The federal government has announced that housing trades will be scored like university graduates in the skilled visa points test, and that construction will move up the visa processing queue. Neither change has been published, neither has a start date, and the step that holds most overseas tradespeople back sits outside both.
On 17 September, the Minister for Home Affairs used a National Press Club address to set out the next round of changes to the migration program. Most of the attention since has gone to international students and backpackers. For builders, two other measures matter more.
The first is a redesigned points test for permanent skilled visas, under which people skilled in the housing trades will receive the same qualification points as someone holding a university degree. The second is an update to the ministerial direction that decides the order in which skilled visa applications are processed, adding construction to the priority list in full.
Both are aimed squarely at the trades shortage on residential sites. Both are also announcements rather than instruments. As of today, the rules published by the Department of Home Affairs are the same as they were before the speech.
The points test currently scores a trade below a degree
The points test is set out in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994. It applies to the three main points tested visas: Skilled Independent (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491).
Candidates need at least 65 points to be eligible for an invitation. Reaching 65 does not guarantee one. The Department states it may invite candidates who score enough points where places are available for their occupation, so a higher score generally improves a candidate’s ranking for an invitation.
| Highest qualification (current Schedule 6D table) | Points |
| Doctorate | 20 |
| At least a bachelor degree | 15 |
| Diploma or trade qualification from an Australian institution | 10 |
| Qualification recognised by the relevant assessing authority | 10 |
Source: Department of Home Affairs points table for subclasses 189 and 190, as at 18 September 2026.
If the uplift is set at bachelor level, it closes a gap of five points between a trade qualification and a degree. The address did not specify which university qualification the trades will be matched to. It also said the wider points test has been redone in consultation with Treasury, which means other rows of the table may change as well. The exact values will not be known until the amended regulations are made.
The housing trades have not yet been defined
The address referred to people skilled in the housing trades. The published transcript does not list occupations. Whether the category captures carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, tilers, electricians, plumbers, roof tilers and glaziers, or a narrower group, will be settled in the detail.
That matters for employers who recruit across the whole build. Two trades that follow the same skills assessment route could still land on different sides of the line.
Processing priority is a separate lever from the points test
Points decide who is invited to apply for a permanent skilled visa. Processing priority decides how quickly an application moves once it has been lodged.
Points test versus processing priority
The points test, set out in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, ranks candidates for an invitation to apply for a points tested permanent visa. Processing priority, set by ministerial direction, fixes the order in which lodged applications are decided.
One controls access. The other controls speed. A worker can score well on the first and still wait on the second.
Priority is currently set by Ministerial Direction 119, which took effect on 25 July 2026 and replaced Direction 105. Unlike its predecessor, it covers the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa as well as the points tested and employer nomination visas. For builders sponsoring workers, that makes it the more direct of the two changes.
Direction 119 ranks applications by occupation and by where the applicant was at the time of application. Law enforcement and defence occupations come first, onshore then offshore. Construction, healthcare and teaching come third, but only where the applicant was in Australia. A construction applicant who applied from overseas currently falls into the fifth and final group, behind onshore applicants in every other occupation.
The address said the direction will be updated to add construction, agriculture, fisheries, resources and teaching to the priority list in full. It also noted that the current direction applies almost identical rules to the temporary and permanent programs, which has meant an applicant held back in one can be held back in the other. The most natural reading is that construction applications will be prioritised wherever the applicant lodges. That reading cannot be confirmed until the amended direction is signed and published.
The skills assessment still comes first
Neither change touches the step that comes before both. A trades applicant for a points tested visa needs a positive skills assessment in their nominated occupation, and for most construction trades that assessment is carried out by Trades Recognition Australia. The points available for an overseas qualification depend on that recognition.
A skills assessment does not license anyone to work. Licensing remains with the states and territories, so a tradesperson who clears the visa process can still face a separate path before working on a licensed site. Trades Recognition Australia states that its migration skills assessments do not award Australian qualifications, occupational registrations or licences.
The May Budget funded a fix for this part of the pipeline. The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is receiving $75.1 million over four years for a new trade skills assessment system, including capacity to integrate occupational licensing into assessments. A further $5.6 million over three years funds skills recognition for onshore visa holders who are not on skilled visas, and $4.5 million over four years strengthens oversight of assessing authorities. The Budget papers, as reported at the time, named electricians and plumbers as examples of priority trades for assessment to licensing pilots.
Those measures are funded but still being built. A higher score can get a carpenter invited sooner. It does not get them assessed, licensed or on site any faster.
A higher score can get a carpenter invited sooner. It does not get them assessed, licensed or on site any faster.
Construction is moving up while the overall intake comes down
The changes sit inside a wider package intended to bring net overseas migration down to the Budget forecasts of 245,000 this financial year and 225,000 the year after. Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the day of the address put net overseas migration at 292,100 in the year to 31 March 2026, down 17,400 or 5.6 per cent on the previous year.
The design points one way. The total intake is being tightened, and construction is being moved towards the front of what remains. For builders, the relative position of trades improves even as the overall numbers fall.
Three instruments will decide what reaches a building site
The first is the amended Schedule 6D, which will set the actual qualification points and define which occupations count as housing trades. The second is the updated processing direction, which will confirm whether offshore construction applicants move up. The third is the new Trades Recognition Australia assessment system, which decides how long the first step takes.
No commencement date has been given for any of them. Until they are published, the rules that apply to an application lodged today are the ones already on the Department’s website.
The direction of travel favours trades. The distance travelled so far is still zero. We will report each instrument as it is published.
THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE
For years the points test has scored a qualified carpenter below a graduate in almost any field. Correcting that is overdue.
But points and processing order are the parts of the system the government can change without legislation. The slow part is assessment and licensing, and the government’s own estimate is that its Budget reforms could shorten the path into work by up to six months once they are running.
This announcement will be worth judging on whether that step gets faster, not on the points table.
Frequently asked questions
The federal government announced on 17 September 2026 that people skilled in the housing trades will receive the same qualification points as a university qualification under a redesigned points test. The change is expected to be made by amending the points test in Schedule 6D of the Migration Regulations 1994, and has not yet been made. Under the current table, a bachelor degree earns 15 points and a trade qualification earns 10.
Ministerial Direction 119 sets the order in which the Department of Home Affairs processes skilled nomination and visa applications, including the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa. It took effect on 25 July 2026. Construction occupations currently receive third priority only where the applicant was in Australia when they applied. Offshore construction applicants sit in the fifth and final group.
No commencement date has been announced for either the points test change or the updated processing direction. Until the amended regulations and the new ministerial direction are published, the existing rules apply to all applications.
The points test applies to the Skilled Independent (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visas. The Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa is not points tested, so employer sponsored workers are affected by the processing priority change rather than the points uplift.
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Last updated 18 September 2026. Points values and processing priorities reflect the Department of Home Affairs website on that date. This article will be updated when the amended regulations and ministerial direction are published.
General Information Only: The information in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your particular circumstances. It is not legal, migration or financial advice. Migration rules change frequently. Anyone considering sponsoring or applying for a visa should seek advice from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner before acting.
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