Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 Explained
If you lodged a subclass 482, 186, 190, 191, 491 or 494 visa application before 19 September 2026, your place in the queue may have moved. Nothing changed on your file. What changed is the order the Department of Home Affairs has been told to work through the pile.
On 18 September 2026 the Minister for Home Affairs signed two new directions under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958. Both commenced on 19 September 2026. Together they replace Ministerial Direction 119, which had governed skilled visa processing priorities since it was made.
We are Nationwide Migration and Education, a Brisbane migration agency. This article explains what the two directions say, how they differ from the old one, and what it means for you depending on where you sit.
The short version
Two directions instead of one. Ministerial Direction 121 covers the subclass 482 only. Ministerial Direction 122 covers ten other skilled visas.
One top tier, nine sectors. Construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources, law enforcement and defence occupations are processed first.
Onshore or offshore no longer matters at the top. If your occupation is in a priority sector, you are at the front whether you applied from inside or outside Australia.
A new second tier for the 482 Specialist Skills stream.
It applies to applications already lodged and not yet decided.
Nominations are not covered. The directions order visa applications only.
Why there are now two directions
Direction 119 grouped eleven visa subclasses together, including the 482, and covered both nomination applications and visa applications. The new arrangement splits that in two:
Direction | What it covers |
|---|---|
Ministerial Direction 121 | Subclass 482 visa applications: Skills in Demand, and the older Temporary Skill Shortage applications still in the system |
Ministerial Direction 122 | Subclass 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888 visa applications |
Both directions were signed on 18 September 2026 and commenced on 19 September 2026. Both revoke Direction 119 for their respective visas.
The new processing order for the 482 (Direction 121)
Direction 121 sets five priority groups. The Department is directed to consider and finalise applications in this order:
1. Priority sector occupations. A primary applicant whose occupation is in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or the resources sector, or in an occupation related to Australia's law enforcement or defence interests, as those terms are defined in the direction. This tier applies regardless of whether the applicant was in or outside Australia when the application was made.
2. Specialist Skills stream. Skills in Demand visa applications where the applicant is seeking to meet the criteria for the Specialist Skills stream.
3. All other onshore applications. Primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
4. All other offshore applications that are not combined. Primary applicants who were outside Australia when they applied and whose application is not combined with anyone else's.
5. All remaining applications.
A family member's application that is combined with the primary applicant's, in a way the Regulations permit, takes the same priority as the primary applicant.
The new processing order for the other skilled visas (Direction 122)
Direction 122 sets four groups. The order is the same as Direction 121 minus the Specialist Skills tier, because that stream only exists in the 482:
1. Priority sector occupations, again regardless of onshore or offshore.
2. All other onshore applications.
3. All other offshore applications that are not combined.
4. All remaining applications.
Where a visa is subject to a cap under section 85 of the Act, Direction 122 says the same order applies within the cap unless the exceptions provision is triggered.
What changed from Direction 119
This is where the real movement is.
1. Onshore and offshore are no longer split at the top
Under Direction 119, priority occupations were divided into an onshore tier and a separate offshore tier below it. Under Directions 121 and 122 there is one top tier. An offshore construction worker and an onshore construction worker now sit at the same level.
If you are offshore in a priority sector, you have moved up. If you are onshore in a priority sector, you now share the top tier with offshore applicants who used to sit behind you.
2. Four new priority sectors
Direction 119 prioritised healthcare, teaching and construction, and placed them below law enforcement and defence. The new directions add agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and the resources sector, and merge all nine into a single top group.
3. A dedicated tier for the 482 Specialist Skills stream
Direction 119 had no separate tier for the Specialist Skills stream. Direction 121 puts it second, ahead of every non-priority-sector application. If you applied in the Specialist Skills stream and your occupation is not in a priority sector, you have moved up.
4. A compelling circumstances exception
Both new directions include something Direction 119 did not have. A delegate must depart from the standard order for a particular application where satisfied it involves compelling circumstances, such as those affecting community safety or the continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services in Australia. Direction 121 also includes Australia's international relations. This is narrow and case-specific. It is not a general "urgent" lane.
5. Nominations are out of scope
Direction 119 covered nomination applications as well as visa applications. Directions 121 and 122 cover visa applications only. Employers should not assume a nomination in a priority sector is now being processed ahead of others on the strength of these directions.
Where you sit | Under Direction 119 | Under Directions 121 and 122 | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
Onshore, priority sector (healthcare, teaching, construction) | Tier below law enforcement/defence, onshore | Top tier | Up |
Offshore, priority sector | Separate lower offshore tier | Top tier | Up |
Onshore or offshore, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, resources | No priority | Top tier | Up |
482 Specialist Skills stream, non-priority occupation | No priority | Tier 2 | Up |
Onshore, other occupation | Behind onshore priority applicants | Behind all priority sectors and Specialist Skills | Down relative to the larger group now ahead |
Offshore, other occupation, not combined | Behind onshore applicants | Behind onshore applicants | Same position, larger group ahead |
Combined family applications | Priority of the primary applicant | Priority of the primary applicant | Same |
"Down" here means more applications are now ahead of you, not that your application has been deprioritised in any active sense.
It applies to applications already in the queue
Both directions apply to applications lodged before 19 September 2026 that had not been finally determined by that date, as well as to new applications. Applications already on hand have been re-ordered under the new priorities rather than continuing under the arrangement that applied when they were lodged.
There is no need to lodge anything, and no way to "opt out" of the reorder. Your application simply sits where the new direction puts it.
What the directions do not apply to
Both directions exclude:
applications remitted by the Administrative Review Tribunal (or, for Direction 122, the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal) for reconsideration
applications where the Tribunal has set aside a decision and substituted a new one
applications where it is readily apparent the visa criteria would not be met
applications by a family member that were not combined with the primary applicant's, where the primary applicant was in Australia when they applied
the Tribunal itself
Three things to be careful about
Priority is not a processing-time promise. Being in the top tier means your application is considered before those in lower tiers within the same caseload. It does not promise a decision in a particular number of weeks or months. Anyone quoting you a timeframe on the strength of these directions is guessing.
Sector membership is defined, not assumed. Whether a specific occupation falls within "construction" or "healthcare" or "the resources sector" depends on how the direction defines those terms and how your nominated occupation and ANZSCO code line up with that definition. Two people with similar job titles can land in different tiers. This is checked per application, not per job title.
The directions do not change eligibility. They change the order. If your application has a problem with the criteria, moving to the front of the queue means that problem is looked at sooner.
What to do now
482 or skilled visa lodged and waiting? We can tell you which tier you now sit in under Direction 121 or 122, and whether anything about your application changes what a case officer sees first.
Not yet lodged? If you are choosing between streams or between onshore and offshore lodgement, the new order is one factor in that decision. Not the only one, but a real one.
Employer with workers in the pipeline? The directions affect your workers' visa applications, not your nominations. We can map where each of your applications now sits.
Bring us three things
1. Your visa application acknowledgement letter (the one with the lodgement date and subclass)
2. Your nominated occupation and, for a 482, the stream you applied under
3. Whether you were in or outside Australia on the day you lodged
We are a Brisbane-based team of registered migration agents. We handle straightforward matters and the complex ones: refusals, cancellations, tribunal reviews, health and character issues. Book a consultation at nationwidemigration.com.au/services or call us in Brisbane on +61 7 3726 5183.
Disclaimer
General information only, current as at 24 September 2026. Not migration advice for your specific circumstances. Read Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 in full, or ask us to.
