Australia prioritizes onshore Family stream files under Direction 117

Australia shifted its permanent visa processing order to prioritize onshore applicants over offshore files across all Family stream categories, the Department of Home Affairs confirmed.

Direction 117 upends the queue

Under Ministerial Direction 117, which took effect July 25, applications lodged by individuals physically present in Australia take precedence over those filed from abroad. This location test overrides specific visa subclasses. An onshore carer application now processes ahead of an offshore partner visa.

Inside the onshore and offshore tiers, processing follows a defined hierarchy:

• Cases with ministerial intervention
• Partner and dependent child applications
• Orphan relative files
• Contributory parent and contributory aged parent visas
• Carer applications
• Standard parent, aged parent and remaining relative files

Annual caps and offshore reductions

The processing overhaul governs Australia's permanent Migration Program cap of 185,000 places for the 2026-27 program year ending June 30, 2027. The Family stream holds 52,460 places, representing 28% of the total intake.

The government allocated 129,590 places across the entire program to candidates already settling in Australia on temporary status, reserving 55,110 places for offshore filers. Within the Family stream, indicative planning levels include 41,500 places for partner and child categories, 7,060 places for parents down from 8,500 and 400 places for other family visas.

What offshore applicants must navigate

The rule applies to both new filings and existing queues. Foreign partners applying from abroad for subclass 309 and 100 visas face longer processing windows while onshore subclass 820 and 801 files clear first. Remote workers, working holidaymakers and temporary visa holders already inside the country secure a procedural advantage by lodging their family applications before departing Australia.