Several important changes to Australian migration policy have emerged recently. This week’s highlights include new processing priorities taking effect for skilled visas and Subclass 482 visas, Western Australia’s first state nomination invitation round of the financial year, further reductions in the Subclass 189/190/491 visa backlogs, and lower invitation scores in Tasmania’s latest round.
We have also compiled this week’s actual visa grants, state nomination invitations and skills assessment cases below.
1. New skilled visa processing priorities: is there still hope for Subclass 485 secondary applicants?
2. Western Australia holds an unexpected first round, inviting several civil engineering occupations
3. Subclass 189/491/190 visa backlogs continue to fall
4. Tasmania holds its next round as scheduled, with lower invitation scores
5. This week’s visa grants, invitations and skills assessment roundup
1. Migration policy changes: new skilled visa processing priorities, but is there still hope for Subclass 485 secondary applicants?
The Australian Government finally announced new migration policy changes this Thursday. Together with the information released on Friday and Saturday, we can now confirm changes to the processing priorities for skilled visas and Subclass 482 visas.
New ministerial direction takes effect, adding priority occupations for skilled visas
The new Ministerial Direction 122 has taken effect, replacing Ministerial Direction 119, which had been in force for less than three months.
MD 122 applies to skilled and employer-sponsored visas including Subclasses 186, 189, 190, 191, 489, 491, 494, 887 and 888. It covers all nomination or visa applications awaiting a decision, as well as newly lodged applications.
However, the direction does not apply to decisions under review by the ART, or decisions remitted or set aside by the ART. It also excludes subsequent entrant applications made after the primary applicant has already been granted a visa.
Under the new arrangements, first priority goes to applications where the primary applicant’s occupation falls within the seven priority sectors or is related to law enforcement or defence. Second priority goes to primary applicants in other occupations who lodged their applications in Australia. Third priority goes to applications lodged offshore that have not included any secondary applicants at any stage. Fourth priority covers all other applications that do not fall into the first three categories.
Compared with the previous MD 119, MD 122 adds priority occupations in agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources. Priority occupations are also no longer differentiated by whether the application was lodged onshore or offshore: offshore applications in priority occupations can also receive first priority.
The construction sector also gains occupation group 3122, Civil Engineering Draftsperson and Technician, while the teaching sector gains 134411 Faculty Head.
Processing priorities also updated for Subclass 482 visas
The new Ministerial Direction 121 applies to Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visas, covering all Subclass 482 applications awaiting a decision and newly lodged applications.
The new order of priority is: occupations in priority sectors and occupations related to law enforcement or defence; the Specialist Skills Stream; other Subclass 482 applications lodged onshore; applications lodged offshore that have not included any secondary applicants at any stage; and all other applications outside the preceding categories.
MD 121 also adds occupations in agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, along with construction occupation group 3122 and the teaching occupation 134411 Faculty Head.
Compared with the previous MD 119, the new MD 121 no longer distinguishes between nomination and visa processing in the same way. Instead, it mainly ranks Subclass 482 visa applications by where they were lodged and their occupational priority.
The new resources-sector occupations include occupation groups such as 2336 Mining Engineers, 232212 Surveyor, 323211 Fitter (General) and 323213 Fitter-Welder.
Priority occupations in agriculture, aquaculture and fishing mainly cover crop growing, production and harvesting; the catching, breeding and production of livestock, poultry and seafood; support activities for agricultural production; and work involving the slaughtering, processing, preparation and inspection of primary agricultural products.
When do the new policies take effect?
The relevant policies have already taken effect. The Department of Home Affairs’ announcement on the reforms indicates that several policies will be implemented progressively over the next 12 months.
Meanwhile, ImmiAccount has recently undergone system maintenance, so some applicants may see changes to the system in the near future.
There may still be hope for Subclass 485 secondary applicants
At an earlier press conference, the minister said the government would restrict the inclusion of family members as secondary applicants on most student visas and graduate visas.
Information subsequently released by some media outlets and the MIA also suggested that Subclass 485 graduate visas might be affected.
However, the minister’s subsequent media release and updates to the Department of Home Affairs website explicitly mention Subclass 500 Student visas, without explicitly mentioning Subclass 485 or the word ‘Graduate’.
It therefore remains uncertain whether Subclass 485 visas will ultimately be subject to a blanket ban on secondary applicants. Further official confirmation is needed.
The exemptions identified so far include PhD courses and certain Pacific island and ASEAN-related countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
Partner visa applicants may be able to obtain longer visitor visas in future
As the Department of Home Affairs tightens visitor visa settings and increases the use of No Further Stay restrictions, the MIA subsequently added that applicants who have already lodged an offshore partner migration application may find it easier to obtain a visitor visa with a longer validity period when applying afterwards.
This statement does not explicitly cover parent visa applicants, so further policy confirmation is still needed.
Other recent migration policy changes
The reforms announced this week also cover student visas, the skilled migration points-based system, working holiday visas and migration enforcement.
For Subclass 500 Student visas, applications to study a lower-level course after graduation will face further restrictions. The policy direction is to allow further study only at a higher level.
For reform of the skilled migration points-based system, the government has proposed placing greater value on people with specialised skills. For example, workers with housing and construction skills may receive more points, and trade qualifications in construction and housing may attract the same relevant points as higher education qualifications.
For working holiday visas, second- and third-year extensions may in future move to a ballot system, with increased regional work requirements. The annual quota for second-year extensions is expected to fall from 57,000 to 45,000, and the third-year quota from 31,000 to 5,000. The government also said it would work towards processing working holiday visa extensions within three months.
For migration enforcement, the government plans to increase border enforcement staffing and detention facility capacity to strengthen its response to people who overstay or fail to meet their visa requirements.
There have been many recent migration policy changes, and implementation dates and details may continue to change. Those who already meet the requirements and are preparing to apply, particularly applicants with secondary applicants or those extending or changing visas onshore, should closely monitor policy changes and their own visa timelines.
2. Western Australia issues unexpected invitations, including several civil engineering occupations
Progress on state nomination still varies considerably between jurisdictions this financial year. The Northern Territory and Tasmania had already been issuing invitations regularly, while Western Australia issued its first state nomination invitations for the 2026–27 financial year this week without an advance announcement.
The round was relatively small, but broadly continued the occupational preferences seen in the previous financial year.
Construction and blue-collar occupations remained a focus, and some applicants outside Western Australia also received invitations.
Beyond construction occupations, other construction-related occupations also received invitations, particularly those in civil engineering. Some applicants had base points scores of around 85, and most were in Western Australia.
There were also successful invitation cases in the other three priority sectors.
3. Subclass 189, 190 and 491 visa backlogs continue to fall
This week, we obtained processing and grant figures for July 2026 for three skilled visa subclasses: 189, 190 and 491.
Subclass 189 Skilled Independent visas: backlog remains relatively stable
Subclass 189 visa grants recovered quickly in the first month of the new financial year, with more than 2,300 grants in July and fewer than 10,000 applications in the backlog at the end of July.
We had previously expected the backlog to reach 10,000 or more, but the actual figures were slightly better than expected, leaving some room for further invitations.
The data shows that some Subclass 189 grants in June and July were still mainly from earlier invitation rounds. However, we have now seen some applicants invited in June begin to receive grants.
Subclass 190 state-nominated visas: a marked increase in grants
More than 1,000 new Subclass 190 applications were lodged in July, mainly by applicants who had already been invited in the previous financial year.
There were 3,448 Subclass 190 visa grants that month. The backlog fell by nearly 2,500 compared with the end of June and by more than 12,000 compared with the same period in the 2025–26 financial year.
Subclass 190 processing currently spans applications lodged in several months across 2025 and 2026, with a relatively large number of grants received in April 2026. Our client cases indicate that many applicants currently receiving grants lodged their applications around June 2025.
Subclass 491 regional visas: backlog continues to decline
Fewer than 1,000 Subclass 491 applications were lodged in the first month of the new financial year, while more than 1,000 visas were granted.
Given the reduction in the Regional visa quota this year, average monthly grants across the full year are expected to be below 800. The actual pace of grants in July was therefore still relatively fast.
The Subclass 491 backlog has fallen to just over 18,000, down by more than 3,000 compared with the end of June.
At the same time, there were relatively few visa cancellations in June, so the current changes in the figures may also relate to adjustments to FOI data. The overall trend suggests that actual Subclass 491 visa grants may be higher than some publicly available figures indicate.
For applicants waiting for their Subclass 491 applications to be processed, this means the backlog is continuing to shrink.
4. Tasmania holds its next invitation round as scheduled, with scores falling further
Tasmania continued issuing state nomination invitations this week.
This round issued a total of 37 Subclass 190 invitations, comprising 7 Gold and 30 Green invitations, as well as 26 Subclass 491 pre-invitations.
The minimum invitation score for Subclass 190 fell further to 375 points, while the minimum for Subclass 491 also fell, to 72 points.
Tasmania still has approximately 1,000 actual Subclass 190 places and 713 Subclass 491 places available, with a backlog of only around 30 applications. Processing has advanced to nomination applications lodged around 15 September.
5. This week’s visa grants, invitations and skills assessment results
Tasmanian state government invitations
A Subclass 491 ROI was lodged on 17 August 2026 with an ORANGE Pass and an ROI score of 91. A Nomination Invitation followed on 27 August, the nomination application was lodged on 7 September, and an invitation to apply for the Subclass 491 visa was received on 14 September. The occupation was ICT Business Analyst (261111), with an onshore application including a spouse and a score of 50+15 points.
A Subclass 491 ROI was lodged on 26 August 2026 with a GREEN Pass and an ROI score of 317. A Nomination Invitation followed on 27 August, the nomination application was lodged on 11 September, and an invitation to apply for the Subclass 491 visa was received on 15 September. The occupation was Massage Therapist (411611), with a single applicant applying onshore and a score of 50+15 points.
Subclass 189 skilled independent migration
There were no new Subclass 189 visa grant cases this week.
Subclass 190 state-nominated migration
A Chef (351311) application lodged on 21 January 2026 was granted on 18 September 2026. The applicant was single, lodged onshore and had 65+5 points.
Subclass 491 regional state nomination
A Music Teacher (Private Tuition) (249214) application lodged on 13 March 2025 was granted on 16 September 2026. It was lodged onshore, included a spouse and had 50+15 points.
Subclass 191 and 887 regional permanent residency
An application lodged on 16 February 2026 was granted on 12 September 2026.
An application lodged on 19 February 2026 was granted on 12 September 2026.
Employer-sponsored migration
A Subclass 186 Accountant application lodged on 26 May 2026 was granted on 12 September 2026.
A Subclass 186 TRT Electrical Engineer application lodged on 14 January 2025 was granted on 15 September 2026.
A case lodged with the ART in June 2024 succeeded at the ART on 24 August 2026, and the Subclass 482 nomination was approved on 16 September 2026. The occupation was Fruit or Nut Grower (121213).
A Subclass 407 application lodged on 29 July 2026 was granted on 15 September 2026.
Partner migration
A Subclass 820 visa application lodged on 25 June 2024 resulted in simultaneous grants of Subclass 820 and 801 visas on 15 September 2026.
A Subclass 820 visa application lodged on 3 June 2024 was granted a Subclass 820 visa on 23 April 2026 and a Subclass 801 visa on 16 September 2026.
A Subclass 309 visa application lodged on 14 December 2023 was granted a Subclass 309 visa on 21 August 2025 and a Subclass 100 visa on 17 September 2026.
Child visas
A Subclass 101 child visa application lodged in April 2025 was granted on 11 September 2026.
Another application, for a Subclass 802 visa, lodged in April 2025 was granted on 14 September 2026.
Subclass 485 graduate visas
A Subclass 485 application lodged on 18 June 2026 was granted on 14 September 2026.
A Subclass 485 application lodged on 25 August 2026 was granted on 15 September 2026.
Subclass 500 Student visas
A Subclass 500 Student visa application lodged on 27 May 2026 was granted on 18 September 2026.
An application lodged on 3 June 2026 was granted on 14 September 2026.
Subclass 600 visitor visas
A Subclass 600 application lodged on 20 August 2026 was granted on 12 September 2026.
A Subclass 600 application lodged on 24 August 2026 was granted on 12 September 2026.
A Subclass 600 application lodged on 8 June 2026 was granted on 15 September 2026.
A Subclass 600 application lodged on 8 September 2026 was granted on 17 September 2026.
Skills assessments
For ACECQA, an early childhood teaching skills assessment application lodged on 17 July 2026 was successful on 14 September 2026. Another application lodged on the same date, 17 July 2026, received its result on 15 September 2026.
For ANMAC, a nursing skills assessment application lodged on 5 August 2026 was approved on 15 September 2026.
For VETASSESS, a skills assessment application lodged on 4 September 2026 received its result on 14 September 2026.
There were no new investment visa, GTI visa, parent visa or Subclass 155 visa cases this week.
