Permanent and regional skilled visas processed under Ministerial Direction No. 122

The Department advises that applications for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Skilled Independent (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated (subclass 190), Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) and Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) visas are now prioritised under Ministerial Direction No. 122. Priority goes to the construction, healthcare, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources sectors and to Australia's law enforcement and defence interests, then to applicants who were in Australia at lodgement, ahead of applicants outside Australia. The Department notes that published allocation dates and processing timeframes may fluctuate during the transition.