← All posts

Skilled visa from Bangladesh? How Australia's new queue order could affect your file

Visa guide · 2026-10-10 · 4 min read

If you are a Bangladeshi engineer, chef or tradesperson getting ready to lodge an Australian skilled visa, the order in which Home Affairs picks up files changed on 19 September 2026. Two new Ministerial Directions, MD 121 and MD 122, now decide which applications are looked at first. They take the place of MD 119, the direction that set the old order.

A Ministerial Direction is an instruction from the government to visa officers. It does not change who is eligible for a visa. It changes who is dealt with first when the pile of applications is long.

Temporary sponsored visas: the MD 121 order

MD 121 covers the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482), the employer-sponsored visa that replaced the Temporary Skill Shortage visa. Files are now taken in this order:

1. Applications in priority sectors such as construction, teaching, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and resources, plus roles tied to defence or law enforcement.
2. Applications in the Specialist Skills stream of the Skills in Demand visa.
3. People who were already inside Australia when they lodged.
4. Solo applicants who lodged from outside Australia, meaning the file is not combined with a partner or family application.
5. All remaining applications.

Permanent and provisional skilled visas: the MD 122 order

MD 122 reaches much further. It covers the Skilled Independent (189) and Skilled Nominated (190) visas, the Employer Nomination Scheme (186), the regional provisional visas 491, 494 and 489, and the permanent 191 and 887 visas. Its list is a little shorter:

1. Priority sector and national-interest applications, using the same industries as MD 121.
2. Applicants who were in Australia at lodgement.
3. Solo applicants who lodged from overseas.
4. Everything else.

What it means when you apply from home

Most people reading this will lodge from Bangladesh rather than from inside Australia, so it helps to be honest about where that leaves you.

• Your work is in a priority sector. A carpenter, electrician or farm machinery operator nominated in construction or agriculture sits at the top of both lists, wherever the file is lodged from.
• You lodge alone from Bangladesh. Outside the priority sectors, a solo offshore file now sits behind onshore applicants but ahead of combined family files.
• You lodge with your spouse and children from Bangladesh. If your occupation is outside the priority sectors, a combined offshore application is now at the bottom of the order, so plan for a longer wait.

Older directions that still apply

Two earlier directions sit outside the new system. MD 114 still covers the closed Business Innovation and Investment (188) and Business Talent (132) visas. MD 120, in effect from 25 July 2026, covers Class BX (858) visas, including the National Innovation visa and the closed Distinguished Talent and Global Talent programmes. Few Bangladeshi workers use these routes, but you may hear them mentioned.

Read processing time figures as a rough guide

The processing time tool on the Home Affairs website shows how long recently finished applications took. It does not look at your own file, and it is not a promise. Use it as a general benchmark, not as a date to plan your resignation around.

Make your file complete before you press submit

Because priority now depends on how and where you lodge, a gap in your documents can cost you more than it used to. An incomplete file can lose its place on a fast track. Before you submit, have these ready:

• Certified English translations of any certificates, deeds or letters written in Bangla.
• Your trade or academic certificates, plus any skills assessment your occupation needs.
• An IELTS or PTE result if your visa or employer asks for one (see the English language requirements).
• A Police Clearance Certificate from Bangladesh Police if a police certificate is requested.

If you are unsure where your application will sit, get advice from a qualified professional before lodging. Once a visa is granted, complete your BMET emigration clearance before you leave Bangladesh for work. And never pay a dalal, or anyone else asking for money upfront, to move your file up the line. The order comes from the government's direction, and nobody can sell you a better place in it.

#skilled visa #australia #visa processing #subclass 482 #bangladeshi workers #ministerial direction