Most current applicants do not need to lodge anything new.
The directions change the order in which covered applications are considered. They do not, by themselves, cancel a valid application, change the visa criteria or decide the outcome. Many applications lodged before 25 July 2026 are brought into the new order if they were not finally determined by that date.
Three new directions made under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958 commenced on 25 July 2026:
- Direction 117 for Family visa applications, replacing Direction 102.
- Direction 119 for specified Skilled nominations and visa applications, replacing Direction 105.
- Direction 120 for Class BX Subclass 858 applications, replacing Direction 112.
The queue order.
Location at the time of application now has a stronger role in Family and Skilled processing. Direction 119 also changes occupation priorities.
The legal test for the visa.
Applicants must still satisfy the relevant Act and Regulations. A higher priority is not approval; a lower priority is not refusal.
Direction 117: Family and Partner visas
Direction 117 adds a location and grant-position split above the existing Family visa order. The Home Affairs Family visa priorities page says the higher group is for applications made while the primary applicant was in Australia, for a visa that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.
Higher group
Primary applicant was in Australia when applying, and the visa can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.
Lower group
Primary applicant was outside Australia when applying, or must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
Within each group, the established Family order broadly continues:
- Specified ministerial-intervention matters.
- Partner and dependent-child applications.
- Orphan-relative applications.
- Contributory parent and contributory aged-parent applications.
- Carer applications.
- Parent, aged-parent, remaining-relative and aged-dependent-relative applications.
What Direction 117 may mean for current clients
| Current matter | Likely effect of Direction 117 | Action solely because of the direction? |
|---|---|---|
| 820 / 801 | A qualifying onshore application may have greater relative priority than applications in the offshore group. This is not a promised decision date. | Usually no |
| 309 / 100 | The application remains in the Partner category but sits within the offshore side of the new structure. The changed order does not invalidate or refuse it. | Usually no |
| Subclass 300 | Prospective Marriage applications remain covered by the Family direction and fall within the offshore side of the structure. | Usually no |
| Parent / other family | Direction 103, section 85 caps and queue dates may still control when capped Family applications progress or can be granted. | Usually no |
Direction 117 also retains a limited case-by-case departure where there are special circumstances of a compassionate nature and compelling reasons. This should not be treated as automatic priority. Evidence and the individual circumstances matter.
Direction 119: Skilled visas and nominations
Direction 119 makes a more substantial change for the covered Skilled program. The order now turns on both the occupation and whether the applicant or nominee was in Australia when the relevant application was made.
The Home Affairs Skilled visa priorities page sets out five groups:
- Onshore applications supporting Australia’s law-enforcement or defence interests.
- Offshore applications supporting Australia’s law-enforcement or defence interests.
- Onshore applications in listed construction, healthcare or teaching occupations.
- All other onshore applications.
- All other offshore applications.
The direction covers specified nominations and visa applications including subclasses 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 482, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. It now includes the Skills in Demand subclass 482 program, which was not included under Direction 105.
It also removes the former Direction 105 processing tiers based on a position in a designated regional area or an accredited sponsor. Those facts may remain relevant elsewhere in the visa framework, but they no longer create those former processing-priority tiers.
What Direction 119 may mean in practice
- Onshore applicants: a covered application may now sit ahead of a comparable offshore application.
- Construction applicants: listed construction occupations join healthcare and teaching in the third group, but only where the applicant or nominee was onshore when the relevant application was made.
- Most offshore applicants: applications outside the defined law-enforcement and defence group sit in the fifth group.
- Location is fixed to the relevant application event: later travel does not, by itself, rewrite where the applicant or nominee was when the application was made.
The full Direction 119 expressly states that it does not change the skilled migration occupation lists. Applicants and nominees must still meet the legislative requirements.
Direction 120: National Innovation and older Subclass 858 cases
Direction 120 applies to Class BX Subclass 858 cases, including current National Innovation applications and pending older Global Talent and Distinguished Talent applications.
The five-tier order prioritises:
- Global experts who have received top-of-field international awards.
- Applicants nominated by an expert Australian Government, state or territory government agency.
- Applicants with exceptional and outstanding achievements in tier 1 sectors.
- Applicants with exceptional and outstanding achievements in tier 2 sectors.
- All other applications.
The priority structure is substantially similar to former Direction 112. The main scope change is that it expressly covers the wider Class BX cohort, including pending older applications. The full Direction 120 confirms that the legislative requirements for the visa still apply.
What the directions do not promise
None of the three directions gives an individual applicant a guaranteed decision date. They do not mean every application in a higher group will be decided before any application in a lower group.
Actual processing can still be affected by application completeness, health and character checks, information from other agencies, a request for further information, annual program settings, caps and queues, and Departmental resources. Published processing-time figures remain historical indicators rather than service guarantees.
Processing priority and processing time are different measures. For the current official Partner category indicator, subclass context and Salvo's separately labelled historical case data, use the dedicated Australian partner visa processing times guide.
Do current applicants need to act?
Usually, no action is required solely because the processing directions changed. Current applicants should continue to:
- keep contact, passport and material circumstance information current;
- monitor Department correspondence and ImmiAccount;
- respond carefully to requests by the stated deadline;
- maintain valid visa status and obtain advice before travel where relevant; and
- keep important evidence current while the application is undecided.
Do not travel, select a pathway or lodge an application merely to chase a perceived processing advantage. Application validity, current visa conditions, bridging visas, Schedule 3, section 48 and grant-location rules can all require individual legal analysis.
Current Salvo clients do not need to request a separate review merely because Directions 117, 119 or 120 commenced. Our legal team will contact a client if the change creates a case-specific step. A client whose circumstances have materially changed should tell us promptly.
The bottom line
The 25 July 2026 changes reorder many undecided Family and Skilled applications, with greater relative priority for certain applicants who were already in Australia when the relevant application was made.
That can improve the relative position of some onshore applications and lower the relative position of many offshore applications. It does not predict an individual decision date and does not change the need to satisfy every legal requirement for the visa.