Australian Immigration – August 2026

This month’s update centres on Ministerial Direction 117 & 119, a change to how skilled visa applications and family visa applications are processed that puts onshore applicants ahead of offshore ones for the first time, and what it signals about the direction of migration policy more broadly. We also cover a fresh processing pause on Work and Holiday visas (subclass 462) affecting close to two dozen partner countries, the latest nomination news out of Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory, and updated processing timeframes for skilled visas, newborn addition requests and Bridging Visa B applications.

As always, staying informed and planning ahead is the best way to navigate Australia’s ever-changing migration environment. We hope you enjoy this month’s update, and we wish all of our clients and partners a smooth and successful start to spring.

• New Application Processing Order for Skilled Visas: MD 119
• Migration Reform: The Bigger Picture Behind Direction 119
• New Application Processing Order for Family Visas: MD 117
• Work and Holiday Visa (Subclass 462): Processing Pause Update
• State Updates: Tasmania, Queensland & Northern Territory
• Skilled Visa Processing Updated
• Processing Times for Newborn Addition Requests
• Bridging Visa B Processing Times

The Department of Home Affairs brought in Ministerial Direction 119 on 25 July 2026, changing the sequence in which skilled nominations and visa applications get processed. It takes the place of Direction 105, which had been running since December 2023.

What’s Actually Changed

The old approach gave first priority to regional occupations, then to healthcare and teaching, then to applications lodged through accredited sponsors. None of that carries over. Processing order is now set by occupation type together with whether the applicant is onshore or offshore when the application goes in:

• onshore law enforcement and defence related applications
• offshore law enforcement and defence related applications
• onshore healthcare, teaching and construction occupations
• everything else lodged onshore
• everything else lodged offshore

Key takeaway: being in Australia when you lodge now generally earns you a faster spot in the queue than an equivalent offshore application, no matter what your occupation is. That’s a real change from how things used to work.

Which visas are affected

Direction 119 reaches across most of the skilled migration program, among them:

• Employer sponsored visas: subclasses 186, 187 and 494
• Skills in Demand / TSS: subclass 482, which sat outside the old Direction 105 entirely
• Points tested and regional visas: subclasses 189, 190, 191, 489 and 491
• Other skilled pathways: subclasses 887 and 888

Where it doesn’t apply

• A handful of situations sit outside Direction 119:
• cases the AAT or ART has sent back for reconsideration, or where the AAT or ART has substituted its own decision
• applications where it’s already obvious the criteria can’t be met
• family unit members who didn’t lodge together with the primary applicant
• nominations tied to a change of employer

Why this matters for you

Lodge while you’re in Australia and you’ll typically move ahead of a comparable offshore application, whatever your occupation happens to be. That’s a real consideration if you’re weighing up onshore versus offshore lodgement, and it matters for employers thinking about when and where to time a nomination around a candidate’s location.

It’s also worth knowing this reorder isn’t just for new applications. Anything already sitting in the system that hadn’t been decided by 25 July 2026 gets swept up too, so an application already in progress could move up or down the queue under the new rules.

Direction 119’s onshore-first approach doesn’t sit in isolation. It reflects a wider push by the federal government to bring net overseas migration down and to prioritise people already in Australia over new arrivals from offshore. Before the Direction was even formalised, the Department of Home Affairs quietly published a notice reflecting the Minister’s intent to prioritise onshore migrants over offshore skilled workers. The same principle Direction 119 has now made official in visa processing order.

That shift sits alongside a broader reform package that’s still on hold. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was due to unveil a major package of migration changes at the National Press Club in early August, expected to cover further tightening of the program including changes affecting working holiday makers and family visa applicants, but he pulled out the day before with his office citing unfinished details. The government has said it’s working with the Press Club to find a new date. Reporting since has pointed to genuine disagreement within Cabinet over how far to go, particularly on partner and student visa settings, rather than simple scheduling issues. As of Minister Burke’s press conference on 26 August, no new date has been set, and he’s indicated he won’t rush the announcement.

Other measures flagged in media reporting so far include tighter rules for international students (limits on course-switching and onshore applications), a possible reduction of some visitor visas from 12 to 6 months, and continued crackdowns on visa overstayers — while the government has confirmed the humanitarian intake of 20,000 places will not be cut.

On the numbers: net overseas migration is estimated at around 295,000 for the 2025–26 financial year, with a reduced figure of around 245,000 projected for 2026–27. The permanent migration planning level has been held steady at 185,000 places for 2025–26, consistent with the prior year.

Nothing beyond Direction 119 itself is confirmed policy yet, and details of the broader package could change before any formal announcement. We’re keeping a close eye on developments and will update you as soon as anything is locked in.

Since 25 July 2026, family visa applications have been processed in a new order. Ministerial Direction 117 replaced the previous rules, and it changes who gets to the front of the queue.

What’s changed

It used to be simple: your queue position depended on the type of visa you’d applied for. Where you were living didn’t come into it.

Now, location is what matters most. Applicants in Australia are processed ahead of applicants applying for the same visa from overseas, regardless of when each application was lodged.

Who’s affected

This covers the whole family visa program: Partner, Child, Parent and Other Family visas (including orphan relative and carer categories).

A few exceptions

• Family visas subject to annual visa caps are still governed separately, under Direction 103.
• Applications can still be fast-tracked in genuinely compassionate, compelling circumstances.
• The Direction only sets queue order. It doesn’t promise a decision by any particular date.
• It’s not just new applications either: anything already sitting undecided as at 25 July 2026 has been reshuffled into the new order too.

What does this mean

For offshore partners of Australians, this change is a real problem. Many of these applicants are the husbands, wives and partners of Australians who happen to be overseas, and with the existing partner visa backlog, it’s now unclear how long they’ll wait to be reached at all.

The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) is our peak industry body, and Michelle, our Managing Director, is Vice President of its NSW/ACT Chapter. The MIA has been vocal about this issue since the Direction came in and continues to advocate for change. In a media release on 28 August 2026, CEO Peter van Vliet called on the Government to amend Direction 117 and restore priority processing for offshore partners of Australians, describing the ability to live with your partner as a basic right under the Migration Act.

The Department of Home Affairs has paused new subclass 462 applications from approximately 24 partner countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Spain, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Poland. No official announcement or explanation has been provided, though the Department has previously indicated that pauses of this kind typically occur when a country is approaching its annual limit or when it wants to spread applications more evenly across the program year. No resumption date has been confirmed, so applicants from affected countries should expect longer processing times than usual.

China, India and Vietnam are not part of this pause, as their applications are already managed through a separate ballot rather than first-come, first-served processing. Registrations for the 2026-27 ballot closed on 25 June, ahead of general applications opening on 2 July. India’s ballot is allocated separately, with approximately 1,000 places available annually.

The Czech Republic remains under its own, longer-running pause. Applications from Czech citizens have been on hold since 1 March 2026 while the Australian and Czech governments continue negotiating the terms of their visa arrangement, with no confirmed reopening date.

What this means for clients

If you already hold a subclass 462 visa, this pause has no effect on your existing grant. If you have an application awaiting a decision from one of the paused countries, you should expect a longer wait than usual, with no published timeframe for when processing will resume. If you are yet to apply from a paused country, it is worth confirming your eligibility window and any expiry dates on supporting documents, as these delays may affect your travel planning. Applicants relying on the China, India or Vietnam ballot should already have registered by the 25 June deadline; if you missed it, you will need to wait for the next round. Czech applicants should treat their visa as on hold indefinitely until the two governments reach an agreement.

Tasmania

Tasmania’s skilled nomination allocation for 2026-27 has grown to 2,050 places overall. That breaks down to 1,250 places on the Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) visa, up from 1,200 last year, and 800 places on the Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa, up from 650.

• ROIs opened on 17 August 2026.
• The state started sending out weekly invitations from 20 August 2026, and these will keep rolling out across the year.
• Lodging a nomination now costs $387, or $425.70 with GST. Submitting a Registration of Interest itself is still free.
• Because of Ministerial Direction 119 (mentioned above), Tasmania has decided against issuing subclass 491 invitations to anyone applying from overseas this year. The exception: overseas health and teaching professionals who land a job offer from a Tasmanian health provider or school can still be nominated for a subclass 190 visa through the Overseas Applicant Health or Education Sector Job Offer pathway.
• The application portal now sits at a different address, apply.migration.tas.gov.au, so update any saved links.

What this means for you: with weekly invitations already underway, it’s worth getting a Registration of Interest in sooner rather than later if Tasmania is on your radar. If you’re hoping for a subclass 491 invitation from overseas, keep in mind that pathway isn’t running this year unless you qualify under the health or education job offer arrangement, so it’s worth talking to one of our friendly agents about what alternatives might suit you.

Queensland

Queensland hasn’t opened its 2026-27 nomination program yet. The state is still waiting on the Federal Government to confirm its final allocation.

What has already changed is the fee. Since 1 July 2026, nominating for a subclass 190 or 491 visa costs $573 if you’re applying from offshore and $630.30 if you’re applying onshore (GST included). Anyone invited from that date onward pays the new rate.

What this means for you: while there’s nothing to lodge in Queensland just yet, it is worth budgeting for the higher nomination fee if you expect to be invited once the program opens. We will keep you updated once the allocation is confirmed.

Northern Territory

The NT’s nomination allocation has climbed to 1,850 places for 2026-27, up 200 on last year’s 1,650. Within that, 850 places sit with the subclass 190 visa, unchanged from last year, while 1,000 go to the subclass 491 visa, up from 800.

The portal reopened on 21 August 2026 for onshore applicants across the board, plus a handful of offshore streams. A few of the eligibility settings have moved for this program year:

• the offshore NT Priority Occupation stream isn’t taking new applications while a backlog from the last program year gets cleared
• onshore applicants now need to show at least 35 hours a week with an NT employer to count as full time work, and that can be pieced together from more than one part time job
• working remotely for an employer based outside the NT generally won’t satisfy that requirement, unless the role is servicing NT based clients
• subclass 190 graduates who are relying on job search efforts rather than a confirmed job now need 12 months living in the NT after their course ends, double the previous 6 months. Graduates over 35 who can’t get a subclass 485 visa need to show they’re either employed or have a recent offer in hand
• there’s a new fallback for graduates: 3 months working in a regional or remote area outside Greater Darwin, or a job or offer in a sector the NT considers critical, can be relied on instead
• offshore applicants under the NT Family stream now have to back up their claimed relationship with a written statement or a family tree diagram

What this means for you: if you’re an NT graduate relying on job search efforts, plan around the longer 12-month residency requirement, or reach out to our team to discuss whether the new regional or critical sector exceptions could work in your favour instead. Anyone currently working remotely for an employer outside the NT should double check their role still stacks up against the tightened rules.

The Department of Home Affairs has updated its website to publish processing information for each individual skilled visa subclass. According to the Department, this information may be more accurate than the general timeframe shown on the global processing times page, which does not break processing down by the priority categories set out in Ministerial Direction 119, nor reflect the priority given to onshore applications over offshore ones.

Each individual visa subclass page now shows the lodgement date of applications currently being allocated for processing, based on these priority categories. The Department has advised that this information will be refreshed monthly.

For example, for the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa, the Department is currently processing applications lodged:

• As received, for applications involving Australian law enforcement or defence interests
• August 2026, for construction, healthcare and teaching occupations where the applicant was in Australia at the time of lodgement
• December 2025, for all other applications where the applicant was in Australia at the time of lodgement
• October 2025, for all other applications where the applicant was outside Australia at the time of lodgement

For the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa, the processing of these applications look like this:

• As received – Australian law enforcement or defence interests.
• August 2025 – Construction, healthcare and teaching occupations from applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
• November 2024 – All other applications from applicants who were in Australia when they applied.
• July 2024 – All other applications from applicants who were outside Australia when they applied.​

Please keep in mind that this information cannot be used to predict the exact decision date for an application. It’s a useful guide for understanding current processing priorities and lodgement timeframes, but if you have any questions about how it may affect your matter, please get in touch with our office.

The Department has confirmed the current processing timeframes for requests to add a newborn to an existing visa. As of 7 August 2026, requests are being actioned as follows:

• requests submitted by email: week of 17 July 2026
• requests submitted via the visa webform: week of 24 July 2026

This indicates a slight delay in processing these requests. If you submitted a request to add a newborn before these dates and it has not yet been actioned, please get in touch with us so we can follow this up with the Department on your behalf.

The Department has advised that Bridging Visa B applications should be lodged at least four weeks ahead of your intended travel date. This is because the same team assessing your substantive visa application is also responsible for assessing your BVB application, and needs adequate time to do so.

If your BVB is lodged closer to your travel date, you should not expect it to be granted in time to travel, unless compelling and compassionate circumstances apply.

We are able to request escalation of an outstanding BVB application with the Department, though this is most effective when requested close to the intended travel date.

Spring is usually thought of as a season of change, and this year Australia’s migration program is living up to that reputation. Between a new processing order for skilled visas, a fresh visa pause, nomination programs shifting state by state, and updated processing timeframes across several visa types, it feels like hardly any part of the system has stood still this month.

If there’s one thread running through all of it, it’s that timing now matters more than it used to. Whether an application is lodged onshore or offshore, which occupation it falls under, which state it goes through, or even when a newborn addition or Bridging Visa B request is lodged, can all shape how quickly, and even whether, it gets decided.

That’s exactly where we come in. Whether you’re weighing up onshore versus offshore lodgement, wondering how a policy change actually applies to your situation, or just want a second opinion on timing, we’re always glad to talk it through.

We know the migration process can feel overwhelming, especially when policies shift and programs evolve.

At First Class Migration Australia, our experienced team is here to guide you through the process with up-to-date advice, tailored support, and a deep understanding of the Australian immigration system.

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