Skilled & Employer-Sponsored Visas: New Onshore-First Processing Rules

What Has Changed

From 25 July 2026, nomination and visa applications for certain skilled visas are processed according to Ministerial Direction 119, which has replaced Ministerial Direction 105 in full. Direction 119 applies to all on-hand applications, including the Skills in Demand (SID) visa, which was not previously covered by Direction 105.

Under Direction 119, prioritisation depends on two factors: the applicant's occupation, and whether the applicant was in Australia at the time of application. Occupations supporting Australia's law enforcement and defence interests receive the highest priority, followed by construction, healthcare and teaching occupations. Within this framework, applicants already in Australia are given higher priority than those applying from overseas.

In practice, this means an offshore applicant in a priority occupation such as healthcare or teaching is still processed after any onshore applicant in that same occupation. Offshore applicants outside the priority occupation categories face the lowest processing priority of all.

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Book a Consultation‍

If you are interested in getting more information about a visa, get in touch with Australian Migration Lawyers for a consultation.

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The Practical Impact on Wait Times

Before Direction 119 took effect, decisions on many skilled visa applications were being made within a matter of weeks. Industry reporting since the change indicates offshore applicants outside the priority categories, including nurses and teachers, are now facing waits of up to around 12 months.

Migration and recruitment professionals have raised concerns about the practical effect of prioritising by occupation category alone. Because the priority tiers are broad and based on occupation category rather than specific skill shortages, migration professionals have noted a possible side effect: an onshore applicant in a broadly-defined priority category could be processed ahead of an offshore applicant in a genuinely hard-to-fill specialist role, simply due to location at the time of application.

Why the Government Introduced the Change

The change forms part of a broader government effort to reduce Net Overseas Migration (NOM), which the government has targeted to bring down from around 300,000 to 225,000 by 2028. Family visa processing has been affected by a parallel change, and Working Holiday Maker visa processing has also reportedly slowed as part of the same broader approach.

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Industry Response

The changes have drawn criticism from business and mining groups, who argue the settings could affect Australia's ability to fill specialist roles that cannot be sourced locally. Industry bodies have pointed to sectors including construction, healthcare and resources as being particularly reliant on offshore-sourced specialist skills, and have called for a more differentiated approach that better reflects genuine skill shortages within individual occupations.

What This Means for Employers and Applicants

Employers currently recruiting offshore for skilled or employer-sponsored roles should factor the extended processing timeframes into workforce planning, particularly for roles outside the priority occupation categories. Where a role can realistically be filled onshore, whether through the local labour market or an existing visa holder already in Australia, this pathway may now offer a materially faster route to visa grant under the new prioritisation framework.

For offshore applicants already in the system, an existing application has not been withdrawn or refused as a result of this change, but its position in the processing order may now be lower than previously expected.

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How We Can Help You

Whether you're an employer planning your recruitment pipeline or an applicant affected by these processing changes, understanding how Direction 119 applies to your specific occupation and circumstances is essential to planning realistically. Our migration lawyers can review your situation, explain your options under the current framework, and help you consider whether an onshore pathway may better suit your timeframe.

We offer a free consultation, available seven days a week, to help you navigate these changes.