Name: Visa processing times update, 4 August 2026
Creator: Visa Processing Time

Compared with the 27 June 2026 update, at the 90% mark 42 of 71 streams got slower, 23 got faster and 6 did not change. At the 50% mark 27 got slower, 30 faster and 14 did not change. The largest move was 408 Research Activities, 97 to 380 days at the 90% mark (283 days longer).

Official update: 4 Aug 2026Seen in daily copies of the official tool, so the date is right to within a day.
Compared with: 27 Jun 2026Previous update, 38 days earlier
Streams in this report: 71Streams the Department lists today that had a figure on this date
Report: 13 of 16Generated from the figures, no hand editing

Mark	Slower	Faster	No change
90% decided within	42	23	6
50% decided within	27	30	14

A stream counts as slower when the number of days rose, faster when it fell. Days run from lodgement to decision for applications the Department decided in its most recent period. For the 801 and 100 partner visas the Department counts from the date of eligibility, two years after the combined application was lodged. They describe the past and are not a prediction for any application.

Which visa processing times moved most? 408 Research Activities, 283 days longer at the 90% mark

The 10 streams whose 90% figure changed most in this update, by number of days either way, with the 50% figure beside it.

Visa stream	90% decided within, days	50% decided within, days
408 Research Activities	380 was 97 283 days longer	75 was 31 44 days longer
820 Partner	972 was 759 213 days longer	535 was 611 76 days shorter
300 Prospective Marriage	872 was 1,045 173 days shorter	423 was 387 36 days longer
408 Religious Work	391 was 220 171 days longer	90 was 58 32 days longer
100 Partner	565 was 725 160 days shorter	296 was 310 14 days shorter
491 State/Territory Government Nominated Regional	548 was 699 151 days shorter	371 was 458 87 days shorter
500 Independent ELICOS Sector	62 was 207 145 days shorter	6 was 14 8 days shorter
500 Schools Sector	202 was 73 129 days longer	22 was 20 2 days longer
191 Regional Provisional stream	410 was 284 126 days longer	221 was 264 43 days shorter
101 Child	1,007 was 909 98 days longer	806 was 600 206 days longer

Share this update: 3 ready-to-post texts with the same figures

For LinkedIn, a Facebook group, Reddit, a newsletter or a client note. Every number comes from this report and each text ends with its link.

Plain text with bullet points.

Australian visa processing times: Home Affairs update of 4 August 2026

Compared with the figures of 27 June 2026, at the 90% mark 42 of 71 streams got slower, 23 got faster and 6 did not change. At the 50% mark: 27 slower, 30 faster, 14 unchanged.

Largest moves at the 90% mark:
• 408 Research Activities: 97 to 380 days (283 days longer)
• 820 Partner: 759 to 972 days (213 days longer)
• 300 Prospective Marriage: 1,045 to 872 days (173 days shorter)
• 408 Religious Work: 220 to 391 days (171 days longer)
• 100 Partner: 725 to 565 days (160 days shorter)

Official Department of Home Affairs figures: days from lodgement to decision for recently decided applications (801 and 100 partner visas: from the date of eligibility, two years after lodgement). They describe the past and are not a prediction for any application.
All 71 streams: https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/reports/2026-08-04/

Markdown: the table shows when the post is in Markdown mode.

**Home Affairs updated its global visa processing times on 4 August 2026**

Compared with the figures of 27 June 2026, at the 90% mark: 42 streams slower, 23 faster, 6 unchanged (71 streams). At the 50% mark: 27 slower, 30 faster, 14 unchanged.

| Visa stream | 90% before | 90% now | Change |
|:--|--:|--:|--:|
| 408 Research Activities | 97 days | 380 days | +283 days |
| 820 Partner | 759 days | 972 days | +213 days |
| 300 Prospective Marriage | 1,045 days | 872 days | -173 days |
| 408 Religious Work | 220 days | 391 days | +171 days |
| 100 Partner | 725 days | 565 days | -160 days |

Official Department of Home Affairs figures: days from lodgement to decision for recently decided applications (801 and 100 partner visas: from the date of eligibility, two years after lodgement). They describe the past and are not a prediction for any application.

Full table for all 71 streams: https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/reports/2026-08-04/

For a chat, a comment or X.

Home Affairs updated visa processing times on 4 Aug 2026: at the 90% mark 42 of 71 streams got slower and 23 faster. Largest move at the 90% mark: 408 Research Activities, 97 to 380 days. https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/reports/2026-08-04/

Which lodgement months was Home Affairs processing? No statement under the current directions yet

Statements of the lodgement month each priority group has reached under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122, which set today's groups, start on 19 September 2026. Earlier banners followed other directions with different groups, so they are not compared here. Why.

Compared with a year earlier: 38 streams slower, 28 faster at the 90% mark than on 4 Aug 2025

The same streams against the figures on record for 4 August 2025, one year before this update. 68 streams have a figure on both dates. Figures before March 2026 come from a public archive that was not copied daily (TomazMPP/Australian-Visa-Tracker), so a figure on record for that date may already have been replaced a few days earlier.

Mark	Slower	Faster	No change	No earlier figure
90% decided within	38	28	2	3
50% decided within	34	25	9	3

New official banners: 7 dated after the 27 Jun 2026 update and up to 4 Aug 2026

Banner notices the Department posted on its visa pages, newest first, by the date it gives them. Titles and first sentences are the Department's own wording. Our banner archive is daily from 14 November 2026; lodgement month banners before that come from Wayback Machine copies from 19 September 2026. Other banners from these dates are listed only if they were still on the Department's pages when our archive began.

30 Jul 2026

pev-192-ballot

The 2026-27 Pacific Engagement visa ballot for Pacific island and Timor-Leste nationals opened on 1 July 2026 and closed on 29 July 2026.

29 Jul 2026186187482494

Skilled visa income thresholds

Skilled visa income thresholds are increasing in line with changes to annual Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings.

24 Jul 2026191

Income requirement for the Subclass 191 visa

You must provide notices of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for three income years out of the five years of your eligible visa.

7 Jul 2026600

visitor visa holder - Restricting visa hopping to the Student visa program.

Find out what you can do to help us process your application faster. You may be eligible for a Subclass 601 Electronic Travel Authority or Subclass 651 eVisitor.

2 Jul 2026

Community Support Program (CSP)

We only grant a certain number of visas under the Community Support Program (CSP) every year.

1 Jul 2026408

workplace justice pilot

In July 2024, the Government introduced new reporting protections to encourage early reporting and resolution of workplace exploitation claims.

Show 1 more banners

1 Jul 2026

Subclass 500 alert

Find out what you can do to help us process your application faster - Applying for a student visa.

Every stream in the 4 Aug 2026 update: 71 processing times, before and after

Days within which 50% and 90% of applications were decided, the figure in use the day before this update, and the 90% figure a year earlier where we have one. Each row opens that stream's page with its full history.

Show all 71 streams

Visa stream	90%, days	50%, days	90% a year earlier
100 Partner	565 was 725 160 days shorter	296 was 310 14 days shorter	549 16 days longer
101 Child	1,007 was 909 98 days longer	806 was 600 206 days longer	832 175 days longer
102 Adoption	481 was 445 36 days longer	224 was 196 28 days longer	359 122 days longer
117 Orphan Relative	2,961 was 3,003 42 days shorter	2,330 was 2,473 143 days shorter	2,618 343 days longer
132 Significant Business History	2,123 was 2,122 1 day longer	2,032 was 2,032 no change	1,835 288 days longer
155 Five Year Resident Return	6 was 5 1 day longer	1 was 1 no change	29 23 days shorter
157 Three Month Resident Return	67 was 68 1 day shorter	24 was 26 2 days shorter	62 5 days longer
186 Direct Entry	437 was 371 66 days longer	301 was 273 28 days longer	540 103 days shorter
186 Transition	469 was 413 56 days longer	338 was 275 63 days longer	524 55 days shorter
186 Agreement	311 was 325 14 days shorter	247 was 252 5 days shorter	250 61 days longer
188 Business Innovation Extension	270 was 236 34 days longer	158 was 153 5 days longer	602 332 days shorter
189 Points-Tested	271 was 231 40 days longer	202 was 170 32 days longer	207 64 days longer
189 New Zealand	1,849 was 1,849 no change	1,601 was 1,605 4 days shorter	1,521 328 days longer
190 Skilled - Nominated	504 was 506 2 days shorter	364 was 402 38 days shorter	533 29 days shorter
191 Regional Provisional stream	410 was 284 126 days longer	221 was 264 43 days shorter	402 8 days longer
300 Prospective Marriage	872 was 1,045 173 days shorter	423 was 387 36 days longer	824 48 days longer
309 Partner (Provisional)	918 was 824 94 days longer	505 was 476 29 days longer	787 131 days longer
400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity)	26 was 28 2 days shorter	7 was 7 no change	23 3 days longer
403 Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular)	82 was 82 no change	57 was 57 no change	99 17 days shorter
403 Foreign Government Agency	112 was 20 92 days longer	46 was 6 40 days longer	45 67 days longer
403 Government Agreement	41 was 29 12 days longer	9 was 10 1 day shorter	39 2 days longer
403 Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES)	97 was 53 44 days longer	66 was 22 44 days longer	127 30 days shorter
403 Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme	28 was 21 7 days longer	13 was 14 1 day shorter	39 11 days shorter
407 Training	558 was 511 47 days longer	322 was 79 243 days longer	323 235 days longer
408 Entertainment Activities	20 was 22 2 days shorter	14 was 8 6 days longer	63 43 days shorter
408 Exchange Arrangements	74 was 99 25 days shorter	21 was 22 1 day shorter	128 54 days shorter
408 Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity	29 was 23 6 days longer	11 was 8 3 days longer	20 9 days longer
408 Religious Work	391 was 220 171 days longer	90 was 58 32 days longer	267 124 days longer
408 Research Activities	380 was 97 283 days longer	75 was 31 44 days longer	307 73 days longer
408 Special Programs	54 was 38 16 days longer	24 was 23 1 day longer	71 17 days shorter
408 Sporting Activities	50 was 73 23 days shorter	9 was 12 3 days shorter	59 9 days shorter
408 Superyacht Crew	34 was 19 15 days longer	6 was 6 no change	39 5 days shorter
417 Working Holiday	25 was 38 13 days shorter	1 was 1 no change	81 56 days shorter
445 Dependent Child	910 was 898 12 days longer	737 was 732 5 days longer	721 189 days longer
461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary)	154 was 155 1 day shorter	91 was 92 1 day shorter	145 9 days longer
462 Work and Holiday	36 was 70 34 days shorter	9 was 21 12 days shorter	70 34 days shorter
482 Core Skills	305 was 294 11 days longer	69 was 83 14 days shorter	none on record
482 Labour Agreement	286 was 253 33 days longer	196 was 156 40 days longer	429 143 days shorter
482 Nomination	246 was 273 27 days shorter	5 was 17 12 days shorter	226 20 days longer
482 Specialist Skills	43 was 57 14 days shorter	8 was 10 2 days shorter	none on record
482 Sponsorship	115 was 67 48 days longer	12 was 12 no change	151 36 days shorter
485 Post-Higher Education Work	128 was 117 11 days longer	56 was 59 3 days shorter	104 24 days longer
491 State/Territory Government Nominated Regional	548 was 699 151 days shorter	371 was 458 87 days shorter	709 161 days shorter
491 Family Sponsored Regional	193 was 191 2 days longer	107 was 105 2 days longer	800 607 days shorter
494 Employer Sponsored	344 was 339 5 days longer	225 was 151 74 days longer	320 24 days longer
494 Labour Agreement	309 was 302 7 days longer	203 was 89 114 days longer	238 71 days longer
500 Higher Education Sector	203 was 214 11 days shorter	15 was 16 1 day shorter	113 90 days longer
500 Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector	31 was 44 13 days shorter	4 was 3 1 day longer	71 40 days shorter
500 Independent ELICOS Sector	62 was 207 145 days shorter	6 was 14 8 days shorter	190 128 days shorter
500 Non-Award Sector	21 was 14 7 days longer	1 was 1 no change	24 3 days shorter
500 Postgraduate Research Sector	102 was 84 18 days longer	27 was 36 9 days shorter	202 100 days shorter
500 Schools Sector	202 was 73 129 days longer	22 was 20 2 days longer	66 136 days longer
500 Vocational Education and Training Sector	214 was 224 10 days shorter	203 was 207 4 days shorter	472 258 days shorter
590 Student Guardian	229 was 220 9 days longer	41 was 39 2 days longer	180 49 days longer
600 Tourist	35 was 33 2 days longer	13 was 16 3 days shorter	23 12 days longer
600 Business Visitor	24 was 26 2 days shorter	6 was 6 no change	18 6 days longer
600 Sponsored Family	89 was 86 3 days longer	43 was 42 1 day longer	41 48 days longer
601 Electronic Travel Authority	1 was 1 no change	1 was 1 no change	none on record
602 Medical Treatment	93 was 101 8 days shorter	16 was 18 2 days shorter	191 98 days shorter
651 eVisitor	1 was 1 no change	1 was 1 no change	1 no change
771 Transit	49 was 16 33 days longer	5 was 2 3 days longer	28 21 days longer
801 Partner	374 was 331 43 days longer	164 was 105 59 days longer	432 58 days shorter
802 Child	896 was 873 23 days longer	598 was 607 9 days shorter	810 86 days longer
820 Partner	972 was 759 213 days longer	535 was 611 76 days shorter	689 283 days longer
870 Visa Application	294 was 284 10 days longer	228 was 229 1 day shorter	215 79 days longer
870 Sponsorship	126 was 120 6 days longer	73 was 82 9 days shorter	102 24 days longer
887 Skilled - Regional	543 was 542 1 day longer	203 was 204 1 day shorter	521 22 days longer
888 Business Innovation	219 was 250 31 days shorter	139 was 216 77 days shorter	198 21 days longer
888 Investor	156 was 156 no change	118 was 118 no change	286 130 days shorter
888 Significant Investor	203 was 203 no change	121 was 121 no change	727 524 days shorter
988 Maritime Crew Visa	2 was 1 1 day longer	1 was 1 no change	2 no change

"Was" is the figure in use the day before this update. The last column is the 90% figure on record for 4 August 2025, and the badge compares it with this update.

Other visa processing times reports: 16 official updates since June 2025

One report for each time the Department updated its global visa processing times. How these reports are made.

Previous: 27 Jun 2026 update All 16 reports Next: 5 Sep 2026 update