Directions 121 and 122 in full: every priority occupation, the family rule, and six worked examples

On 22 September 2026 we read Ministerial Directions 121 and 122 in full. Our first article summarised them from the Migration Institute of Australia’s notice. This guide goes further. It lists every priority occupation, explains the rule that catches offshore families, and works through six real situations.

Both Directions were signed on 18 September 2026 and commenced the next day. They replaced Direction 119, which the Minister had signed on 24 July 2026. In other words, the previous order lasted less than two months.

What the Directions do, and what they do not do

A direction under section 499 of the Migration Act binds the Minister’s delegates. Directions 121 and 122 tell delegates the order in which to consider and dispose of skilled visa applications. The Department publishes both on its skilled visa processing priorities page.

They do nothing else. Each Direction says so in its preamble. It does not change the skilled occupation lists, and applicants must still meet every requirement in the Act and the Regulations. Therefore, a place in the top group is not a faster grant. It is a place nearer the front of the queue.

Direction 121 covers subclass 482 applications only, in both the Skills in Demand and the older Temporary Skill Shortage forms. Direction 122 covers subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888.

The order of priority under Directions 121 and 122

Direction 121, subclass 482

1. A primary applicant in a construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources occupation, or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests. Location does not matter.
2. An application in the Specialist Skills stream. Location does not matter.
3. All other primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
4. Primary applicants who were outside Australia when they applied, whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
5. All other applications.

Direction 122, provisional and permanent skilled visas

1. The same priority occupations, wherever the applicant was.
2. All other primary applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
3. Primary applicants who were outside Australia, whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time.
4. All other applications.

Under both Directions, a family member’s application that is properly combined with the primary application takes the primary applicant’s priority.

Which occupations count under Directions 121 and 122

This is where most summaries of Directions 121 and 122 stop short. Each sector is a defined list of ANZSCO groups and codes. An occupation outside the list is not in the top group, however closely it relates to the sector. The lists are identical in both Directions.

Construction

• Sub-Major Group 33, Construction Trades Workers. This takes in bricklayers, carpenters and joiners, floor finishers, painters, glaziers, plasterers, tilers and plumbers.
• Sub-Major Group 82, Construction and Mining Labourers.
• Unit Groups 1331 Construction Managers and 1332 Engineering Managers.
• Unit Groups 2321 Architects and Landscape Architects and 2332 Civil Engineering Professionals.
• Unit Groups 3121, 3122, 3126 and 3129, covering architectural, building, surveying and civil engineering technicians, safety inspectors and other building technicians.
• Unit Groups 3222 Sheetmetal Workers and 3223 Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers.
• Unit Groups 7111, 7121 and 7212, covering concrete and stone processing machine operators, crane operators and earthmoving plant operators.
• Two single occupations: 341111 Electrician (General) and 341112 Electrician (Special Class). Electricians sit in a different ANZSCO group from other trades, so the Direction names them separately.

Healthcare

• Sub-Major Group 25, Health Professionals. This is the largest group in either Direction. It includes medical practitioners, registered nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dietitians and medical imaging professionals.
• Minor Group 411, Health and Welfare Support Workers, which includes enrolled nurses, ambulance officers and dental hygienists.
• Unit Groups 2346 Medical Scientists, 2721 Counsellors, 2723 Psychologists, 2725 Social Workers and 3112 Medical Technicians.
• Three single occupations: 423111 Aged or Disabled Carer, 423312 Nursing Support Worker and 423313 Personal Care Assistant.

Teaching

• Minor Group 241, School Teachers, from early childhood to secondary and special education.
• Unit Group 1341 Child Care Centre Managers.
• Five single occupations: 134311 School Principal, 134411 Faculty Head, 242111 University Lecturer, 242211 Vocational Education Teacher and 421111 Child Care Worker.

Child care therefore sits inside teaching. That will matter to many employers in early learning.

Agriculture, aquaculture and fishing

This sector is defined by function, not by code. The nominated position must be directly involved in primary produce production or in supporting productivity. The Direction gives four examples.

• Growing and harvesting crops.
• Fishing, and breeding or raising livestock, poultry or seafood.
• Support activities such as animal health, irrigation, quality assurance, inspection and farm supervision.
• The slaughter, boning, processing and inspection of livestock and other primary products for sale.

Because the test is functional, the position description matters more than the ANZSCO code. A meat processing role can qualify. So can a farm supervisor.

Resources

The position must directly support the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas, or coal, including mine closure and rehabilitation. The Direction then lists Unit Groups 2336 Mining Engineers, 2344 Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists and 7122 Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers. It adds nine single occupations: Production Manager (Mining), Surveyor, Other Spatial Scientist, Metallurgist, Fitter (General), Fitter and Turner, Fitter-Welder, Metal Machinist (First Class), and Metal Fitters and Machinists not elsewhere classified.

The fitter and machinist occupations qualify only where the position supports the resources sector. A fitter in a suburban workshop does not.

Law enforcement

The occupation must be in Unit Group 4413, Police. In addition, the applicant must be nominated or sponsored by the Australian Federal Police or one of the eight named state and territory police forces.

Defence

An occupation qualifies in one of two ways. First, it relates to or supports AUKUS Pillar I, the nuclear powered submarines, or Pillar II, advanced capability development. Second, the applicant is nominated or sponsored by the Australian Defence Force or the Department of Defence. Alternatively, the applicant holds a letter of support from either body and will work at a defence facility or in the supply of defence materiel or technology.

Who is not in the top group

The lists leave out most of the economy. For example, information technology, accounting, hospitality, most engineering disciplines other than civil and mining, motor mechanics and retail management all fall outside the priority sectors. Applicants in those occupations are ordered by location instead.

The family rule that catches offshore applicants

This is the most important detail in Directions 121 and 122, and the wording repays a careful read.

The offshore group is limited to a primary applicant who was outside Australia at lodgement and whose application is not combined with another person’s application at any time. Three consequences follow.

First, an offshore primary applicant who includes a partner or children drops out of that group. Because the family members take the primary applicant’s priority, the whole family lands in the final group.

Second, the words at any time mean that adding a family member later has the same effect. An offshore applicant who lodges alone and then combines a partner’s application moves to the last group from that point.

Third, the rule only bites offshore. The onshore group has no combined application condition. As a result, an onshore applicant with family keeps onshore priority.

The rule does not affect the top group. A nurse or a carpenter applying from overseas with a family stays in the first group, because that group has no location or combination condition.

A trap for families lodging separately

Some families try to avoid the rule by having a family member apply separately after the primary applicant. The Directions anticipate this. Neither Direction applies at all to an application by a family unit member who did not combine with the primary visa holder, where the primary visa holder was in Australia when they applied. Such an application has no directed priority.

Nominations have no directed order

Direction 119 ordered nominations as well as visa applications. Directions 121 and 122 cover visa applications only. Consequently, there is now no direction on the order in which the Department processes 482, 186 or 494 nominations.

For employers, this is a live uncertainty. A visa application cannot be granted until the nomination is approved. If nominations are processed in lodgement order, a priority visa application may sit waiting for an ordinary nomination. We will update this guide when the Department clarifies its approach. Our article on processing times for employers explains how to plan a start date around this.

The exceptions clause

Direction 119 had no exceptions clause. Directions 121 and 122 both have one. The wording is mandatory. A delegate is to depart from the standard order for a particular application if satisfied that it involves compelling circumstances.

The examples differ slightly. Both Directions give community safety and the continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services in Australia. Direction 121 adds Australia’s international relations.

In practice, this gives a sponsor a formal basis to request priority. A regional hospital facing a ward closure, a religious community about to lose its only minister, or a community organisation whose service depends on one worker can each make the case. The request should explain the consequence of delay in concrete terms, with evidence, because the delegate must be satisfied, not merely asked.

The section 85 cap

Direction 122 also deals with capped visas. The Minister can cap the number of visas of a class granted in a financial year under section 85 of the Act. Where a cap applies, each application the Direction covers is to be given priority in the same order, unless the exceptions clause applies. Therefore, an applicant in a priority occupation is also nearer the front when places under a cap run short.

Applications already lodged

Both Directions apply to applications made but not finally determined before commencement. An application lodged in March sits in the new order today. For some that is a gain. For others the queue ahead has grown. Any processing estimate given before 19 September should be revisited.

Six worked examples under Directions 121 and 122

1. An enrolled nurse applying from the Philippines with her husband

Enrolled nurses fall within Minor Group 411. She is in the first group under either Direction. Her husband’s combined application takes her priority. Being offshore and having a family costs her nothing.

2. A software developer applying for a 482 from India, alone

Software is not a priority sector. He was outside Australia, and his application is not combined. He sits in the fourth of five groups under Direction 121. If he later adds a partner, he moves to the fifth.

3. A chef in Melbourne on a bridging visa, applying for a 482 with two children

Hospitality is not a priority sector. However, she was in Australia at lodgement, so she is in the third group. The combined application condition does not apply onshore, so her children do not change her position.

4. A fitter nominated by a suburban engineering workshop

Fitter (General) appears in the resources list, but only where the position directly supports resources exploration, extraction or production. A suburban workshop does not meet that description. He is ordered by location instead.

5. A child care worker applying for a 186 from Nepal

Child Care Worker, code 421111, is a named teaching occupation. She is in the first group under Direction 122, whether or not she includes family.

6. A regional aged care provider with a carer’s 482 application lodged in May

Aged or Disabled Carer is a named healthcare occupation. The application was undecided on 19 September, so it has moved to the first group. If the facility faces a staffing crisis, the provider can also raise the exceptions clause on the basis of the continuity of an essential community service.

What to do now

Directions 121 and 122 reward preparation. Five checks cover most situations.

• Check the ANZSCO code on the nomination against the lists above. A code one group away can mean a different queue.
• For agriculture and resources, check the position description against the functional test.
• Offshore applicants outside the priority sectors should weigh the family rule before combining applications. That is a decision with visa consequences beyond processing, so take advice first.
• Employers should not assume a priority visa application will move quickly while the nomination is unordered.
• Where delay threatens community safety or an essential service, prepare an exceptions request with evidence.

Our guides to the Skills in Demand visa, the 482 to 186 pathway and the 189, 190 and 491 visas cover the eligibility side. For the rest of the Government’s September announcements, see our guide to the 17 September migration overhaul.

Frequently asked questions

Are plumbers and electricians in the construction priority group?

Yes. Plumbers fall within Sub-Major Group 33, and the Direction names Electrician (General) and Electrician (Special Class) separately.

Does including my family lower my priority?

Only if you are outside Australia and outside the priority occupations. In that case a combined application at any time moves you to the last group. Onshore applicants and priority occupation applicants are not affected.

Do the Directions cover employer nominations?

No. Both Directions cover visa applications only. Direction 119 also covered nominations, and no direction now orders them.

Can I ask the Department to process my application out of order?

A delegate is to depart from the order where an application involves compelling circumstances, such as community safety or the continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services. Direction 121 also lists Australia’s international relations. The request needs evidence.

Do Directions 121 and 122 change who is eligible for a visa?

No. Each Direction states that it does not change the skilled occupation lists and that applicants must still meet the requirements in the Act and the Regulations.

Sam Kanjo, Migration Lawyer, Skyline Migration Lawyers, Melbourne.

Sources: Ministerial Direction 121 and Ministerial Direction 122, signed 18 September 2026, published by the Department of Home Affairs and read in full on 22 September 2026, and MIA Notice 17 of 21 September 2026. ANZSCO group descriptions are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics classification.

Find out where your application now sits

We can check the nominated occupation against the Directions, advise on combining family applications, and prepare an exceptions request where the facts support one. Call 03 8108 8748 or email info@skylinemigrationlawyers.com.au.

This article is general information only. It is not legal advice. Please seek advice about your own circumstances before you act.