The government has acted swiftly to realign skilled visa processing priorities with migration reforms announced by the Home Affairs Minister on 17 September 2026.
Ministerial Directions 121 and 122, signed on 18 September and in effect from 19 September, replace Ministerial Direction 119 and introduce a revised framework for prioritising skilled visa applications.
Applications that are already on hand are being reordered by the Department of Home Affairs in line with the new processing priorities.
A key change under these directions is the expansion of priority visa processing to the resources, agriculture, and fisheries sectors, alongside existing priority industries of defence, law enforcement, construction, healthcare, and teaching.
