How the New Method for Checking Australian Visa Processing Times Works
A new way to check visa processing times? A better way to estimate how long you’ll wait?
In the past, when checking processing times, most people’s first instinct was to open the Department of Home Affairs’ official website and look at the familiar Global Visa Processing Times tool — but most of the time it didn’t seem to help much.
Today I came across an article by @Xueshu Hunzi de biji (‘Xueshu Hunzi de Xiuxing Biji’) that sets out a method, using the page’s source code, for seeing the hidden — and perhaps more accurate — waiting times.
For the exact method you can refer to his article. In the source code there is a field called ProcessGuideMaxDays; this figure reflects the oldest backlog currently being processed, and it is also the point at which the progress bar turns from green to amber.
I Ran the Numbers Today for Some Common Visa Types — for Your Reference
Skilled Migration: Figure 2
Subclass 189: 201 days
Subclass 190: 504 days
Subclass 491: 816 days
Subclass 191: 304 days
Student Visas: Figure 3
Subclass 500: 197 days
Subclass 485: 61 days
Employer-Sponsored Visas: Figure 4
Subclass 482: 274 days
Subclass 407: 433 days
Subclass 186 Agreement Pathway: 297 days
Subclass 186 DE: 628 days
Other Visas: Figure 5
Subclass 820: 936 days
Subclass 801: 631 days
Subclass 309: 805 days
Subclass 100: 673 days
Subclass 101: 986 days
Subclass 600 and 858 Visas — Figure 6
Subclass 600: 50 days
Subclass 858: 852 days
Take Subclass 189 as an example: both the 50% and 90% processing times are 6 months — that is, around 180 days — so a ProcessGuideMaxDays of 201 days represents the extreme waiting time currently in the Department’s data. If your wait exceeds 201 days, it means you have fallen into that ‘amber section’.
I also took a look at our client database. Some had fairly long waits — for example, one Subclass 190 was lodged on 5 July 2024 and granted on 20 April 2026, a total wait of 654 days, still within MaxDays; another, an 858 GTI, was lodged on 15 July 2024 and granted on 21 April 2026 — 646 days — also within MaxDays.
The waiting times for quite a few visas really are long. You can use this method to check your own visa’s processing time and see whether you’re still within the normal waiting range. Knowing where you stand lets you adjust your expectations, or follow up on your application — which can ease some of the anxiety and help you plan ahead.
