Part 1 of our Direction 119 series
If you have a nomination or a skilled visa application waiting on the Department of Home Affairs, the rules about which file gets looked at first changed on 25 July 2026. The change is called Ministerial Direction 119. This piece covers the fundamentals - what it is, what it actually changes, and what it leaves alone. We've kept the detail on occupations, visas covered, and practical traps for separate pieces, so this one stays focused on the mechanics.
What is Ministerial Direction 119?
Direction 119 is an instrument issued by the Minister for Home Affairs under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958. Section 499 lets the Minister give binding written directions to anyone exercising a power or performing a function under the Act - in practice, that means it tells Departmental delegates the order in which to work through a stack of applications. It does not touch the criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 that decide whether a visa is actually granted.
The Direction is short and procedural, but its effect is immediate. It applies to every application already on hand that had not been finally decided as at 25 July 2026, as well as everything lodged since. There was no grandfathering and no transition period. If your nomination was already in the system on 24 July, it woke up in a different queue position on 25 July.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Instrument | Ministerial Direction 119 |
| Legal basis | Section 499 of the Migration Act 1958 |
| Signed by | Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship |
| Date signed | 24 July 2026 |
| Commenced | 25 July 2026 |
| Replaces | Direction 105 (14 December 2023) |
| Applies to | On-hand and new nomination/visa applications for the listed subclasses - no grandfathering |
| Companion instrument | Direction 120 - covers Class BX (subclass 858) visas including the National Innovation Visa, also effective 25 July 2026 |
What changed from Direction 105
Two things stand out. First, the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa is now inside the framework. Under Direction 105, most 482 applications were processed in the order they were received, without this kind of occupation-and-location sorting. That is no longer the case, and it is the single biggest practical shift for the sponsored work visa program, given how much of Australia's employer sponsorship pipeline runs through the 482.
Second, the occupation categories given priority have shifted. Direction 105 leaned more heavily on regional and specific shortage-list settings. Direction 119 is built around law enforcement, Defence, healthcare, teaching and construction - a fairly direct reflection of where the government says it wants labour market pressure relieved first. Housing and construction get an explicit mention in the Direction's own preamble, which tells you plenty about the policy thinking behind it.
The five priority tiers
The Direction sets out five tiers, from highest to lowest priority. The same structure applies twice - once for nomination applications (the employer-side lodgement) and once for the visa application itself (the applicant-side lodgement) - so a case generally needs to clear the same hurdle twice.
| Tier | Applicant location | Occupation category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | In Australia | Law enforcement or Defence interest occupation |
| 2 | Outside Australia | Law enforcement or Defence interest occupation |
| 3 | In Australia | Healthcare, teaching or construction occupation |
| 4 | In Australia | Any other occupation |
| 5 (lowest) | Outside Australia | Any other occupation |
Being onshore at the time of lodgement beats being offshore in every matched comparison. An onshore applicant in an occupation that qualifies for no special category at all (tier 4) still outranks an offshore applicant in that same generic occupation (tier 5).
What Direction 119 does not do
- It does not change occupation lists. If your role was not on the relevant list before 25 July, this Direction does not put it there.
- It does not change visa criteria. Every requirement in the Regulations still applies in full.
- It does not guarantee a faster grant, and a high priority tier does not mean automatic approval. A tier 1 application that fails to meet the criteria is still refused. A tier 5 application that meets every requirement is still granted - it simply waits longer in the queue to be looked at.
- It does not apply to everything. The Direction expressly carves out matters remitted by the AAT or ART for reconsideration, matters where the Tribunal has already substituted its own decision, applications where it is “readily apparent” the criteria won't be met, family unit applications made separately from the primary applicant, and nomination applications relating to a change of employer.
- Update: At a National Press Club address on 17 September 2026, Minister Burke announced that Direction 119 will be changed again, extending processing priority to agriculture and fisheries occupations alongside the existing construction, healthcare and teaching categories. This follows business backlash over how severely the July changes blew out offshore processing times. The amendment has not yet been formally issued - see the section below for what's confirmed so far.
Zooming out
Direction 119 is a resourcing tool, not a policy change to who Australia lets in. The government says as much in the Direction's own preamble - the composition of the skilled occupation lists hasn't moved at all. What's changed is where the Department points its limited processing capacity first.
That calibration is already moving. On 17 September 2026 - less than two months after Direction 119 took effect - Minister Burke used a National Press Club address to announce it will be amended again, extending processing priority to agriculture and fisheries occupations. The government's stated reason is business backlash over how severely the July settings blew out offshore processing times, in some cases from a few days to more than a year. None of that is law yet - it was announced in a speech, not issued as a signed instrument, so exact wording, occupation definitions and a commencement date are still to come. We'll update this piece once the amendment is formally issued.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ministerial Direction 119?
It is a legal instrument issued under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958, directing Department of Home Affairs delegates on the order in which to consider and dispose of nomination and visa applications for a defined list of skilled visa subclasses. It commenced on 25 July 2026.
Does Direction 119 change who is eligible for a skilled visa?
No. It only changes the order applications are processed in. All existing eligibility criteria under the Regulations remain in force unchanged.
What happened to Direction 105?
It was revoked when Direction 119 commenced on 25 July 2026, after being in force since December 2023.
Does Direction 119 affect the National Innovation Visa (subclass 858)?
No. The 858 visa and related Class BX visas fall under the separate Direction 120, which took effect on the same date but sets its own priority framework.
Sources
- Ministerial Direction 119, Department of Home Affairs (official PDF)
- Skilled visa processing priorities, Department of Home Affairs
- Migration Act 1958, section 499
- "Labor tightens visa rules as Tony Burke vows migration targets will be met," ABC News, 17 September 2026
This article reflects our understanding of Ministerial Direction 119 as at the date of publication. Ministerial Directions can be amended or replaced, and this article is general information, not legal advice for your specific circumstances. Contact us directly for advice on your matter.