Ministerial Direction 119 Split in Two: New Directions 121 and 122 Now Govern Skilled Visa Processing Priorities in Australia

Australia's Department of Home Affairs has replaced Ministerial Direction 119 with two new instruments — Ministerial Direction 121 and Ministerial Direction 122 — both signed by Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke on 18 September 2026 and effective from 19 September 2026. Where MD119 governed processing priority across the skilled program as a single instrument, the Department's own guidance confirms that MD121 and MD122 together now replace all of MD119's processing priorities — effectively splitting temporary skilled visa processing from provisional and permanent skilled visa processing into two separate directions.

Direction 121: Temporary Skilled Visas

MD121 applies to delegates assessing the Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa and the now-repealed Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa (replaced by Skills in Demand on 7 December 2024, and retained here for legacy applications).

Processing follows a five-tier order of priority:

1. Primary-applicant applications in Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, or Resources sector occupations, or occupations tied to Australia's law enforcement or defense interests

2. Applications in the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa

3. All other primary-applicant applications where the applicant was in Australia when they applied

4. Primary-applicant applications where the applicant was outside Australia when they applied, and the application was not combined with anyone else's

5. All other visa applications

A delegate may depart from this order where compelling circumstances apply — specifically, community safety, the continuity of essential religious, cultural, or community services in Australia, or Australia's international relations.

Direction 122: Provisional and Permanent Skilled Visas

MD122 covers ten visa subclasses: Employer Nomination (186), Regional Employer Nomination (187), Skilled Independent (189), Skilled Nominated (190), Permanent Residence Skilled Regional (191), Skilled-Regional Sponsored Provisional (489), Skilled Work Regional Provisional (491), Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional Provisional (494), Skilled Residence (887), and Business Skills Permanent (888).

Processing follows a four-tier order — one fewer tier than MD121, because there is no equivalent "Specialist Skills stream" concept in the permanent/provisional program:

1. Primary-applicant applications in the same priority sectors and interests listed under MD121 (Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing, Resources, law enforcement, defense)

2. All other primary-applicant applications where the applicant was in Australia when they applied

3. Primary-applicant applications where the applicant was outside Australia when they applied, not combined with another application

4. All other visa applications

MD122's compelling-circumstances exception is narrower than MD121's: it covers community safety and continuity of essential religious, cultural, or community services, but — unlike MD121 — it does not list Australia's international relations as a valid ground for departing from the standard order. MD122 also contains a provision not found in MD121: where a visa class is subject to a section 85 cap (a numerical limit the Minister sets by legislative instrument for a given financial year), applications are still processed in the order set out above, unless the compelling-circumstances exception applies. This reflects the fact that several permanent visa subclasses are numerically capped in a way temporary visas are not.

The Priority Sectors, in Detail

Both Directions define the priority sectors identically. This is the reference table applicants and sponsors will actually use to check whether a given occupation qualifies for top-tier processing:

Both Directions state explicitly that they do not change the composition of the skilled occupation lists themselves — an occupation being in a priority category affects queue position, not underlying visa eligibility; applicants must still separately satisfy all requirements under the Migration Act and Regulations.

What This Means in Practice

• If your occupation sits in one of the seven priority categories above, your Skilled visa application — temporary or permanent — is now processed ahead of the general queue, though this does not shortcut eligibility requirements.

• If you're applying for a Skills in Demand visa in the Specialist Skills stream, you sit in the second priority tier under MD121, ahead of all general applications, even outside the seven listed sectors.

• If you already hold an application lodged under the old MD119 framework, both Directions confirm they apply to applications made but not yet finally determined before commencement, as well as to new applications made on or after 19 September 2026 — so pending applications are automatically carried into the new priority order.

• Two other Directions remain separately in force and are unaffected by this change: MD114 (covering the closed Business Innovation and Investment Subclass 188 and closed Business Talent Subclass 132 visas), effective 12 February 2025, and MD120 (covering Class BX Subclass 858 visas, including the National Innovation visa), effective 25 July 2026.

Where This Fits in the Bigger Picture

This is the formal regulatory follow-through on the update to Ministerial Direction 119 that Minister Burke flagged in his 17 September 2026 National Press Club address and the accompanying official reform announcement — where the government said it would expand MD119's sector-priority coverage as part of its broader migration reform package. Two days later, that update arrived not as a single amended direction but as two new, separately structured instruments.

This article is based on information procured from official sources and public portals. It is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Kindly consult the relevant public authority or an immigration advisor at the Legit Migrant for guidance specific to your circumstances.