Ministerial Direction 117: How Partner, Child and Parent Visa Applications Are Now Ordered

What changed and when

The Direction is titled "Order for considering and disposing of Family visa applications under sections 47 and 51 of the Migration Act 1958". The Minister, Tony Burke, signed it on 24 July 2026. It says it "commences on the day after it is signed", which is 25 July 2026, and it states that Direction 102, dated 9 February 2023, "is revoked". Home Affairs' family priorities page says Direction 117 "replaced Ministerial Direction 102 on 25 July 2026".

It is made under section 499 of the Migration Act, the power the Minister uses to direct how the department performs its functions. Sections 47 and 51 matter here: section 47 requires a valid application to be considered, and section 51 lets the Minister consider applications in whatever order is appropriate. Section 51(2) adds that the fact an earlier application has not been finalised while a later one has does not mean the earlier one is unreasonably delayed. That is the legal basis for a later application being decided first.

The two groups: onshore first

Section 8(2) of the Direction sets two groups, with the first ahead of the second:

- **Group (a):** Family visa applications where the applicant is a primary applicant who is in Australia at the time of application, and the visa can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.
- **Group (b):** Family visa applications where the primary applicant is outside Australia at the time of application, or must be outside Australia at the time of grant.

Both parts of the group (a) test have to be met. The Home Affairs page puts it in plain words: the highest priority goes to applications made while the primary applicant was in Australia "for a visa that can be granted while the applicant is in Australia", and lower priority to those where the applicant is outside Australia or "must be outside Australia at the time of grant".

For partner visas, this means an application for the Partner (Temporary) visa (subclass 820, with the permanent 801 following) lodged in Australia sits in group (a). An application for the offshore Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309, with the permanent 100) sits in group (b), because the applicant has to be outside Australia when it is granted. The Direction lists visa classes rather than subclass numbers, so check the class of the visa you applied for. A person in group (b) is not behind a person in group (a) because of when they lodged: the group decides it first.

The order within each group

Within each group, section 8(3) sets the "Visa Processing Order", from the highest priority (a) to the lowest (f):

- (a) Applications made by an applicant in respect of whom the Minister has substituted a decision of the ART or its predecessors under sections 351 and 417, in the order those powers were exercised.
- (b) Applications made on the basis of the primary applicant being the spouse, de facto partner, prospective spouse or dependent child of a sponsor (or proposed sponsor).
- (c) Applications made on the basis of the primary applicant being the orphan relative of the sponsor.
- (d) Applications for Contributory Parent (Migrant) (class CA), Contributory Aged Parent (Residence) (class DG), Contributory Parent (Temporary) (class UT) and Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) (class UU) visas.
- (e) Applications made on the basis of the primary applicant being a carer.
- (f) Applications for Parent (class AX) visas, Aged Parent (class BP) visas, and applications made on the basis of the primary applicant being a remaining relative or an aged dependent relative.

So partner and dependent child visas rank above the contributory parent visas, which rank above carer, which rank above the non-contributory parent and other family visas. Home Affairs' page lists the same sequence in the same order. Under section 8(4), a family member applying for secondary criteria, whether or not combined with the primary applicant's application, is given the same priority as the primary applicant.

What it means for partner and child visas

The order has practical consequences that people tend to ask about:

- **Onshore and offshore partner applications.** Because the onshore or offshore split comes first, an onshore partner application is considered ahead of an offshore one in the ordinary course, whichever was lodged earlier. Home Affairs publishes processing times for partner visas on its processing-times guide; those are the figures to read for a current estimate, and we do not quote them here.
- **Within a group, partners and children are the top ordinary tier.** Only the narrow ministerial-substitution category ranks above them.
- **Visa type is by class.** The Direction's list of Family visas covers child, other family, parent, partner, contributory parent, extended eligibility, prospective marriage and provisional partner classes, so a prospective marriage visa application is covered too.

Nothing in the Direction changes the evidence a partner application needs. For that, see our partner visa evidence guide.

What it means for parent visas and the queue

Parent visas are different because most are capped and queued. Home Affairs' parent visa page says all Parent (103), Aged Parent (804), Contributory Parent (143 and 173) and Contributory Aged Parent (864 and 884) applications are subject to capping and queueing: there is a maximum number of visas each program year, and applications wait in a queue until a place is available.

Direction 117 works alongside a separate Direction, Direction 103, which covers capped visas under section 91 of the Act. The Direction 117 preamble says that if the two conflict, Direction 103 takes precedence. Home Affairs states that Direction 103 specifies processing "in queue date order" for family applications that are capped and queued.

As at 31 August 2026, Home Affairs said it had released the following for final processing:

- Contributory Parent applications with a queue date up to November 2018
- Contributory Aged Parent applications with a queue date up to November 2020
- Parent applications with a queue date up to March 2014
- Aged Parent applications with a queue date up to October 2014

These dates change as the department releases more of each queue. Read the current page for the latest. The 2026-27 planning levels for parent visas were reported in the Budget coverage as lower than before; we have not confirmed those figures against Home Affairs.

Applications already lodged and who is excluded

Section 4(4) says the Direction applies to Family visa applications "made, but not finally determined, before the commencement of this Direction", as well as to those made on or after 25 July 2026. So someone who lodged under the old Direction 102 is now in whichever group and tier Direction 117 puts them.

The Direction does not apply in these cases:

- Applications where it is "readily apparent that the criteria for the grant of the visa would not be satisfied" (section 4(2)).
- The Administrative Review Tribunal itself: the Direction "does not apply to the ART" (section 4(3)). It does apply to the department when it reconsiders matters remitted from the ART or its predecessors (section 4(1)).

There is one exception to the order. Section 9 says a delegate is to depart from the order of priority in a particular case if the applicant has satisfied the delegate that the application involves special circumstances of a compassionate nature, and that there are compelling reasons to depart from the order. Home Affairs adds that any decision to prioritise is made case by case. Its Partner visa FAQ page has information on asking for priority.

What the Direction does not do

Direction 117 does not:

- Change eligibility for any visa, evidence requirements or fees.
- Change the Migration Program planning levels for the family stream or the caps on parent visas.
- Say how long any application will take. Processing times depend on the volume in each group, the complexity of the case, health and character checks and whether the department needs more information.

It also does not cover other changes announced for family and temporary visas on 17 September 2026. Those, such as a "no further stay" condition for visitor visas, were announced by the Minister but, as at 12 October 2026, had no published instrument. See our guide to the 2026 changes for the status of each.

When did Direction 117 start?

It was signed on 24 July 2026 and commenced the next day, 25 July 2026. It revoked Direction 102 of 9 February 2023.

Are onshore partner applications processed before offshore ones?

Under the Direction, family applications made by a primary applicant in Australia, for a visa that can be granted in Australia, are in the higher-priority group. Offshore applications, or those where the applicant must be outside Australia at grant, are in the lower group. Partner visa processing times are published on the Home Affairs processing-times guide.

Where do parent visas rank?

Below partners, dependent children, orphan relatives and contributory parents in the Direction's ladder, and parent visas are also capped and queued. Direction 103 sets queue-date order for capped visas and takes precedence over Direction 117 if they conflict.

Does Direction 117 apply to applications I lodged before 25 July?

Yes, if they had not been finally determined. Section 4(4) says it applies to applications made but not finally determined before commencement, as well as later ones.

Can I ask for my application to be prioritised?

Section 9 allows a delegate to depart from the order where the application involves special circumstances of a compassionate nature and there are compelling reasons to do so. Home Affairs says such decisions are made case by case.

Does the Direction change what a partner visa costs or requires?

No. It sets only the order in which applications are considered. Fees, evidence and eligibility are set by the Migration Act and Regulations.