 (12 February 2025) covers the closed Business Innovation and Investment (subclass 188) and Business Talent (Permanent) (subclass 132) programs.

What should employers do now?

• Check the ANZSCO classification of every occupation you sponsor against the law enforcement, defence, construction, healthcare and teaching categories. This determines your priority band under the new direction.
• Review any nominations or visa applications already lodged and on hand with the Department. These have been reprioritised under Ministerial Direction 119, and applicants who benefited from regional or accredited sponsor status under the old direction may now sit further back in the queue.
• Factor applicant location into recruitment planning. Onshore candidates now carry a processing advantage over offshore candidates in the same occupation category, across all Skilled visa programs including the Skills in Demand visa.
• Set realistic expectations with candidates and hiring managers. Priority order affects queue position, not visa outcome, and standard eligibility requirements still apply in full.

The change in priority settings is a reminder that skilled visa processing policy can shift quickly, and that a sponsorship strategy built around one direction’s settings needs revisiting when a new one takes effect. If you want to understand how Ministerial Direction 119 affects your current nominations or your recruitment pipeline, get in touch with our team.