If you have a partner visa application in progress, where you were living when you applied now genuinely affects your place in the queue. Ministerial Direction 117 took effect on 25/07/2026 and reset how Home Affairs orders family visa processing, and onshore partner applications sit in a materially better position than before. This article explains what changed, what did not, and how subclass 820/801 applicants can use the new order to their advantage.
Ministerial Direction 117 replaced the previous Direction 102 on 25/07/2026, and it governs the order in which Home Affairs officers work through family visa applications. It does not change visa criteria, fees, or who is eligible; it changes only the sequence in which eligible applications are picked up for assessment.
Under the direction, the first split is location. "Applications made while the primary applicant was in Australia receive highest priority", with lower priority given to applicants who are, or must be, outside Australia at the time of grant, according to the Department's published family visa processing priorities.
For anyone who lodged a subclass 820 partner visa application while onshore in Australia, this is the most direct positive change to processing order since the direction system began. It rewards applicants who were already in Australia at the time of lodgement, not applicants who behave in any particular way after that point.
Migration Star sees two common partner visa pathways: the onshore subclass 820/801 route, and the offshore subclass 309/100 route lodged from outside Australia. Both lead to the same permanent partner visa outcome, subject to meeting all criteria, but Ministerial Direction 117 now treats them differently in the processing queue.
Onshore applicants, by definition, were in Australia when the application was made. That places their file in the higher-priority band described above, ahead of otherwise similar applications made from offshore. This is a queue position advantage, not a guarantee of a faster individual outcome, since processing still depends on the complexity and completeness of each file.
For couples currently deciding whether to lodge onshore or offshore, and who have the option of either, this is now a genuinely relevant factor to discuss with a registered migration agent before choosing a pathway.
Within each location band, Ministerial Direction 117 sets a further internal order. Ministerial intervention cases sit first, and partner or dependent child applications sit immediately after that, ahead of orphan relative, parent, aged parent, carer, and other family category applications.
In practical terms, an onshore partner visa application now sits near the top of both the location band and the internal category order. It is one of the best-placed family visa categories under the new direction, alongside dependent child applications made in the same circumstances.
Contributory parent, parent, and other family visa applications remain subject to separate capping and queuing arrangements, and are not directly comparable to partner visa processing under this direction.
It is worth being precise about the limits of this change, because overstating it does not help applicants plan properly. Ministerial Direction 117 is a processing order instrument. It does not create a fast-track visa, a fixed processing time, or any entitlement to a particular outcome.
A well-prioritised application with missing documents, unclear relationship evidence, or an incomplete sponsorship will still face delays for assessment reasons that have nothing to do with the direction. Priority order affects when a file is picked up; it does not replace the need for the file to be decision-ready when it is.
The direction also allows Home Affairs to bring forward a case for compassionate or compelling reasons outside the standard order, assessed individually rather than by category. This is a narrow exception, not a general avenue, and it does not remove the need for a complete and well-evidenced application.
It is also worth noting that Ministerial Direction 117 sits alongside, not instead of, ordinary character, health, and public interest requirements. A partner visa application still has to satisfy every relevant criterion under the Migration Regulations regardless of where it sits in the processing queue, and a higher-priority position does not soften any of those underlying requirements.
The onshore partner visa is a two-stage arrangement. Applicants first hold the temporary subclass 820 visa, which generally carries work rights while the application is assessed, and may later be granted the permanent subclass 801 visa, subject to Department requirements at that later assessment stage.
Eligibility centres on a genuine and continuing relationship with an eligible Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen sponsor, whether married or in a de facto relationship, as set out on the Department's partner visa listing.
Applicants and sponsors are typically expected to provide evidence across several relationship dimensions, which commonly includes:
Because this evidence forms the backbone of the assessment regardless of processing order, building it properly remains the single biggest factor within an applicant's control.
Given that onshore partner applications are now processed earlier in the queue, the file needs to be ready to be assessed quickly once it reaches an officer, not still being assembled. A few practical steps help:
A migration agent can review a file against current Department guidance before lodgement, which is often the difference between a file that moves cleanly through a priority queue and one that stalls on avoidable requests for further information.
Couples who are still deciding between an onshore and offshore lodgement should also weigh practical factors beyond queue position, such as current visa status, work rights while the application is on hand, and whether either partner needs to travel overseas during the assessment period. These factors interact with the processing priority discussed above, and getting the sequencing right at the outset tends to matter more than any single change in Department policy.
Migration Star has helped onshore and offshore partner visa applicants prepare relationship evidence, sponsorship documents, and bridging visa arrangements under the current processing framework. Principal agent Rohit Sharma, MARA No. 1797395, and the Migration Star team can review your circumstances and explain, subject to your individual situation, how Ministerial Direction 117 may affect your application. We do not guarantee any visa outcome, and every case is assessed by the Department on its own merits.
If you are weighing up an onshore versus offshore partner visa application, or you already have one in progress and want a second opinion on your file, book a free 15-minute Migration Eligibility Assessment at meetings-ap1.hubspot.com/rohit-sharma/15-mins-meeting, or a 30-minute Migration Consultation (AUD 165) at meetings-ap1.hubspot.com/rohit-sharma. You can also read more about our partner and family visa services, see how a related Ministerial Direction reshaped subclass 482 processing, or check how a bridging visa may apply while your application is on hand.
Call us on 07 3519 5619, or visit Level 2, 8 Clunies Ross Court, Eight Mile Plains QLD 4113.
Information current as at 09/09/2026. Migration Star is a registered migration practice. Principal agent Rohit Sharma, MARA No. 1797395. Migration outcomes depend on individual circumstances. Visa criteria may change. This article is general information only and does not constitute migration advice. For advice on your specific situation, book a consultation at migrationstar.com.au.
Migration Star | MARA No. 1797395 | migrationstar.com.au | 07 3519 5619