Skilled visa processing priorities
Ministerial Direction No. 105 sets the priority for processing applications in the following visa subclasses:
- Distinguished Talent (subclass 124)
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186)
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187)
- Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional) (subclass 188)
- Skilled Independent (subclass 189)
- Skilled Nominated (subclass 190)
- Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191)
- Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482)
- Skilled Regional (provisional) (subclass 489)
- Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491)
- Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (subclass 494)
- National Innovation visa (subclass 858)
- Skilled Regional (subclass 887)
- Business Innovation and Investment (permanent) (subclass 888)
Ministerial Direction No. 105 does
not apply to the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482).
Ministerial Direction No. 105 provides the following order of priority:
- For employer sponsored visas*, the department will process visa applications for positions located in a designated regional area**.
- Visa applications for healthcare or teaching occupations.
- For employer sponsored visas, visa applications where an approved sponsor with accredited status nominates the applicant.
- For permanent and provisional visa subclasses, visa applications that count towards the migration program, excluding the Subclass 188 (Business Innovation and Investment (Provisional)) visa.
- All other visa applications***.
The department processes all other skilled visa applications in order of date of lodgement. Processing times for applications with lower priority under Ministerial Direction No.105 may exceed published
global visa processing times.
*Employer sponsored visas include:
**For more information on what locations are designated regional areas, see Regional migration.
***As subclass 191 visa applications are not made in relation to a specific occupation, they are processed as ‘all other visas’, generally in the order in which they were received.
Healthcare or Teaching Occupations
- ANZSCO Sub-major Group 25 - Health Professionals
- ANZSCO Minor Group 241 - School Teachers
- ANZSCO Minor Group 411 - Health and Welfare Support Workers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 1341 - Child Care Centre Managers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2346 - Medical Scientists
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2721 - Counsellors
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2723 - Psychologists
- ANZSCO Unit Group 2725 - Social Workers
- ANZSCO Unit Group 3112 - Medical Technicians
- ANZSCO occupations:
- 134311 - School Principal
- 421111 - Child Care Worker
- 423111 - Aged or Disabled Carer
- 423312 - Nursing Support Worker
- 423313 - Personal Care Assistant.
Visa application lodgement requirements
To help with processing times, it is important to lodge a complete application (including health and character
checks and skills assessments).
You should also give all supporting documents as soon as possible. We may not ask you for further documents before deciding on your visa application.
- If you have applied for your visa in ImmiAccount, the checklists will help you in making sure you include all required documents in your application.
- If you did not apply for your visa in ImmiAccount, please refer to the relevant webpage for your visa subclass. You must ensure you have included all documents listed in the ‘Gather your documents’ section under ‘Step by Step’ instructions.
Processing times
For more information see Processing times guide.
