Official sources checked: 12 October 2026. This guide uses Ministerial Direction 122 and the current Home Affairs skilled visa processing priorities page.
Ministerial Direction 122 sets four processing priority groups for ten permanent and provisional skilled visa subclasses. It commenced on 19 September 2026. Your proposed category depends on the subclass, the exact occupation or role definition, where the primary applicant was at lodgement, and how any family applications were combined.
A useful assessment starts with those facts. This guide gives you a practical order for checking them, with a record you can keep beside your application documents. A priority category does not reveal your numbered place in a queue or promise when Home Affairs will decide your case.
If you are still choosing a pathway, start with our skilled visa resources. If you have already lodged, work through the checks below before relying on an old priority table.
1. Check your visa subclass
The Schedule to Direction 122 covers all ten subclasses below. Its Schedule does not carve out particular streams within those listed subclasses. The application must still pass the separate scope and exclusion checks.
| Subclass | Visa |
|---|---|
| 186 | Employer Nomination Scheme |
| 187 | Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme |
| 189 | Skilled Independent |
| 190 | Skilled Nominated |
| 191 | Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) |
| 489 | Skilled Regional (Provisional) |
| 491 | Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) |
| 494 | Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) |
| 887 | Skilled Regional |
| 888 | Business Innovation and Investment (Permanent) |
The inclusion of an older subclass does not mean it is open to every new applicant. This is a processing framework, so it also deals with relevant existing applications.
For subclass 482, use our separate Ministerial Direction 121 guide. That direction has five groups, including a Specialist Skills stream category. MD122 has four groups and no equivalent Specialist Skills tier.
For the National Innovation Visa and other relevant Class BX applications, use the Direction 120 priority guide. Do not transfer its exceptional-achievement categories to a 189, 190 or 491 application.
2. Check whether the direction applies to your application
Section 3 covers applications lodged before commencement that had not been finally determined, as well as later applications. An earlier lodgement date does not preserve the former MD119 priority order. Our Direction 119 replacement update explains that change.
Before assigning a group, check the exclusions in section 3(2). Direction 122 does not apply to:
- Applications remitted by the AAT or ART for reconsideration
- Applications where the AAT or ART set aside a decision and substituted a new one
- Applications where it is readily apparent that the visa grant criteria would not be satisfied
- The particular separately lodged family-member applications described below
- The ART itself
The family exclusion has two linked conditions: the person did not make a combined application with the primary visa holder, and that primary holder was in Australia when making their own visa application. A separate family application therefore needs its own scope assessment. Do not automatically label it priority 4.
If your case involves review, remittal or a separately lodged family application, keep the decision and application records handy and obtain an individual assessment. Being outside this direction is different from being inside its lowest group. Direction 122, s3.
3. Work down the four priority groups
Section 6 sets the following order. Start at the top and check the highest applicable group.
| Group | Application category | What to establish |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Relates to defined construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources occupations, or Australia’s law-enforcement or defence interests | The exact section 5 definition and supporting facts |
| 2 | Otherwise, the primary applicant was in Australia when the visa application was made | Location at lodgement |
| 3 | Otherwise, the primary applicant was outside Australia when applying and their application is never combined with another person’s application | Location plus complete combination history |
| 4 | Remaining covered applications | Why the higher groups do not apply |
Applications combined with a primary application in a way permitted by the Regulations receive the same priority as the primary application under section 6(4). The family rules are part of the assessment, not a reason to skip the higher groups.
The first group is available to qualifying onshore and offshore applications. For example, an offshore application meeting the healthcare definition does not need to rely on the residual offshore category. Direction 122, s6.
4. Match the exact occupation or role definition
The sector headings are only a starting point. Section 5 defines the occupations and interests used in priority 1. A hospital, university, mine or construction business can employ people in many different roles; its industry label alone does not settle the application category.
Construction, healthcare and teaching
These definitions use specified ANZSCO groups and occupations. Some entries are broad groups; others are individual six-digit occupations. Keep that distinction when comparing your record.
| Definition | Included ANZSCO groups and occupations |
|---|---|
| Construction | Sub-major groups 33 and 82; unit groups 1331, 1332, 2321, 2332, 3121, 3122, 3126, 3129, 3222, 3223, 7111, 7121 and 7212; occupations 341111 and 341112 |
| Healthcare | Sub-major group 25; minor group 411; unit groups 2346, 2721, 2723, 2725 and 3112; occupations 423111, 423312 and 423313 |
| Teaching | Minor group 241; unit group 1341; occupations 134311, 134411, 242111, 242211 and 421111 |
Useful specific examples include University Lecturer (242111), Vocational Education Teacher (242211) and Child Care Worker (421111) in the teaching definition. Healthcare includes Aged or Disabled Carer (423111), Nursing Support Worker (423312) and Personal Care Assistant (423313). Construction includes Electrician (General) (341111) and Electrician (Special Class) (341112).
The occupations included within each of these definitions receive equal priority. These are processing-priority definitions. They do not add an occupation to a visa eligibility list or replace a required skills assessment. Keep the occupation code, relevant duties and assessment or nomination records consistent. For pathway context, see our 189 guide and 190 guide. Direction 122, ss4–5.
Agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources
Agriculture, aquaculture and fishing use a functional definition. It includes direct involvement in primary-produce production and work supporting productivity, such as animal health, irrigation, quality assurance, inspection and farm supervision. Specified processing and preparation activities are also included. Read the whole definition against the actual position.
For resources, the nominated position must directly support the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas, or coal, including relevant closure, decommissioning and rehabilitation. The definition includes specified engineers, geologists, drillers, surveyors and mechanical trades. A listed occupation should not be detached from that functional connection to resources work.
Keep a role description and reliable evidence of the work involved. The Department’s definition, rather than a general statement that an employer “works in resources”, is the point to address. Direction 122, s5.
Law enforcement and defence
Law enforcement requires the Police unit group 4413 together with nomination or sponsorship by a police force specified in the direction.
Defence has distinct alternatives involving AUKUS Pillar I or II, ADF or Department of Defence nomination or sponsorship, or the required support letter and connection to a defence facility or defence-related materiel or technology. Having a defence customer alone does not complete that assessment. Identify the exact alternative and evidence you rely on. Direction 122, s5.
Unsure which definition fits? A migration strategy consultation can review the application and role together. If you are preparing your own application, the Expert Application Review is a pre-lodgement service; it excludes preparation, lodgement and ongoing representation.
5. Record location at lodgement and the family history
For groups 2 and 3, the relevant location is where the primary applicant was when the visa application was made. Today’s address or a later arrival in Australia does not change that historical fact.
Keep the application acknowledgement and relevant travel records together if location is unclear. Do not book travel, withdraw an application or relodge purely to pursue a perceived priority advantage. Those decisions can affect eligibility, fees, lawful stay and family arrangements beyond the priority question.
Group 3 also requires that the primary application is not combined with another person’s application at any time. “Single applicant” can be misleading shorthand: marital status is not the test. A married applicant may have no combined application, while an application that now appears to have no dependants may have a relevant earlier combination history.
Start with the higher categories, then examine the complete record. For regional pathways, our 491 guide and 491-to-191 evidence guide address separate preparation issues. They do not replace this processing-priority check. Direction 122, s6.
Five fictional examples
These examples illustrate section 6 only. They assume valid applications within scope and, where relevant, combinations permitted by the Regulations. They are not eligibility findings or processing-time predictions.
An offshore nurse with a partner. A subclass 190 primary application meets the healthcare definition and is combined with a partner’s application. The primary application is group 1, and the permitted combined partner application shares that priority. Offshore location does not displace the occupation category.
An offshore university lecturer with family. The primary applicant’s subclass 189 application relates to University Lecturer, 242111. That occupation is expressly included in the teaching definition. Group 1 can apply, with permitted combined family applications sharing it. This says nothing about an earlier SkillSelect invitation ranking.
An onshore applicant outside the priority occupations. A subclass 491 primary applicant was in Australia when lodging and does not meet a group 1 definition. Their application falls in group 2. A permitted combined family application follows that priority, subject to the same scope assumptions.
An offshore married applicant applying alone. A subclass 186 primary applicant is outside group 1, lodged offshore and has never combined the application with anyone else’s. Group 3 can apply. Being married does not, by itself, move the application to group 4.
An offshore family outside group 1. A subclass 190 primary applicant lodged offshore with a permitted combined partner application, and no group 1 definition applies. The never-combined condition for group 3 is not met. The primary and combined partner applications fall in group 4. Removing someone later should not be assumed to erase the combination history.
A checklist to keep with your documents
Use this as an organising aid, not a mandatory evidence list or a request to upload everything again.
| Check | Record or keep | Question to resolve |
|---|---|---|
| Subclass | Application acknowledgement and subclass | Is it one of the ten scheduled subclasses? |
| Scope | Relevant decision, review or family-application records | Does a section 3 exclusion apply? |
| Occupation | Code, duties, assessment and nomination details where relevant | Which exact section 5 definition supports group 1? |
| Special role connection | Relevant position evidence, sponsorship or support letter | Are all functional or supporting conditions met? |
| Lodgement location | Application date and relevant travel record | Where was the primary applicant when applying? |
| Family combination | Each applicant’s details and combination history | Was the application ever combined, and was the combination permitted? |
| Conclusion | Proposed group, reasons and official source-check date | What remains uncertain or needs professional advice? |
A complete checklist may still reveal an unresolved legal question. Mark the uncertainty rather than filling the gap with an assumption. For broader document organisation, use our documents and checklists.
What priority means while you wait
Direction 122 orders the consideration of covered visa applications. It does not establish an employer nomination’s processing priority, alter the visa requirements or set the order of SkillSelect invitations. A points calculation addresses a different question from the MD122 category of a lodged visa application.
Section 7 requires a delegate to depart from the usual order where satisfied that an application involves the specified compelling circumstances affecting community safety or continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services in Australia. It is a defined exception, so an ordinary business deadline or preferred travel date should not be presented as an automatic entitlement to urgent processing.
If a statutory cap under section 85 applies, section 8 retains the usual priority order subject to that compelling-circumstances provision. Neither a priority category nor the exception creates a guaranteed grant date.
For published estimates, use the Department’s processing times guide and record the date and relevant subclass or stream. Continue responding to actual requests, keeping contact details current and addressing relevant changes. This article deliberately gives no numerical turnaround promise. Direction 122, ss4 and 6–8.
Frequently asked questions
Does Ministerial Direction 122 apply to an application lodged before 19 September 2026?
Yes, if it is within scope and was not finally determined before commencement. Check the exclusions in section 3 rather than assuming every pending case is covered.
Does an offshore priority occupation receive the same category as an onshore one?
Yes. Priority 1 has no onshore or offshore condition. The application must meet a section 5 occupation or interests definition and be within the direction’s scope.
Does including my family put us in the last priority group?
No. Applications combined as permitted by the Regulations receive the primary application’s priority. Check higher categories first; the never-combined condition matters for the residual offshore category.
Can entering Australia improve the priority of an already lodged offshore application?
Moving after lodgement does not change where the primary applicant was when the visa application was made. Do not travel or change an application solely on that assumption.
Does MD122 improve my SkillSelect invitation chances or guarantee a grant date?
No. It orders consideration of covered visa applications. It does not set SkillSelect invitation priorities, change visa eligibility or guarantee a decision date.
Review the facts before changing your plan
Bring the application acknowledgement, occupation and role records, relevant travel dates, and family combination history to an assessment. That is more useful than relying on a priority label alone.
Book a consultation for case-specific advice, or check our Expert Application Review if you want a pre-lodgement review of an application you are preparing yourself.
Official sources
- Ministerial Direction 122: commencement, scope, definitions, priority order, compelling circumstances, caps and Schedule.
- Home Affairs: Skilled visa processing priorities: current directions and subclass coverage.
- Ministerial Direction 121: separate subclass 482 framework and revocation of Direction 119.
- Ministerial Direction 120: separate Class BX framework.
This article is general information, current as at 12 October 2026. It does not constitute individual migration advice. Consult a registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner about your circumstances and check current official sources before changing an application or migration plan.
