Two days after the Minister announced that Direction 119 would be updated, the Department has published the replacement. It is not an update to Direction 119. Direction 121 revokes Direction 119 outright (which was itself dated 24 July 2026), and both new Directions were signed by the Minister on 18 September 2026 and commence the day after signing — 19 September 2026.

They also do not say quite what the announcement said they would. That is the part worth reading carefully.

What changed between the announcement and the instrument

On 17 September the Minister said skilled processing priority would support nine things: healthcare, construction, education, law enforcement, defence, resources, agriculture, aquaculture and fishing.

The Directions as made say something narrower:

Announced 17 September	In the Directions, in force 19 September
Healthcare	Healthcare
Construction	Construction
Education	Teaching (a defined term — see below)
Agriculture, aquaculture, fishing	Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing
Resources	Resources
Law enforcement, defence	Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests

“Education” became “Teaching occupation” — and that is a defined term, not a plain-English one. It is a closed list of seven ANZSCO entries, and it does not line up neatly with either word.

It leaves out most of the education sector. It also takes in several roles that are not teaching at all: child care centre managers, child care workers, school principals and faculty heads. So the label cuts in both directions, and reading it as either “the education sector” or “people who teach” will mislead you. Read the list.

What “Teaching” actually means in Direction 121

Direction 121 does not leave this to interpretation. It defines a Teaching occupation as a closed list, with every occupation on it of equal priority. Note before you read it that the list is not confined to teachers:

• ANZSCO Minor Group 241 — School Teachers
• ANZSCO Unit Group 1341 — Child Care Centre Managers
• 134311 — School Principal
• 134411 — Faculty Head
• 242111 — University Lecturer
• 242211 — Vocational Education Teacher (AUS) / Polytechnic Teacher (NZ)
• 421111 — Child Care Worker

That is the whole list. It is narrow, and it is worth reading twice if you assumed “education” meant the education sector.

Three of the seven entries are not teaching roles. Child Care Centre Managers and Child Care Workers are care and management roles. School Principal and Faculty Head are management roles. Whatever the word suggests, the Direction treats all of them as equal priority alongside school teachers.

Early childhood is well covered. Minor Group 241 takes in early childhood, primary, middle, secondary and special education teachers, and the list then adds child care centre managers and child care workers on top. Early childhood education and care comes out of this unusually strongly.

Higher education is barely covered. University Lecturer at 242111 is the only university code named. Tutors, researchers and other academic classifications are not on the list, and neither is the great bulk of university administration — only Faculty Head appears.

The rest of the education sector is out. Education advisers and reviewers, ESL teaching outside the named codes, librarians, teachers’ aides, school administrators other than principals, and vocational trainers outside 242211 do not appear. If your occupation is in education but is not one of the seven entries, you are not in priority 1 on the basis of teaching.

If your occupation is in education but is not on that list, you are not in priority 1 on the basis of teaching. You may still be in it through another sector, or reach priority 2 or 3 on the onshore or Specialist Skills grounds below.

Direction 121: temporary skilled visas

Applies to the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa and the former Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa. Applications are processed in this order:

Priority	Applications
1	Applications by a primary applicant in an occupation in the Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing or Resources sectors, or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests
2	Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa
3	All other applications where the primary applicant was in Australia when the application was made
4	Primary applicant was outside Australia when the application was made, and the application is not combined with another person’s application at any time
5	All other applications, except those covered by the combined-application rule below

Direction 122: provisional and permanent skilled visas

Applies to subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. Applications are processed in this order:

Priority	Applications
1	Applications by a primary applicant in an occupation in the Construction, Healthcare, Teaching, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing or Resources sectors, or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests
2	All other applications where the primary applicant was in Australia when the application was made
3	Primary applicant was outside Australia when the application was made, and the application is not combined with another person’s application at any time
4	All other applications, except those covered by the combined-application rule below

Three things in here that are easy to miss

1. Being onshore now moves you up the queue

Under both Directions, lodging while you are in Australia sits above lodging from outside it. Where you physically are on the day you press submit now affects your position in the queue, separately from your occupation, your sponsor or your points.

2. The offshore tier has a condition most people will not notice

Read priority 4 in Direction 121 and priority 3 in Direction 122 again. An offshore application only sits in that tier if it is not combined with another person’s application at any time.

Both Directions also carry a combined-application rule. An application combined with a primary applicant’s application, in a way permitted by the Regulations, takes the same priority as the primary applicant’s application. Family members therefore do not queue separately; they follow the primary applicant.

Reading the two provisions together: an offshore primary applicant applying alone meets the offshore tier. An offshore primary applicant whose application is combined with someone else’s does not meet its wording, and on a plain reading falls into the residual category — taking any combined family members with them. The words “at any time” appear to capture combining later, not only at lodgement.

We flag this as a reading, not a settled position. It is how paragraph (d) of Direction 121 and paragraph (c) of Direction 122 appear to interact with subsection (4) of each, and the Department has published no policy guidance on the point. If you are offshore and weighing whether to include family, that is a question for advice on your own facts, not a general rule.

3. Specialist Skills ranks above everyone onshore

In Direction 121, the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa sits at priority 2, above every onshore application that is not in a named sector. If a role qualifies for that stream, the queue position is materially better.

What else is in the Directions that the summary page does not mention

The Department’s web page sets out the priority order. The Directions themselves carry several things that matter just as much.

They apply to applications already lodged

Both Directions state that they apply to visa applications made, but not finally determined, before commencement, as well as to applications made on or after it. If your application is already in the queue, it is now ordered under the new rules. This is not a change that only affects people who lodge from today.

They do not change who is eligible

Direction 121 says so in terms: it does not change the composition of the skilled migration occupation lists, and applicants must still meet the requirements in the Act and the Regulations to be granted a visa. Priority is about the order of consideration, and nothing else.

A delegate can depart from the order

Both Directions require a delegate to depart from the priority order for a particular application where satisfied it involves compelling circumstances — the examples given are matters affecting community safety, the continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services in Australia, or Australia’s international relations.

Some applications sit outside the order entirely

Neither Direction applies to applications remitted by the Administrative Review Tribunal for reconsideration, to applications where the ART has set aside a decision and substituted a new one, or to applications where it is readily apparent the criteria for grant would not be satisfied.

Law enforcement and defence are narrower than they sound

An occupation related to law enforcement interests means an occupation in ANZSCO Unit Group 4413 — Police — and only where the applicant is nominated or sponsored by the Australian Federal Police or a named State or Territory police force. It is not a general category for the justice sector.

An occupation related to defence interests means one relating to or supporting AUKUS Pillar I or Pillar II, or one where the applicant is nominated or sponsored by the ADF or the Department of Defence, or holds a letter of support from them and will either work at a defence facility or in an occupation supporting defence-related materiel or technology.

What this means for you

If your occupation is in one of the named sectors. You are in the top tier of both Directions, wherever you are and whoever is on the application. That is the strongest position available.

If you work in education, child care, or school or faculty management. Check your ANZSCO code against the seven entries above rather than reasoning from the word “teaching”. Child care workers and centre managers are in; most of the education sector is not.

If you are offshore and planning to include family. This is now a real trade-off with a real cost in processing time, and it is worth advice before you lodge rather than after.

If you are onshore on a bridging or other substantive visa. Lodging while you are here now carries a priority benefit it did not carry before.

If you are waiting on a 189 or 190. Direction 122 governs the order your application is looked at, not whether you are invited. Invitations are a separate process, which we track on our subclass 189 invitation rounds tracker.

What has not changed

Processing priority is not eligibility. Being in priority 1 does not make a weak application succeed, and being in priority 5 does not make a strong one fail. It affects the order applications are picked up, nothing else. A refusal still follows you into later applications, so the case for lodging a complete, well-evidenced application is unchanged. See why visa applications get refused.

Official sources

• Skilled visa processing priorities — Department of Home Affairs, last updated 18 September 2026
• Ministerial Direction 121 (PDF)
• Ministerial Direction 122 (PDF)
• Migration reform, 17 September 2026: what was actually announced — our breakdown of the announcement these Directions come from

A note on numbering: Ministerial Direction 120 is a different instrument. It came into effect on 25 July 2026 and covers subclass 858 applications, including the National Innovation visa. It is not part of this change.

---

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is current as at 19 September 2026. It summarises published Ministerial Directions and the Department’s own guidance; the Directions themselves are the authority and may be amended. It does not take your personal circumstances into account and should not be relied on as advice for your own application. For advice specific to your situation, speak to a Registered Migration Agent.