No longer appliesMinisterial Direction 119 was revoked on 19 September 2026. This page is kept as a record of what it said. The current order is set by Ministerial Directions 121 and 122.
Read the current DirectionsLegislation · Ministerial Direction · Archived
Ministerial Direction 119: who got processed first
For eight weeks in 2026 this direction set the order in which skilled nominations and visa applications were considered. It did not change who was eligible. It changed whose file reached the top of the pile. It has since been revoked.
MD0
the direction that ordered Australia’s skilled visa processing from 25 July to 18 September 2026
In force
25 July 2026 to 18 September 2026
Revoked
19 September 2026, by Ministerial Direction 121, section 3
Replaced by
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122
17
skilled visa products were in scope: 12 visa classes and 5 nomination subclasses
2
questions decided every file’s place in the queue: where the applicant was, and what the occupation was
( The order of consideration, as it was )
Five tiers, two questions
The Direction sorted every covered application with two facts: where the applicant was when the application was made, and whether the occupation fell into a named group. The same order applied to employer nominations and to the visa applications themselves, and, where a visa cap applied, to places within the cap.
This order no longer applies. From 19 September 2026 the order is set by Ministerial Directions 121 and 122.
Where did an application sit while Ministerial Direction 119 was in force? Answer its two questions.
Select one option from each question; the matching tier lights up below.
- HighestPriority 1 of 5.
In Australia · law enforcement or defence occupation
The applicant (or nominee) is in Australia when the application is made, in an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests.
- Priority 2Priority 2 of 5.
Outside Australia · law enforcement or defence occupation
The same occupations, where the applicant or nominee is outside Australia at the time of application.
- Priority 3Priority 3 of 5.
In Australia · healthcare, teaching or construction occupation
Onshore applicants and nominees in a healthcare, teaching or construction occupation as defined in the Direction.
- Priority 4Priority 4 of 5.
In Australia · every other application
All other applications where the applicant or nominee is in Australia.
- LowestPriority 5 of 5.
Outside Australia · every other application
All other applications where the applicant or nominee is outside Australia, including healthcare, teaching and construction occupations lodged from offshore.
What was worth noticing: the healthcare, teaching and construction tier only applied to applicants who were in Australia. The same occupation lodged from offshore fell to the lowest tier, (e). Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 removed that line inside the priority sectors.
( Definitions that decided the tier )
What counted as a priority occupation
The groups were defined by ANZSCO codes, and two of them carried a sponsorship condition: being in a police or defence occupation was not enough on its own.
4
ANZSCO groups and codes defined this tier’s “defence interests”. Close enough was not in the list.
AUKUS Pillar I (conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines) or Pillar II (advanced capability development) occupations; the listed occupations require nomination or sponsorship by the ADF or the Department of Defence.
- Unit Group 4411 – Defence Force Members, Other Ranks
- 111212 – Defence Force Senior Officer
- 139111 – Commissioned Defence Force Officer
- 139211 – Senior Non-Commissioned Defence Force Member
( Scope )
Which applications it reached
Employer nominations for five subclasses, applications across twelve skilled visa classes, including files already lodged and waiting when the Direction commenced.
5
nomination subclasses
(Schedule A)
12
visa classes
(Schedule B)
Nominations (Schedule A)
- Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme)
- Subclass 187 (Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme)
- Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand)
- Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage)
- Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional)
Visa applications (Schedule B)
- Subclass 186
- Subclass 187
- Subclass 189
- Subclass 190
- Subclass 191
- Subclass 482 (SID)
- Subclass 482 (TSS)
- Subclass 489
- Subclass 491
- Subclass 494
- Subclass 888
- Subclass 887
Where the Direction did not apply
- Applications remitted by the AAT or ART for reconsideration, or where the tribunal has substituted a new decision
- Applications where it is readily apparent the criteria would not be satisfied
- Family-unit applicants who did not combine their application with the primary applicant
- Nomination applications for a change of employer
- The ART itself
Secondary applicants who combined their application with the primary applicant took the primary applicant’s priority.
( Against Ministerial Direction 105 )
What moved when it commenced
Ministerial Direction 105 had ordered skilled processing since December 2023. Four shifts defined its replacement.
Top of the order
MD 105Healthcare and teaching occupations
MD 119Law enforcement and defence: police, ADF/Defence and AUKUS-related roles
Named priority sectors
MD 105Healthcare · Teaching
MD 119Healthcare · Teaching · Construction
The onshore line
MD 105Location was not the organising axis
MD 119In-Australia applicants ranked ahead at every level
Regional and accredited-sponsor priority
MD 105Held named places in the processing order
MD 119No named tier; ranked by location and occupation like everything else
And then what moved again
Eight weeks later, Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 replaced it: seven priority sectors first wherever the applicant is, the temporary program in its own instrument, and nominations no longer covered. The comparison is drawn on the current page.
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122: who gets processed first →
( Where this connects )
Source: Ministerial Direction 119, revoked and replaced by Ministerial Directions 121 and 122. The current directions.
General information only, current at 7 October 2026. Not immigration assistance. Source: Ministerial Direction 119. Eligibility depends on your circumstances and on the law as it stands on the day you apply.
Shoreline Migration · Registered Migration Agent · MARN 2619597
Wondering where your matter sits under the current order?
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 set the queue today; your eligibility is decided by the criteria that apply to your occupation and circumstances. Working out both, properly, is an assessment.