Last reviewed: 7 October 2026. Based on Ministerial Direction 120 and current Department of Home Affairs National Innovation Visa guidance.
Ministerial Direction 120 explains how covered National Innovation Visa applications are prioritised and how exceptional achievement is assessed. For an applicant, the useful questions are practical: which priority category could your evidence support, what does your nominator actually contribute, and what needs to be ready before you submit an Expression of Interest?
This guide takes those questions in order. It also clears up a common source of confusion: EOI selection, an invitation and assessment of a lodged visa application are different stages. A strong priority claim does not guarantee success at any of them.
If you are still comparing migration pathways, start with our National Innovation Visa overview and visa resource library. This article focuses on the priority framework and preparation decisions.
What is Ministerial Direction 120?
Direction 120 commenced on 25 July 2026 and revoked Direction 112. It covers Class BX applications, including the National Innovation Visa and relevant Global Talent and Distinguished Talent applications still awaiting a final decision.
It has two important functions: ordering the consideration of covered visa applications, and guiding decision-makers on exceptional and outstanding achievement. It does not create a new visa or remove the visa requirements. Home Affairs continues to list it as the applicable Class BX direction on its current processing-priorities page.
The September 2026 changes to other skilled visas did not replace Direction 120. Those changes introduced Directions 121 and 122. If you arrived here from an older skilled-processing article, our Direction 119 update explains that separate transition.
For legacy applicants, the reference to earlier talent visas concerns applications already within the direction’s scope. It does not reopen those closed pathways.
Three stages to keep separate
| Stage | What happens | What it means for preparation |
|---|---|---|
| Expression of Interest | You put forward your achievements for possible selection | Decide what you can substantiate before submitting |
| Invitation | Home Affairs invites you to apply within a specified period | Check the invitation and prepare the visa evidence promptly |
| Visa application | You lodge the application for assessment against the requirements | Support the invited achievements and every relevant visa requirement |
The Department expressly says an EOI is not a visa application, and an invitation is not a pre-assessment of visa eligibility. See the official EOI submission guidance.
That distinction should shape your planning. A promising EOI profile does not replace a complete visa file. Equally, preparing a folder of documents does not establish that Home Affairs will invite you.
Our three NIV invitation profiles from May to July 2026 illustrate how different professional achievements can support an EOI, while the visa evidence still needs separate assessment.
The five visa-processing categories
Section 8 of Direction 120 orders covered visa applications as follows:
- Exceptional candidates who are global experts and recipients of top-of-field international awards
- Candidates nominated on the approved Form 1000 by an expert Australian Government or state or territory government agency
- Candidates with exceptional and outstanding achievements in Tier 1 priority sectors
- Candidates with exceptional and outstanding achievements in Tier 2 priority sectors
- Other covered visa applications
These are processing categories, rather than five separate visa streams. Read the exact direction alongside the published NIV priorities guidance when assessing a particular profile.
Home Affairs presents four named priorities in its EOI and invitation guidance. The legal visa-processing order contains the additional residual category. That fifth category does not let a new NIV candidate lodge without an invitation.
Priority 1: top-of-field international recognition
This category is aimed at an exceptional level of international achievement. The Department’s examples include major globally recognised awards. An impressive professional record, a promotion or an industry award should not simply be relabelled as equivalent to that standard.
As a practical evidence check, identify the award’s standing, selection process, eligible field and the recognition attached to it. Give the reviewer enough context to understand its significance. A certificate with an unfamiliar award name may say little on its own.
Avoid building the whole strategy around a preferred category before testing the evidence. The first useful step is an honest account of what has been achieved and how others independently recognise it.
Priority 2: government-agency nomination
Priority 2 specifically concerns an expert government-agency nomination on Form 1000. This is different from having an eligible individual or ordinary Australian organisation act as your nominator.
For a government-agency-nominated EOI, Home Affairs asks for Form 1000 with the agency section completed and a supporting statement explaining the nomination, the expected Australian contribution and the relevant collaboration. The exact requirements are on the EOI submission page.
A useful way to prepare is to ask three questions:
- Which agency’s actual area of expertise relates to the achievements?
- What existing or proposed work supports the claimed contribution?
- Can the agency substantiate its endorsement with specific evidence?
A connection to a government-funded project or a supportive email from an individual is not, by itself, proof that the required agency nomination exists. Keep the proposed priority claim separate from informal expressions of interest or encouragement.
If the nomination position is uncertain, resolve that question before describing the application as priority 2.
Our state nomination comparison provides background on the different approaches described in February 2026. Check the relevant agency’s current criteria and availability before choosing a pathway.
Tier 1 and Tier 2 sectors
The sector groupings in the official priorities guidance are:
Tier 1, associated with priority 3
- Critical technologies
- Renewables and low-emission technologies
- Health industries
Tier 2, associated with priority 4
- Agri-food and AgTech
- Defence capabilities and space
- Education
- Financial services and FinTech
- Infrastructure and transport
- Resources
The focus is exceptional achievement within the relevant area. A job title or employer’s sector alone does not establish that claim.
Consider a hypothetical medical-device researcher. Their employment may be connected to health industries, but the useful evidence concerns the research contribution: independent recognition, demonstrable influence and the person’s own role in the work. Merely working for a medical-device business does not answer those questions.
A second hypothetical applicant may work in financial technology. Rewriting every project description to sound like “critical technologies” is unlikely to make the evidence clearer. Explain the actual achievement, its field and its impact accurately. Where work crosses sectors, document the connection rather than forcing a label.
How exceptional achievement is assessed
Direction 120’s assessment guidance requires the applicant’s circumstances to be considered as a whole, on balance. The indicators are not a mechanical checklist. Relevant information can include material that supports the claim and material that weighs against it.
The public NIV priorities page discusses evidence such as significant research recognition, influential academic work, high-level international participation, recognised intellectual property and high earnings. The direction also addresses additional evidence relevant to government-agency-nominated cases.
A PhD, a patent or a salary figure should therefore be explained in context. What was your contribution? Who recognised it? What effect did it have? Is the evidence current, independent and consistent with the rest of the application?
Here is a practical way to organise that explanation. This is a preparation tool, not an official scoring system:
| Claim | Evidence question | Useful cross-check |
|---|---|---|
| International recognition | Who outside your immediate organisation recognises the work? | Can the recognition be independently verified? |
| Individual contribution | What did you personally lead, develop or achieve? | Does the evidence distinguish your role from the team’s? |
| Influence or impact | What changed because of the work? | Are the measures relevant, dated and explained? |
| Continuing achievement | How does recent work support the profile? | Do the CV, references and supporting records agree? |
| Australian contribution | How could the expertise be applied here? | Is the proposed connection specific and credible? |
The evidence will also look different across professions. Our historical creative-applicant case study contrasts measurable audience reach with independent critical recognition and Australian professional engagement. Those applications were lodged under earlier talent-visa settings.
For example, a publication list becomes more useful when it explains the applicant’s contribution and the significance of the work. A commercial result becomes clearer when the evidence separates the applicant’s role from the whole company’s performance. Volume alone is rarely the best way to make a complicated profile understandable.
Researchers can use our academic evidence preparation guide for examples of contextualising publications, citations, grants and individual contributions. Its suggested benchmarks are preparation aids, not official eligibility cut-offs.
Preparing your own application? WiseKangaroo’s Expert Application Review includes review of forms and supporting evidence, identification of gaps and inconsistencies, and a lodgement-readiness assessment. It does not include preparation, lodgement or ongoing representation.
What Form 1000 does
The official Form 1000 is the nomination document. It asks the nominator to attest to matters including the applicant’s achievements, continuing prominence, benefit to Australia and ability to establish in the relevant field.
The completed, signed Form 1000 must accompany the visa application. The form and supporting evidence also need to explain the nominator’s standing. For an organisation, the appropriate authorised representative signs. An individual’s familiarity with your work and an organisation’s reputation are matters to evidence, rather than assume.
The form says the nominator must not receive a fee for completing it. Treat a proposed paid endorsement with care and seek advice before committing to an arrangement.
For ordinary nomination, Home Affairs says the nominator must have a national reputation in your area of achievement and be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian organisation. The Department recommends finding a suitable nominator while waiting for an invitation. See its after-EOI guidance.
Our 2025 health-researcher case study describes finding a field-aligned nominator and organising recognition evidence. That earlier GTI-to-NIV journey illustrates preparation decisions, rather than today’s processing times or a guaranteed outcome.
Keep the distinction clear: a valid nomination may meet the nomination requirement without giving the application government-agency priority 2. Use the current official form and instructions for this particular requirement.
Before you submit an EOI
Give the final review enough time. The Department says you cannot add information to a submitted EOI. Its submission instructions specify the initial documents, acceptable formats and English-language requirements.
Use this practical preparation sequence:
- Write a short profile summary. Identify the field, the strongest achievements and the evidence behind them
- Build an evidence index. Connect each important claim to a document, date and source
- Check individual attribution. Make your contribution clear where the achievement involved a team or organisation
- Resolve inconsistencies. Compare names, dates, positions and achievements across the CV, form and references
- Check nomination status. Describe only support that actually exists, and confirm what the relevant stage requires
- Plan the next stage. Know where the visa evidence will come from if an invitation arrives
This is also a sensible point to decide which parts of the preparation you can handle and where you need advice. A higher service level does not change the legal priority.
After submission: timing and lawful status
Current Home Affairs guidance says an EOI stays in the system for two years. It does not guarantee an invitation or entitle you to a bridging visa. If invited, you have 60 days to lodge the visa application; the Department says it cannot extend that invitation period. See what happens after submitting an EOI.
Build those practical limits into your plan. Keep track of your existing visa position independently, and avoid leaving the nomination and evidence collection until an invitation arrives.
There is no onshore/offshore priority ladder in Direction 120. Do not import the location rules from other skilled visa directions into an NIV assessment, or travel merely because you assume it will improve NIV processing priority.
For time estimates, use the Department’s visa processing times guide. It describes recently decided cases and does not guarantee a timeframe for your application. EOI waiting and visa processing should be considered separately when discussing your plans.
How to read NIV invitation figures
The Department publishes NIV invitation-round information. Always check the reporting period before relying on a chart or headline.
An invitation total and an EOI total for the same quarter do not necessarily describe the same group of people. Dividing one by the other does not give your personal probability of invitation. Nor can figures from before 25 July 2026 establish what happened under a direction that commenced on that date.
For your own planning, a documented assessment of your achievements is more useful than a headline percentage.
Frequently asked questions
What does Ministerial Direction 120 do?
It sets the order for considering covered Class BX visa applications and guides assessment of exceptional and outstanding achievement. It commenced on 25 July 2026 and replaced Direction 112.
Are there four NIV priorities or five?
Home Affairs publishes four named EOI and invitation priorities. Direction 120 sets five visa-application processing categories, including a final category for other applications. That fifth category does not remove the NIV invitation requirement.
Does a Form 1000 nomination automatically give me priority 2?
No. Priority 2 requires nomination by an expert Australian Government or state or territory government agency on the approved form. An ordinary eligible individual or organisation nomination does not automatically meet that category.
Does being in a Tier 1 sector guarantee an invitation?
No. Sector alignment alone is insufficient. Your exceptional and outstanding achievements, supporting evidence and the relevant program requirements still matter. An EOI carries no invitation guarantee.
Does submitting an NIV EOI let me stay in Australia?
No. Submitting an EOI does not entitle you to a bridging visa. You need to maintain a lawful basis to stay in Australia while waiting and obtain advice if your current visa is nearing expiry.
Start with the evidence you can support
The most useful next step is to identify your strongest achievements, the independent evidence behind them and the nomination position. From there, you can assess the appropriate priority claim and what still needs preparation.
If you would like help with that assessment, book a migration strategy consultation. If you are preparing your own file, consider an Expert Application Review before lodgement. Neither service can guarantee an invitation, priority outcome or visa grant.
This article provides general information current as at 7 October 2026. It does not constitute advice about your individual circumstances. Consult a registered migration agent for a case-specific assessment and check the official sources for later changes.
