Ministerial Direction 115: your university now sets how fast your student visa moves

For offshore Subclass 500 student visa applications lodged on or after 14 November 2025, the order in which the Department of Home Affairs works through the queue is set by Ministerial Direction 115. It replaced Ministerial Direction 111 and changed the model from two tiers to three.

A Ministerial Direction is not a visa cap and does not set the criteria to grant or refuse a visa. What it does is decide whose application gets looked at first. Under MD 115, for a coursework degree, that order depends almost entirely on the education provider you name.

What changed from MD 111

	MD 111 (to 13 Nov 2025)	MD 115 (from 14 Nov 2025)
Tiers	2 (High, Standard)	3 (Priority 1, 2, 3)
Trigger	Provider at 80% of its allocation dropped from High to Standard	Provider at 80% drops to Priority 2; a provider 15% over its allocation drops to Priority 3
Allocation year used	The current calendar year	The year the application is lodged in, or the next year for applications lodged 15 to 31 December

The practical effect of the third tier is a longer wait for applicants to the most oversubscribed universities.

The three tiers

Each year the government sets a National Planning Level for new international student commencements and gives every provider an indicative allocation. The Department of Education counts Confirmations of Enrolment against that number. Your priority is set on the day you lodge.

Priority	Provider status	Processing aims to start
Priority 1	Under 80% of its allocation	1 to 4 weeks after lodgement
Priority 2	Reached 80% (prioritisation threshold)	5 to 8 weeks after lodgement
Priority 3	Exceeded its allocation by 15% (upper threshold)	9 to 12 weeks after lodgement

School, standalone ELICOS, TAFE, research degree, government scholarship and Pacific applicants stay in Priority 1 regardless of the provider. For a coursework bachelor or masters, the provider decides.

Why it matters this application cycle

Allocations fill through the year. A university that is comfortably Priority 1 in February can slip to Priority 2 by mid-year and Priority 3 by the following spring, ahead of the next February intake. Two applicants to the same course, lodging weeks apart, can land in different tiers.

If you are applying now for a February 2027 start, check each shortlisted university's status before you accept an offer, and again on the day you lodge. The Department of Education publishes a Visa Prioritisation Status list for higher education providers and updates it weekly. For the step by step, see how to check an Australian university's student visa priority status.

How this sits with the rest of the squeeze

MD 115 is one of three pressures on student visa applicants right now. The other two are the Genuine Student requirement, in place since March 2024, and financial scrutiny, with the single-applicant living cost figure at A$29,710 and officers checking that funds are genuinely available. The refusal rate hit a 20-year high in early 2026, and the application fee rose to A$2,500 on 1 July 2026, which raises the cost of a slow or refused attempt.

MD 115 does not add to your refusal risk. It adds to your timeline risk. A Priority 3 provider plus a course that starts in three months is a combination that does not resolve in time.

The skilled visa equivalent, for people further along the study to work pathway, is Ministerial Direction 119, which orders 189, 190 and 491 processing on separate grounds.

Does the direction affect onshore applications?

No. Ministerial Direction 115 applies only to applications lodged from outside Australia. Applications lodged from inside Australia are assessed broadly in order of lodgement.

Is this the same as Ministerial Direction 119?

No. Ministerial Direction 119 sets processing priorities for skilled visas such as the 189, 190 and 491, and is a separate instrument. Ministerial Direction 115 covers only the offshore Subclass 500 student visa.

Will my priority improve if the provider drops back below the threshold?

No. Your priority is locked in on the day you lodge. Later changes to the provider's allocation status do not move your application up or down.