Ministerial Direction 119

Migration

Australian Immigration Updates 2026: Student Visa, Skilled Visa Priorities, Tasmania 190/491, and DAMA Changes

The Australian Immigration Latest Updates bring major developments across Student Visas, skilled migration, state nomination, Partner Visas, DAMA arrangements, Working Holiday visas, and visa processing priorities. Over the past few weeks, Australia has recorded a decade-high Student Visa refusal rate, Tasmania has continued issuing Subclass 190 and 491 invitations, the Northern Territory has opened its 2026–27 nomination program, Home Affairs has introduced new skilled and Family Visa processing priorities, AITSL has increased teacher migration assessment fees, and the Far North Queensland DAMA has changed how employers can plan future positions. Australian Immigration Updates 2026: What Has Changed? The most important

Kerusha Kharel

MIA calls for offshore visa priority in Australia to return for skilled workers and Partner visa applicants.

Migration Update

MIA Calls for Offshore Skilled and Partner Visa Priority to Return

Australia’s new visa processing system has sparked fresh concern across the migration industry, particularly around offshore visa priority and how current rules affect applicants outside the country. The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) has called for the Government to reconsider the lower processing priority now affecting many offshore skilled workers and partners of Australians. The concern follows the introduction of Ministerial Directions 117 and 119 on 25 July 2026, which place greater processing emphasis on applicants who lodged while already in Australia. Importantly, the Government has not reversed the rules. The current processing priorities remain in force. So, what is

Kerusha Kharel

Ministerial Direction 119 skilled visa processing priorities in Australia featuring visa documents, Australian map, priority occupations, and migration pathways.

Migration

Ministerial Direction 119: New Skilled Visa Processing Priorities in Australia

Update — 24 September 2026: Direction 119 is no longer current. Directions 121 and 122 commenced on 19 September 2026 and replaced Direction 119 for the covered skilled visa framework. Read our current Direction 121/122 guide. For the National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858), see the separate Direction 120 NIV priority guide. Ministerial Direction 119, which replaced Ministerial Direction 105 on 25 July 2026, introduces new processing priorities for many skilled visa nominations and applications in Australia. The new Direction gives higher priority to certain occupations, particularly law enforcement, defence, healthcare, teaching, and construction roles, while also considering whether an applicant

Kerusha Kharel