Employer Nomination Scheme 186: Costs and Processing Times

The official Australian Government sources do not publish a specific employer nomination fee for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa. The official guidance provided covers skilled visa processing priorities, the skilled occupation list, and median processing times, but it does not state any fee amount for the nomination component or for the visa application itself. What the sources do confirm is that subclass 186 is included in Ministerial Direction 119 processing priorities, that it uses the 2022 ANZSCO version, and that the median processing time for Skilled (Permanent) visas was 8 months as of July 2026. To find the actual fee, you must check the subclass 186 visa page on the Department of Home Affairs website, where the current charge is listed for the nomination and for each applicant. Do not rely on any figure that is not shown on that official page.

What the official guidance actually covers

the official guidance to you is first-party content from the Department of Home Affairs. It covers three distinct areas: skilled visa processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 119, the combined skilled occupation list and ANZSCO versions, and median visa processing times for key programs. None of these pages state a fee for the subclass 186 employer nomination. That is an important distinction. The absence of a fee figure in these sources does not mean there is no fee; it means the fee is published on a different page, and you must consult that page directly.

If you are preparing an application, the practical implication is that your cost estimate for a subclass 186 visa has two components: the nomination fee paid by the employer, and the visa application charge paid by or on behalf of the applicant. There may also be additional costs such as skills assessment fees, health examinations, and police certificates. The official guidance does not give figures for any of these, so each must be checked on its relevant official page.

Processing priorities for subclass 186

Ministerial Direction 119 came into effect on 25 July 2026 and replaced all processing priorities under Ministerial Direction 105. It applies to all on-hand applications, and it now includes the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) program, which was not previously covered by Direction 105. Subclass 186 is one of the visa classes listed in Schedule A and B of the Direction.

Prioritisation is given according to both occupation and the location of the applicant at the time of application. The order of priority is as follows:

Priority	Category	Applicant location
First	Law enforcement or defence interests	In Australia
Second	Law enforcement or defence interests	Outside Australia
Third	Construction, healthcare, and teaching occupations	In Australia
Fourth	All other applications	In Australia
Fifth	All other applications	Outside Australia

This means that a subclass 186 nomination and visa application supporting Australia’s law enforcement or defence interests, lodged by an applicant already in Australia, is processed first. The lowest priority is given to all other applications where the applicant is outside Australia at the time of application. If your occupation is in construction, healthcare, or teaching, and you are in Australia, you fall into the third priority group. If your occupation is outside those categories and you are in Australia, you fall into the fourth group.

The Direction also notes that occupations supporting Australia’s law enforcement and defence interests are afforded the highest priority, followed by construction, healthcare, and teaching. This is a policy ordering, not a guarantee of a specific processing time. Applications are not necessarily processed in the order they are received.

Median processing times for skilled visas

The Department publishes median processing times for key visa categories. As of July 2026, the median processing time for Skilled (Permanent) visas was 8 months. This figure covers the skilled permanent visa category as a whole, which includes subclass 186, 189, 190, 191, and others. It is not specific to subclass 186 alone.

The Department states that Skilled (Permanent) processing times are affected by several factors, including Permanent Migration Program planning levels, Ministerial Directions related to skilled visa processing priorities, application completeness, and the volume of applications received and on-hand. This means some applications may be decided more quickly than others, and applications are not always processed in the order they are received.

For employer-sponsored visas, the Department advises that submitting complete nomination and visa applications at the same time can support more efficient processing. Lodging a complete application helps avoid delays. This is directly relevant to a subclass 186 application, where the nomination and the visa application are separate steps but can be lodged together in practice.

If you want a more specific indication for subclass 186, the Department directs you to the visa processing times guide tool, which shows processing times for recently decided applications. That tool is a guide only and is not specific to your application. The Department also notes that processing times are updated regularly as new data becomes available.

ANZSCO version and occupation list for subclass 186

The official guidance confirms that subclass 186 uses the 2022 version of ANZSCO. This includes the occupations on the Core Skills Occupation List (CSOL). If you have previously held another type of skilled visa, updates to the ANZSCO dictionary may have reclassified your occupation or split it into multiple specialisations. In that case, you must select an occupation code that aligns with the tasks and responsibilities of your position.

The combined skilled occupation list specifies the ANZSCO code for each occupation, caveats that exclude the use of the occupation in certain circumstances, whether the occupation is on the CSOL, MLTSSL, STSOL, or ROL, and the assessing authority for skills assessments. For subclass 186, the caveats apply to the Direct Entry stream. The Temporary Residence Transition stream does not have an occupation list; occupation eligibility is based on the occupation from your most recently held temporary skilled visa.

If an occupation is removed from the skilled occupation lists, pending nomination and visa applications will not be adversely impacted by the subsequent removal. If you already hold a skilled visa, you will not be impacted unless there are changes in your circumstances and your employer needs to make a new nomination application. You may be impacted if you change your occupation or employer and your occupation is no longer on the combined list.

What the sources do not tell you

The official guidance does not state the employer nomination fee for subclass 186, the visa application charge, or any other cost component. It does not give a processing time specific to subclass 186 nominations or visa applications. It does not list the current fee schedule, and it does not provide a breakdown of charges by stream.

If you need these figures, you must check the subclass 186 visa page on the Department of Home Affairs website. That page contains the step-by-step tab, which includes the cost section. The Department also publishes a separate fees and charges page, which lists the current visa application charges. For the nomination, the employer must check the same sources. There is no substitute for reading the official page, because fees change and the official guidance you have does not capture them.

What to do next

Before you lodge a subclass 186 application, confirm the following on the official Department of Home Affairs website:

• The current employer nomination fee for subclass 186, listed on the subclass 186 visa page under the cost tab.
• The current visa application charge for the applicant and for any dependants, listed on the same page or on the fees and charges page.
• The processing time guide tool, which shows recently decided application times for subclass 186 specifically.
• Your occupation on the combined skilled occupation list, and the relevant ANZSCO code using the 2022 version.
• The assessing authority for your occupation, if you need a skills assessment.

The official guidance confirms the policy framework and the median figures, but it does not replace the fee schedule. Check the official page, and if the fee is not stated there, contact the Department through the channels listed on the visa page. Do not rely on third-party estimates for a figure that the official source does not confirm.