Ministerial Direction 123: What Changes for Visa Character Decisions from 31 October 2026

By Ruobing Yang, Legal Practitioner Director, ALC Lawyers ILP Pty Ltd (LPN 5511418). Last reviewed: 26 September 2026.

Quick answer

Ministerial Direction 123 is reported to be the new rulebook the Department of Home Affairs and the Administrative Review Tribunal will use when deciding whether to refuse, cancel or restore a visa on character grounds under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. It was signed by the Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, on 18 September 2026, and is due to take effect on 31 October 2026, when it revokes and replaces Direction 110 - those dates come from the Minister's own signing announcement. What is not yet confirmed against a primary text: reporting indicates the number of "primary considerations" drops from five to four, with a person's ties to Australia demoted to a secondary factor, and the threshold for some character grounds reportedly lowered from a risk someone "would" reoffend to a risk they "might". At the time of writing, Home Affairs has not yet published the full text of Direction 123 on its own website. The detail below is drawn from the Minister's announcement, a legislation update issued by the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) on 22 September 2026 that cites specific clause numbers, and other migration law commentary. I have flagged clearly wherever a point rests on this secondary material rather than a primary text I have read myself, and I will update this piece, with a direct citation to the primary document, once Home Affairs publishes it.

What is Ministerial Direction 123?

Section 499 of the Migration Act 1958 lets the Minister issue written directions to decision-makers - Home Affairs delegates and, on review, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) - about how they are to exercise certain powers. A direction does not change the law itself. Section 501, the character test, stays exactly as Parliament wrote it. What a direction like this one does is tell decision-makers how to weigh the factors that section 501 leaves to their discretion: which considerations matter most, how much weight to give a person's criminal history against their family ties, and so on.

Direction 123 is the latest in a long line of these instruments going back through Direction 110, Direction 99, and further still. Each new direction has tended to recalibrate the balance between protecting the community and recognising an individual's connection to Australia. Based on what has been reported so far, Direction 123 shifts that balance further towards the former.

When does Direction 123 start, and what does it replace?

Direction 123 was signed on 18 September 2026 by Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. It commences on 31 October 2026, at which point it revokes Direction 110 (which had itself been in force since 21 June 2024, having replaced Direction 99).

It applies whenever a decision-maker is considering:

• refusing a visa application on character grounds;
• cancelling a visa on character grounds; or
• whether to revoke a mandatory cancellation made under section 501(3A), following a request under section 501CA.

It has no bearing on visa eligibility criteria, fees, or processing priorities - those are separate matters. If your circumstances do not touch on character issues under section 501, this direction is unlikely to affect you at all.

What are the four primary considerations under Direction 123?

Under Direction 110, decision-makers weigh five primary considerations. Reporting on Direction 123 indicates that number drops to four:

• protection of the Australian community from criminal or other serious conduct;
• whether the conduct involved was domestic or family violence;
• the expectations of the Australian community; and
• the best interests of minor children in Australia, including child victims.

The fifth primary consideration under Direction 110 - the strength, nature and duration of a person's ties to Australia - is reported to move into the "other considerations" category under Direction 123, alongside legal consequences of the decision and the difficulties a person would face if removed (sections 8 and 9.1, according to the MIA's summary). It still gets taken into account. It simply carries less weight against the four factors above, particularly where there is a serious criminal history to weigh against it.

Does Direction 123 lower the bar for refusing or cancelling a visa?

On some grounds, reportedly yes. Direction 110 asks decision-makers to consider whether there is a risk a person "would" or "will" engage in certain future conduct. According to the MIA's summary, Direction 123 changes this to whether there is a risk a person "might" engage in it - placed at Annex A, sections 7 and 7.1 to 7.3. If that reporting is accurate, it is a meaningfully lower threshold, and it is worth understanding if you or a client have a matter that turns on future risk rather than past conduct.

This tracks a broader trend already visible in the current Act itself. Section 501(6)(d) of the Migration Act 1958 already reads "might", not "would" - confirmed directly from the current consolidated text - and section 501(6)(baa) already exists as a distinct character ground, covering association with a terrorist organisation, a state sponsor of terrorism or a prohibited hate group, hate crime conduct, and hateful public statements. Direction 123 is reported to add Annex A guidance on how decision-makers should apply that ground - it does not create the ground itself, which is already part of the Act.

What else is changing?

Beyond the headline points, several other adjustments are reported, and the clause references below follow the Migration Institute of Australia's 22 September 2026 legislation update:

• the definition of domestic and family violence widens considerably (section 4(1)), to include image-based abuse, stalking, and breaching court orders, and to cover a broader range of relationships including caregiving arrangements and cultural family groups;
• the impact of a decision on Australian business interests - previously a relevant "other consideration" - is removed altogether (section 9);
• a sentence-weighting carve-out is removed, so the sentence imposed becomes relevant across all offence types, rather than being excluded for certain serious categories as under Direction 110 (section 8.1.1(1)(c));
• earlier commentary also describes the consideration relating to children being split into separate strands covering current and future risk of abuse or neglect, and current and future risk of exposure to domestic or family violence, with economic and psychological abuse specifically included; and
• references to the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal are replaced with the Administrative Review Tribunal, and provisions tied to the now-repealed Bridging R (Class WR) visa exception are removed.

A note on how confident we are in each of these: the MIA is the peak professional body for registered migration agents in Australia, and its update cites specific clause numbers, which gives it more weight than a general commentary piece. But it is still the Institute's summary of the instrument, not the instrument itself, and I have not yet read the full text of Direction 123 as published by Home Affairs. I would treat everything in this section as well-corroborated rather than primary-source-confirmed, until the Department publishes the direction and I can check it directly.

A side-by-side comparison

What should you do if a character issue affects you?

A few practical points, regardless of exactly which direction ends up applying to your matter:

• answer every character-related question on a visa application completely and honestly - a false answer can itself create a character problem, separate from whatever conduct is in issue;
• if you receive a notice of intention to consider refusal or cancellation, treat the deadline in that letter as immovable and get advice early, not on the last day;
• if a visa has been cancelled automatically under section 501(3A), the time limit to request revocation under section 501CA is short and the Tribunal generally cannot extend it - do not sit on this;
• address each primary consideration specifically in your response, with evidence, rather than relying on a general narrative; and
• if your matter straddles the 31 October 2026 commencement date, ask specifically which direction will apply to the decision in your case - this is not always obvious and can materially change the analysis.

If your case is already in train, it is worth checking in with us now rather than waiting for the new direction to formally commence. The transitional position - which direction applies to a decision made close to, or straddling, the 31 October 2026 changeover - is exactly the kind of detail that tends to matter a great deal in practice and very little in the press coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ministerial Direction 123 a new visa?

No. It is not a visa and cannot be applied for. It is a set of instructions to decision-makers about how to apply the existing character test in section 501 of the Migration Act 1958.

When does Direction 123 start?

31 October 2026, when it revokes Direction 110. It was signed on 18 September 2026.

Does Direction 123 apply to me?

Only if a visa application or an existing visa is being considered on character grounds under section 501, or a mandatory cancellation is being reviewed under section 501CA. It has no effect on general visa eligibility criteria.

Do my ties to Australia still matter?

Yes, but reportedly with less weight. Under Direction 123, ties to Australia move from a primary consideration to an "other consideration", sitting alongside factors such as the difficulties a person would face if removed.

Has the Department of Home Affairs published the full text of Direction 123?

Not as at 26 September 2026. This article is based on the Minister's signing announcement, a Migration Institute of Australia legislation update dated 22 September 2026, and other secondary commentary, all clearly flagged as such throughout. We will update this article, with a direct citation to the primary document, once Home Affairs publishes it - expect that closer to the 31 October 2026 commencement date.

A note on sources

In keeping with how we approach anything with legal consequences, here is exactly where the information in this article comes from, and where it stops:

• the Migration Act 1958, section 499 and section 501, sighted directly on the Federal Register of Legislation and AustLII;
• Ministerial Direction 110, sighted directly at the Home Affairs link below, which remains the current, legally operative direction as at the date of this article;
• section 501(6) of the Migration Act 1958, sighted directly on AustLII in its current, in-force form - confirming that paragraph (baa) and the "might" wording in paragraph (d) are already part of the Act;
• a Migration Institute of Australia legislation update on Direction 123, dated 22 September 2026, which cites specific clause numbers within the Direction - the MIA is the peak professional body for Australia's registered migration agents, which gives this source real standing, though it remains the Institute's summary rather than the instrument itself; and
• other secondary commentary describing the content of Direction 123, since the primary document is not yet published by Home Affairs - treated throughout this article as reported information, not as confirmed primary-source fact.

We will not present anything above as settled law once the primary text is available - we will replace the reported detail with a direct citation, or correct this article, whichever the actual text requires.

Sources

• Migration Act 1958 - section 499 (AustLII)
• Migration Act 1958 - section 501 (AustLII)
• Ministerial Direction No. 110 (Department of Home Affairs, PDF)
• Character requirements for visas (Department of Home Affairs)
• Direction 123: New Guidance for Visa Refusal and Cancellation on Character Grounds - Migration Legislation Update (Migration Institute of Australia, 22 September 2026, hosted on our site for reference). Prepared by the Migration Institute of Australia - a more authoritative secondary source than general commentary, but still the Institute's summary, not the primary text.

Disclaimer

This article is general information only, current as at 26 September 2026, and is not legal advice. It should not be relied on as a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. Some of the detail concerning Ministerial Direction 123 is drawn from secondary sources pending publication of the primary document by the Department of Home Affairs, as noted above. Please contact us if you would like advice on how these changes may affect your matter.

About the author

Ruobing Yang is a Legal Practitioner Director at ALC Lawyers ILP Pty Ltd, a boutique immigration law firm in Sydney. He has a particular focus on character and cancellation matters, alongside employer-sponsored and innovation visa work. LPN 5511418. Profile: alclawyers.com.au/person/ruobing-yang. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ruobingyang209.