Australia’s Skilled Visa Priorities Under Ministerial Direction 122: What Changes from the UAE

Last reviewed 17 October 2026.

You have a positive skills assessment, a points score you have checked twice, and one question: should I lodge my Australian application from here, or wait? Since 19 September 2026 the honest answer has changed again. The Department of Home Affairs now works through skilled applications in an order set by Ministerial Direction 122, and for many applicants in the UAE the occupation now matters more than where you are standing when you apply.

What Ministerial Direction 122 is, in plain terms

A ministerial direction is an instruction from the Minister to the Department about how to handle certain applications. Direction 122 was made under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958 and signed on 18 September 2026. It commenced on the day after it was signed. The Department’s page states that Directions 121 and 122 came into effect on 19 September 2026 and “have replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119.”

Direction 122 covers provisional and permanent skilled visa applications. The Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa, which Direction 119 had covered, now sits under the separate Direction 121 for temporary skilled visas.

Like its predecessor, Direction 122 applies to every application on hand. The instrument says so directly: “this Direction applies to visa applications made, but not finally determined, before the commencement of this Direction, and to visa applications made on or after commencement.” If you lodged last year and are still waiting, the new order applies to you.

The Preamble states the reason: priority processing is given to occupations in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, and in Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests, so that the program supports “key industries and strategically important occupations that are in the national interest.” It adds: “Priority in remaining sectors is afforded to skilled migrants already contributing to Australia before all other applicants.”

The priority tiers, side by side

Section 6 of the Direction sets the order in paragraphs (a) to (d), with (a) the highest priority and (d) the lowest. Think of it as boarding groups at the airport: your group is printed on the card before you reach the gate. Under Direction 122, the occupation prints the first group; location only matters for everyone else.

The change that matters most for anyone reading this from the UAE is tier (a). Under Direction 119, the healthcare, teaching and construction tier was written for applicants in Australia, and an offshore nurse or teacher sat in the lowest tier. Paragraph 6(3)(a) of Direction 122 has no location condition: “visa applications made by a primary applicant in relation to an occupation in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, and resources sectors, or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests.”

Family members who apply together with the primary applicant in a way the Regulations permit get the same priority as the primary applicant. A delegate may depart from the order only for compelling circumstances affecting community safety or the continuity of essential religious, cultural or community services in Australia.

Which visas the Direction covers

The Schedule to Direction 122 lists ten visa subclasses: 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. That list matters for UAE readers because the points-tested visas commonly used by applicants here, the subclass 189, 190 and 491, are named directly. If you are working towards one of them, our Australia skilled migration visa page walks through the pathway, and the Australia points calculator gives you a first read on your score.

What counts as healthcare, teaching, construction and the other sectors

The definitions are narrower than the headlines suggest, and each occupation within a definition carries equal priority.

• Healthcare: ANZSCO Sub-major Group 25 (Health Professionals) and Minor Group 411 (Health and Welfare Support Workers), plus Medical Scientists, Counsellors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Medical Technicians, Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker and Personal Care Assistant.
• Teaching: ANZSCO Minor Group 241 (School Teachers) and Child Care Centre Managers, plus School Principal, Faculty Head, University Lecturer, Vocational Education Teacher and Child Care Worker.
• Construction: construction trades workers, construction and mining labourers, construction managers, engineering managers, architects and landscape architects, civil engineering professionals, a list of building and engineering technician groups, sheetmetal, structural steel and welding trades workers, some plant operators, and Electrician (General) and Electrician (Special Class).
• Resources: roles that directly support the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas or coal, including Mining Engineers, Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists, Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers, Surveyor, Metallurgist and several fitter and machinist occupations.
• Agriculture, aquaculture and fishing: positions directly involved in primary produce production or supporting its productivity.

The law enforcement and defence parts are tight. Law enforcement means 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. Defence means AUKUS Pillar I or II roles, or roles nominated, sponsored or supported by the Australian Defence Force or the Department of Defence under the Direction’s conditions. These are not open to a general applicant with a strong CV.

A common question is whether a Defence-adjacent employer in the Gulf lifts an applicant into tier (a). On the Direction’s definitions, it does not. What can lift you into tier (a) is the occupation itself, checked against the ANZSCO codes above.

What the Direction does not change

It is easy to read a processing direction as an eligibility change. The Preamble states: “This Direction does not change the composition of the skilled migration occupation lists. Applicants must meet the requirements set out in the Act and the Regulations in order to be granted a visa.”

Your skills assessment, English test, points and health and character checks are exactly as demanding as before. Only the order in which the Department picks up the file has changed.

One more honest note on timelines. The Department’s own processing-times guide says its published timeframes are an indication based on recently decided applications, and that they do not promise an application will be decided within that period. The subclass 189 page, last updated 1 July 2026, said applications then being processed were lodged in or before June 2026 for priority sectors and onshore applicants, and in November 2025 for offshore applicants. That was under the earlier Direction, so treat it as background, not a forecast. The figure on the Department’s tool moves, and a number copied from a blog is not one to plan a resignation around.

From the UAE: what this means for you

If you are in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and your occupation falls within the construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources definitions, an application lodged from here now sits in the first tier, the same as an applicant already in Australia in that occupation. That is a real change from Direction 119.

If your occupation is outside those sectors, an application lodged from here sits in tier (c) if it is not combined with another person’s application, or tier (d) if it is. On the Direction’s text, a combined family application from offshore in a non-priority occupation is in the lowest tier. We would rather you hear that from us now than discover it well into a wait.

It does not mean offshore applications outside the priority sectors are closed or pointless. The criteria have not moved, and the Direction applies to the queue rather than the gate. It does mean the wait should be treated as uncertain and possibly long, and your paperwork should be built to survive that.

Here is what we walk through with UAE clients now:

• Get the file complete before you lodge. Degree certificates and their attestations, reference letters from former employers on letterhead, bank statements if your pathway needs them, and a skills assessment that matches the occupation you nominate. A file picked up later in the queue should not then stall on a document request.
• Keep evidence current while you wait. Check the expiry dates on your English test, police clearances and passport, and diarise renewals the day you lodge. If the Department reaches your file after a long wait, expired evidence becomes your problem to fix.
• Check where your occupation sits. If you work in health, education, construction or resources, confirm your ANZSCO code against the Direction’s definitions rather than the job title on your UAE labour card. Tier (a) depends on the occupation in the application, not your employer’s industry.
• Think about whether to combine. Outside the priority sectors, an offshore application that is not combined with another person’s application ranks above one that is. Whether to include family members has visa, family and financial consequences and should be assessed on your circumstances, not on a blog post.
• Already lodged? The Direction applies to your undecided application too. Nothing needs to be re-lodged, but the order has changed, and it is worth reviewing whether your file is complete.

Our Australia PR from Dubai guide covers the document side in more detail, and the Australia hub lists the pathways we work on.

Frequently asked questions

I lodged my subclass 189 application before 19 September 2026. Does the new Direction affect me?

Yes. The Direction applies to applications made but not finally determined before it commenced, as well as to applications made on or after that date. Your application is now considered in the Direction 122 order.

I work in healthcare in Abu Dhabi. Do I get the healthcare priority?

If your nominated occupation is within the Direction’s healthcare definition, yes. Under Direction 122, tier (a) covers applications in healthcare occupations whether the applicant is in or outside Australia. Check your ANZSCO code against the definition first.

Has the occupation list or the points test changed with Direction 122?

No. The Direction states that it does not change the composition of the skilled migration occupation lists, and applicants must still meet all requirements in the Act and the Regulations.

What to do next

Start with a free eligibility assessment so you know which tier your file would sit in and what it is missing. Call us on 04 357 7796, or book a 20-minute review through our contact page. Our consultants are individually registered with MARA, whose Code of Conduct prohibits advertising that promises an application will succeed or implies what a policy change means for its outcome. We do not promise outcomes; we tell you where your file stands and what would make it stronger.

Sources

• Department of Home Affairs — Skilled visa processing priorities (Ministerial Directions 121 and 122) — accessed 17 Oct 2026
• Ministerial Direction No. 122 (official instrument, Department of Home Affairs) — accessed 17 Oct 2026
• Department of Home Affairs — Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), points-tested stream — accessed 17 Oct 2026
• Department of Home Affairs — Global visa processing times — accessed 13 Sep 2026
• Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) — Code of Conduct for registered migration agents — accessed 13 Sep 2026

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