ARTICLE · 02 SEPTEMBER 2026

Australian Skilled Visa Processing Times: Latest Updates

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Since the government implemented Ministerial Direction 119 on 25 July 2026 to prioritise skilled visa processing for onshore applicants and applications supporting Australia’s defence and law enforcement interests (followed by construction, healthcare, and teaching), there has been considerable uncertainty about the impact of these changes.

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Sheila Woods MARN 0533879

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Since the government implemented Ministerial Direction 119 on 25 July 2026 to prioritise skilled visa processing for onshore applicants and applications supporting Australia’s defence and law enforcement interests (followed by construction, healthcare, and teaching), there has been considerable uncertainty about the impact of these changes. Read more.

At this stage, the full effect on visa processing timeframes is still emerging.

To provide some clarity, the Department of Home Affairs has updated the individual skilled visa subclass pages on its website to show the lodgement dates of applications that are currently being allocated to processing according to priority occupation and onshore/offshore status.

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