Specialist immigration firm Ajuria Lawyers confirmed yesterday that Ministerial Direction 121 has officially replaced Direction 119 for Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) and Skills-in-Demand visa applications lodged on or after – and even before – 19 September 2026. The change mirrors the new Direction 122 for permanent visas but goes further by putting seven priority sectors – construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources – ahead of the previously top-ranked Specialist Skills (high-salary) stream. In practice, an offshore civil engineer in construction can now be finalised ahead of an on-shore software engineer earning AU$150,000. Ajuria’s briefing highlights early Department of Home Affairs processing data: Priority-sector 482 cases are already being worked on from October 2025 lodgements, whereas on-shore applicants in lower bands are stuck on files lodged eight months later. Employers are urged to test whether their nominated occupations meet the sector definitions; some roles common on major projects (e.g., HR managers) do not qualify. The Direction also codifies a discretionary power for officers to elevate applications on community-safety or international-relations grounds – a lever rarely used but potentially valuable for multinational emergency deployments. For global-mobility teams, the message is clear: check each pending 482 case against the new hierarchy, re-prioritise assignments accordingly and decide whether to lodge on-shore or offshore based on the updated queue dynamics.
Source: Ajuria Lawyers
