Insights
On the very first day of the 2026-27 financial year, the Department of Home Affairs handed us a big surprise — visa fees have surged right across the board… Some will say — don’t visa fees go up every financial year? Yes, but never this dramatically. Haven’t fees doubled, or risen by several tens of per cent, before too? Yes,
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Yesterday we updated you on the processing-speed reference shown on the Department of Home Affairs website through to June: the 186 and 482 employer-sponsored visas have all sped up markedly! The 191 has raced forward by 2-3 months? And the 189/190/491 are granting steadily! Today is the last day of the 2025-26 financial year, and what everyone really wants to
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The Department of Home Affairs has updated its June processing-time guide on schedule. The Department was still granting visas at full speed in May, but processing gradually slowed through June, and over the past 1-2 weeks we have temporarily seen no grants in quota-capped categories. Skilled Migration Processing Slows: The Latest 189/190/491 Cycle Data Skilled Migration 189 50% within 6
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Day one of the new financial year, and visa fees have jumped sharply! Unlike the earlier CPI-linked tweaks, this time the rises are mostly around 25%, and some — like the 155 RRV and the Bridging visa B — have more than tripled outright. The student visa hasn’t hit the rumoured 5k mark, but it has still gone up by
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Key Migration News This Week 1. First confirmed round of the new financial year — Subclass 189 to be issued before the end of September 2. Subclass 189’s final round of the year floods out 10,000 invitations — the big three occupations invited at 75 points 3. The Northern Territory’s offshore 491 stream is still issuing invitations 4. ART appeal
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The Two Most Common DIY Australian Visa Misconceptions Applicants who assume they can go the DIY route usually fall into two traps: First: my documents are simple. Since I prepare everything myself and just hand it to an agent to lodge, what difference does it make if I lodge it directly myself? Second: even if I’m not entirely clear at
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The total quota for Australia’s 2025–26 programme year is locked at 185,000 for the third consecutive year, with the split between skilled migration and family migration remaining at 7:3. While the overall programme size is consistent with 2025–26, internal quota allocations have shifted. If you are still planning your Australian residency using the old logic of ‘accumulate points, wait for
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Due to the high volume of offshore NT Subclass 491 applications lodged this financial year, combined with slower processing speeds, invitation outcomes that would normally arrive around March or April have been trickling out only sporadically. We have therefore held off on publishing a comprehensive summary until now. Below is a brief roundup of the invitations we have received to
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The Department of Home Affairs has released theSubclass 189 June 4 invitation round official report — this round issued 10,000 invitationsand confirmed thatthe next round is expected to be issued before 30 September(is expected to be held by ) , State nomination quota usage figures up to May have also been published! 189—— We have extracted a selection of occupations that
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With another wave of student visas and Subclass 485 Graduate Work visas set to expire in July and August — and the 2026–27 financial year now confirmed to prioritise onshore applicants — there is really only one thing on everyone’s mind:extending your visa. The question is,how? Some people are approaching the end of their Subclass 485, others are on a
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