Will Your Subclass 482 Visa Application Be Prioritised?

If you are applying for a Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa, or you have an undecided Subclass 482 Temporary Skill Shortage visa application, Direction 121 may affect the order in which the Department of Home Affairs considers and disposes of your application.

Direction 121 gives the highest processing priority to applications made by primary applicants in relation to specified occupations in construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, as well as occupations related to Australia’s lawenforcement or defence interests. It also gives the next highest priority to Skills in Demand visa applications in the Specialist Skills stream.

The information below is current as at 19 September 2026. Migration legislation, policy and processing arrangements can change, so it may not be current when you read it. For advice about your individual circumstances, please book a phone consultation with Senior Registered Migration Agent, Michelle Firth.

Direction 121 and Subclass 482 Visas

Direction 121 is a Ministerial Direction made under section 499 of the Migration Act 1958. It sets the order in which delegates consider and dispose of visa applications for certain temporary skilled visas.

It applies to:

• Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa applications

• Temporary Skill Shortage (Subclass 482) visa applications that had not been finally decided before the Direction commenced.

The Temporary Skill Shortage visa was replaced by the Skills in Demand visa on 7 December 2024. However, Direction 121 continues to apply to undecided applications in the former Temporary Skill Shortage stream.

Direction 121 applies to applications made but not finally determined before commencement, as well as applications made after commencement. It does not change the substantive criteria for a Subclass 482 visa. Employers, sponsors and visa applicants must still meet the relevant requirements under the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Regulations 1994 and associated legislative instruments.

Priority processing is not a visa grant. It does not guarantee that a visa will be granted or that an application will be finalised within a particular timeframe.

The Processing Order

Direction 121 establishes five processing groups. Applications in a higher group are intended to be considered and disposed of before applications in lower groups, subject to the Direction’s exceptions.

A visa application combined with a primary applicant’s application in a way permitted by the Migration Regulations 1994 receives the same priority as the primary applicant’s application.

Direction 121 also contains exceptions. It does not apply to certain applications involving the Administrative Review Tribunal, certain non combined family unit applications, or applications where it is readily apparent that the visa grant criteria would not be satisfied.

Priority 1 Occupations

Priority 1 applies to applications made by primary applicants in relation to occupations within the categories specified in Direction 121. The Direction refers to defined ANZSCO 2022 groups, unit groups and specified individual occupations.

Being employed by a business in a particular industry does not, by itself, establish Priority 1 processing. The nominated occupation or nominated position must fall within the relevant category in Direction 121.

Construction Occupations

Direction 121 includes the following construction occupation categories:

• ANZSCO Sub-Major Group 33  Construction Trades Workers

• ANZSCO Sub-Major Group 82  Construction and Mining Labourers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 1331  Construction Managers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 1332  Engineering Managers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 2321  Architects and Landscape Architects

• ANZSCO Unit Group 2332  Civil Engineering Professionals

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3121  Architectural, Building and Surveying Technicians

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3122  Civil Engineering Draftspersons and Technicians

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3126  Safety Inspectors

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3129  Other Building and Engineering Technicians

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3222  Sheetmetal Workers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 3223  Structural Steel and Welding Trades Workers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 7111  Clay, Concrete, Glass and Stone Processing Machine Operators

• ANZSCO Unit Group 7121  Crane, Hoist and Lift Operators

• ANZSCO Unit Group 7212  Earthmoving Plant Operators

• ANZSCO 341111  Electrician (General)

• ANZSCO 341112  Electrician (Special Class).

Healthcare Occupations

The following healthcare occupation categories are included in Direction 121:

• ANZSCO Sub-Major Group 25  Health Professionals

• ANZSCO Minor Group 411  Health and Welfare Support Workers

• 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 423111  Aged or Disabled Carer

• ANZSCO 423312  Nursing Support Worker

• ANZSCO 423313  Personal Care Assistant.

Teaching Occupations

Direction 121 includes these education and childcare categories and occupations:

• ANZSCO Minor Group 241  School Teachers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 1341 Child Care Centre Managers

• ANZSCO 134311  School Principal

• ANZSCO 134411  Faculty Head

• ANZSCO 242111  University Lecturer

• ANZSCO 242211  Vocational Education Teacher (AUS)/ Polytechnic Teacher (NZ)

• ANZSCO 421111  Child Care Worker.

Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing

Direction 121 does not identify agriculture, aquaculture and fishing occupations by a fixed ANZSCO group or occupation code list. Instead, it focuses on whether the nominated position is directly involved in primary produce production or supporting productivity.

The Direction includes nominated positions directly involved in:

• Cultivation, production or harvesting of crops

• Capture of fish, or the breeding, raising, management or production of livestock, poultry, seafood or other primary agricultural products

• Agricultural production support activities, including animal health, irrigation, quality assurance, inspection or farm supervision

• Slaughter, dressing, boning, slicing, processing, preparation or inspection of livestock, poultry, seafood or other primary agricultural products for sale, distribution or consumption.

The actual duties and function of the nominated position are important. An occupation title or an employer’s industry alone does not establish that the position is covered by this Priority 1 category.

Resources-Sector Occupations

Direction 121 defines a resources-sector occupation as one where the nominated position directly supports the exploration, extraction and production of minerals, oil and gas, or coal resources. This includes mine closure, decommissioning and rehabilitation activities.

The Direction includes:

• ANZSCO Unit Group 2336  Mining Engineers

• ANZSCO Unit Group 2344  Geologists, Geophysicists and Hydrogeologists

• ANZSCO Unit Group 7122  Drillers, Miners and Shot Firers

• ANZSCO 133513  Production Manager (Mining)

• ANZSCO 232212  Surveyor

• ANZSCO 232214  Other Spatial Scientist

• ANZSCO 234912  Metallurgist

• ANZSCO 323211  Fitter (General)

• ANZSCO 323212  Fitter and Turner

• ANZSCO 323213  Fitter-Welder

• ANZSCO 323214  Metal Machinist (First Class)

• ANZSCO 323299  Metal Fitters and Machinists nec.

Police Occupations

An occupation related to Australia’s law-enforcement interests is Priority 1 where:

• the occupation is in ANZSCO Unit Group 4413  Police; and

• the applicant is nominated or sponsored by one of the following agencies:

  • Australian Federal Police

  • New South Wales Police Force

  • Northern Territory Police Force

  • Queensland Police Service

  • South Australia Police

  • Tasmania Police

  • Victoria Police

  • Western Australia Police Force.

Both elements must be met. Working for, or being recruited by, a police related organisation is not alone sufficient if the nominated occupation is not within ANZSCO Unit Group 4413.

Defence Related Occupations

Direction 121 does not provide a closed ANZSCO occupation list for defence related priority processing.

An occupation related to Australia’s defence interests includes an occupation that:

• relates to, or supports the delivery of, AUKUS Pillar I conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarines or AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability development; or

• is an occupation for which the applicant is nominated or sponsored by the Australian Defence Force or the Department of Defence; or

• is an occupation for which the applicant has a letter of support from the Australian Defence Force or Department of Defence and the applicant will ordinarily undertake the occupation at a defence facility; or

• is an occupation for which the applicant has a letter of support from the Australian Defence Force or Department of Defence and the occupation supports the production or supply of defence related materiel or technology.

Priority 2: Specialist Skills Stream

Priority 2 applies to applications for a Skills in Demand (Subclass 482) visa where the applicant seeks to satisfy the criteria for grant in the Specialist Skills stream.

This priority applies after Priority 1 occupations and before other onshore or offshore primary applicant applications.

An application in the Specialist Skills stream is not automatically a Priority 1 application. It will be Priority 1 only where it also falls within a Priority 1 occupation category under Direction 121.

What This Means

Direction 121 establishes an order for considering and disposing of specified Subclass 482 visa applications. It does not create a new visa program, replace the Subclass 482 criteria, guarantee a grant or promise a particular processing timeframe.

An application may receive Priority 1 processing where it is made by a primary applicant in relation to an occupation in the construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or resources sectors, or an occupation related to Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests.

If Priority 1 does not apply, a Skills in Demand application in the Specialist Skills stream is Priority 2. Other primary applicants in Australia when they lodge are generally Priority 3. Primary applicants outside Australia may be Priority 4 if their application has not been combined with another person’s application at any time. Remaining applications fall within Priority 5.

For advice about whether a proposed Subclass 482 nomination and visa application may fall within a Direction 121 priority category, please book a phone consultation with Senior Registered Migration Agent Michelle Firth.