Data source: Department of Home Affairs, skilled visa processing priorities page, and the StudyVisaHub policy timeline, source document dated 2026-09-18. This is data reporting only, not migration advice.
Home Affairs states that Ministerial Direction 121 and Ministerial Direction 122 came into effect on 19 September 2026. Together they replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.
These are skilled visa directions. They do not set the processing order for student visas. The Home Affairs student visa priorities page, last updated 10 November 2025, names Direction 115 for offshore Subclass 500 applications lodged on or after 14 November 2025. It does not mention Directions 119, 121 or 122.
Direction 121: temporary skilled visas
Direction 121 covers the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa. The page also lists the Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa, which it says was replaced by Skills in Demand on 7 December 2024. The processing order is:
- Construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors, or Australia's law enforcement and defence interests.
- The Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa.
- Applicants who were in Australia when they lodged.
- Applicants whose primary applicant was outside Australia at lodgement and whose application is never combined with another person's application.
- All other applications.
Direction 122: provisional and permanent skilled visas
Direction 122 covers subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. It has four steps. The first is the same priority sectors and interests as Direction 121. The next three are applicants in Australia at lodgement, then offshore applicants whose applications are never combined, then all others.
What changed from Direction 119
The StudyVisaHub policy timeline records Direction 119 from its own text. The Direction 119 text sets five tiers for nominations and visa applications. The signing date is not stated in the text read for this check:
- Law enforcement or defence occupations, onshore.
- The same occupations, offshore.
- Healthcare, teaching or construction, onshore.
- Other occupations, onshore.
- Other occupations, offshore.
Under Directions 121 and 122, healthcare, teaching and construction sit in the first step alongside law enforcement and defence. Agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources are also listed in that first step. The Home Affairs page does not list those three sectors or the Direction 119 subclasses, so the sector comparison rests on the Direction 119 text held in the StudyVisaHub timeline.
Home Affairs also lists Direction 120, in effect from 25 July 2026, for subclass 858 applications, and Direction 114, in effect from 12 February 2025, for subclasses 188 and 132.
What this does not tell you
A Direction sets processing order, not a cap. This article does not report processing times, grant rates or how many applications sit in each step. The Home Affairs page describes no exemptions beyond the "never combined" wording.
Individual circumstances vary. This article is general information, not migration or legal advice. For guidance on a specific application, consult a MARA registered migration agent.
Pro tracks every Ministerial Direction in one dated policy timeline, including superseded ones.
Sources
- Department of Home Affairs, Skilled visa processing priorities: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times/visa-processing-priorities/skilled-visa
- Department of Home Affairs, Student visa processing priorities: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times/visa-processing-priorities/student-visa
- Department of Home Affairs, Ministerial Direction 119 (PDF): https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/Visa-subsite/files/md-119.pdf
- Secondary source, used for cross-checking only: AHC Lawyers, 24 September 2026: https://www.ahclawyers.com/news-articles/26/09/24/how-ministerial-direction-122-differ-from-ministerial-direction-119
- StudyVisaHub policy timeline (admin_policy_timeline), accessed 2026-10-13.
StudyVisaHub is not a registered migration agent and does not provide immigration assistance. This article reports published Australian Government information and is general information only.