Every week someone sits down in our Dubai office with a positive skills assessment, a points score they have checked twice, and one question: should I lodge my Australian application from here, or wait? Since 25 July 2026 the honest answer has a new layer. The Department of Home Affairs now works through skilled applications in an order set by Ministerial Direction 119, and where you are standing when you apply is part of that order.
At a glance
- Ministerial Direction 119 came into effect on 25 July 2026 and replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 105.
- Priority depends on both the occupation and whether the applicant is in Australia or overseas at the time of application.
- The Direction applies to applications already lodged but not yet decided, not only to new ones.
- Onshore applicants in healthcare, teaching or construction occupations get a dedicated tier; offshore applicants in the same occupations do not.
- It changes the order of the queue, not the occupation lists or the visa criteria.
What Ministerial Direction 119 is, in plain terms
A ministerial direction is an instruction from the Minister to the Department about how to handle certain applications. Direction 119 was made under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958. It commenced on the day after it was signed and formally revoked Direction 105, which was dated 14 December 2023.
As at September 2026, the Department’s own summary is one sentence: nomination and visa applications for certain skilled visas are processed according to Government policy priorities, which are outlined in Ministerial Direction 119 and came into effect on 25 July 2026.
Two things are new. First, the Direction now covers the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) program, which was not included under Direction 105. Second, it applies to every application on hand. The instrument says so directly: “this Direction applies to nomination applications and visa applications made, but not finally determined, before the commencement of this Direction, and to nomination applications and 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: prioritising skilled migrants in occupations supporting law enforcement and Defence, and in healthcare, teaching and construction with a focus on housing, “ensures the skilled migration program is providing the right skills in the right occupations.”
The priority tiers, side by side
Sections 7 and 8 of the Direction set the order for nomination applications and visa applications respectively, in paragraphs (a) to (e). Think of it as boarding groups at the airport: your group is printed on the card before you reach the gate, and it depends on both your occupation and where you are when you apply.
| Tier | Occupation | Location at the time of application |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or Defence interests | In Australia |
| (b) | Occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or Defence interests | Outside Australia |
| (c) | Healthcare occupation, teaching occupation or construction occupation | In Australia |
| (d) | The remaining applications not captured by (a), (b), (c) or (e) | See note below |
| (e) | All other applications | Outside Australia |
Two points stand out for anyone reading this from the UAE. Within the law enforcement and Defence tier, being onshore ranks above being offshore for the same occupation. And tier (c), the healthcare, teaching and construction tier, is written for nominees and applicants who are in Australia when the application is made. For visa applications, paragraph (e) reads: “All other visa applications where the applicant is a primary applicant who is outside Australia at the time the application is made.” That is the tier for offshore applicants in any occupation other than law enforcement or Defence, and on the Direction’s text that includes offshore healthcare, teaching and construction professionals.
Paragraph (d) sits between (c) and (e). We have kept the table to the wording we verified against the instrument. The Department’s summary states the principle that runs through all five paragraphs: “Prioritisation under Ministerial Direction 119 is afforded according to both occupation and the location of applicants at the time of application.”
Which visas the Direction covers
Schedule A applies the nomination order to five subclasses: 186, 187, 482 (Skills in Demand), 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage) and 494. These are the employer-sponsored pathways.
Schedule B applies the visa-application order to twelve visa classes and subclasses, including 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 482, 489, 491, 494, 888 and 887. 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, law enforcement and Defence
The definitions are narrower than the headlines suggest. A “healthcare occupation” is defined by ANZSCO groups, including Sub-major Group 25 (Health Professionals) and Minor Group 411 (Health and Welfare Support Workers), together with named roles such as Medical Scientists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Aged or Disabled Carer and Nursing Support Worker. Each occupation within the definition carries equal priority.
The law enforcement tier is tighter still. It means an occupation in ANZSCO Unit Group 4413 (Police), and only where the applicant is nominated or sponsored by the Australian Federal Police or one of the named state and territory police forces. Defence-related occupations are limited to AUKUS Pillar I and II roles and specific occupations sponsored by the Australian Defence Force or the Department of Defence. In other words, the first two tiers are not open to a general applicant with a strong CV. They are sponsorship-specific.
Clients have already asked us whether a Defence-adjacent employer in the Gulf lifts them into tier (a) or (b). On the Direction’s definitions, it does not.
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 or have their nomination approved.”
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. We do not quote a month count for offshore applicants in this post for that reason. 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 not in a police or Defence-sponsored role, an application lodged from here is, on the Direction’s text, an offshore application in the lowest tier. That is true even if you work in a hospital, a school or on a construction site, because tier (c) is written for applicants who are in Australia when they apply. We would rather you hear that from us now than discover it well into a wait.
It does not mean offshore applications 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.
- Understand what “in Australia at the time of application” would mean for you. Some readers will have a lawful way to be in Australia when they apply and some will not. This has visa, family and financial consequences and should be assessed on your circumstances, not on a blog post.
- Check where your occupation sits. If you work in health, education or construction, confirm your ANZSCO code against the Direction’s definitions rather than the job title on your UAE labour card.
- 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 25 July 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 119 order.
I work in healthcare in Abu Dhabi. Do I get the healthcare priority?
Tier (c) is written for applicants who are in Australia at the time the application is made. An application lodged from Abu Dhabi is an offshore application, and the Direction places offshore applicants outside the law enforcement and Defence occupations in the lowest tier.
Has the occupation list or the points test changed with Direction 119?
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 — accessed 13 Sep 2026
- Ministerial Direction No. 119 (official instrument, Department of Home Affairs) — accessed 13 Sep 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
Not sure which route fits you? Speak to a licensed consultant — CICC (Canada) and MARA (Australia) regulated. No obligation.
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