{"id":23076,"date":"2026-07-31T19:48:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skilldirect.com.au\/?p=23076"},"modified":"2026-07-31T20:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T10:22:00","slug":"what-is-ministerial-direction-119","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skilldirect.com.au\/en\/ministerial-direction-119-la-gi\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Ministerial Direction 119? Key Features And Implications For Australian Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Rate the post<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

Ministerial Direction 119 is a direction issued by the Minister for Home Affairs under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958. It establishes the order in which certain skilled visa nomination applications and visa applications are to be processed.\nMinisterial Direction 119 replaces Ministerial Direction 105, which was issued on 14 December 2023. It applies both to applications lodged before the Direction commenced that were still awaiting a final decision and to applications lodged on or after its commencement date.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Importantly, Ministerial Direction 119 only affects the order and timing in which applications are processed. It does not introduce new visa criteria, reduce any existing eligibility requirements or guarantee that an applicant will be granted a visa.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Ministerial
What Is Ministerial Direction 119?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Priority Order Under Ministerial Direction 119\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Under Ministerial Direction 119, the highest processing priority is given to applications involving onshore applicants working in law enforcement and defence occupations. The next priority is given to offshore applicants in the same occupational group, followed by onshore applicants working in three other priority sectors: healthcare, teaching and construction. Once these priority groups have been considered, the Department of Home Affairs will process other onshore applications before moving on to the remaining offshore applications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Applications within the same priority category are treated equally. Therefore, being included in a priority group does not necessarily mean that an application will be processed ahead of every other application within that group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Four Priority Occupational Groups <\/b><\/p>\n

1. Law Enforcement and Defence<\/span><\/p>\n