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Visa processing times update, 5 September 2026: 35 streams slower, 29 faster at the 90% mark
Compared with the 4 August 2026 update, at the 90% mark 35 of 71 streams got slower, 29 got faster and 7 did not change. At the 50% mark 40 got slower, 22 faster and 9 did not change. The largest move was 309 Partner (Provisional), 918 to 1,173 days at the 90% mark (255 days longer).
- Official update
- Seen in daily copies of the official tool, so the date is right to within a day.
- Compared with
- 4 Aug 2026Previous update, 32 days earlier
- Streams in this report
- 71Streams the Department lists today that had a figure on this date
- Report
- 14 of 16Generated from the figures, no hand editing
| Mark | Slower | Faster | No change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90% decided within | 35 | 29 | 7 |
| 50% decided within | 40 | 22 | 9 |
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? 309 Partner (Provisional), 255 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 309 Partner (Provisional) | 1,173 was 918 255 days longer | 647 was 505 142 days longer |
| 491 State/Territory Government Nominated Regional | 777 was 548 229 days longer | 484 was 371 113 days longer |
| 186 Transition | 673 was 469 204 days longer | 421 was 338 83 days longer |
| 186 Direct Entry | 633 was 437 196 days longer | 381 was 301 80 days longer |
| 407 Training | 401 was 558 157 days shorter | 38 was 322 284 days shorter |
| 801 Partner | 521 was 374 147 days longer | 102 was 164 62 days shorter |
| 408 Religious Work | 257 was 391 134 days shorter | 90 was 90 no change |
| 500 Higher Education Sector | 71 was 203 132 days shorter | 19 was 15 4 days longer |
| 191 Regional Provisional stream | 320 was 410 90 days shorter | 263 was 221 42 days longer |
| 300 Prospective Marriage | 782 was 872 90 days shorter | 417 was 423 6 days shorter |
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: 35 streams slower, 31 faster at the 90% mark than on 5 Sep 2025
The same streams against the figures on record for 5 September 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 | 35 | 31 | 2 | 3 |
| 50% decided within | 30 | 33 | 5 | 3 |
New official banners: 11 dated after the 4 Aug 2026 update and up to 5 Sep 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.
Show 5 more banners
Every stream in the 5 Sep 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 | 557 was 565 8 days shorter | 264 was 296 32 days shorter | 583 26 days shorter |
| 101 Child | 1,007 was 1,007 no change | 696 was 806 110 days shorter | 847 160 days longer |
| 102 Adoption | 512 was 481 31 days longer | 229 was 224 5 days longer | 292 220 days longer |
| 117 Orphan Relative | 3,003 was 2,961 42 days longer | 2,314 was 2,330 16 days shorter | 2,653 350 days longer |
| 132 Significant Business History | 2,123 was 2,123 no change | 2,032 was 2,032 no change | 1,839 284 days longer |
| 155 Five Year Resident Return | 6 was 6 no change | 1 was 1 no change | 24 18 days shorter |
| 157 Three Month Resident Return | 67 was 67 no change | 20 was 24 4 days shorter | 64 3 days longer |
| 186 Direct Entry | 633 was 437 196 days longer | 381 was 301 80 days longer | 539 94 days longer |
| 186 Transition | 673 was 469 204 days longer | 421 was 338 83 days longer | 539 134 days longer |
| 186 Agreement | 364 was 311 53 days longer | 58 was 247 189 days shorter | 287 77 days longer |
| 188 Business Innovation Extension | 302 was 270 32 days longer | 170 was 158 12 days longer | 483 181 days shorter |
| 189 Points-Tested | 240 was 271 31 days shorter | 223 was 202 21 days longer | 242 2 days shorter |
| 189 New Zealand | 1,859 was 1,849 10 days longer | 1,611 was 1,601 10 days longer | 1,524 335 days longer |
| 190 Skilled - Nominated | 509 was 504 5 days longer | 148 was 364 216 days shorter | 766 257 days shorter |
| 191 Regional Provisional stream | 320 was 410 90 days shorter | 263 was 221 42 days longer | 370 50 days shorter |
| 300 Prospective Marriage | 782 was 872 90 days shorter | 417 was 423 6 days shorter | 769 13 days longer |
| 309 Partner (Provisional) | 1,173 was 918 255 days longer | 647 was 505 142 days longer | 739 434 days longer |
| 400 Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) | 39 was 26 13 days longer | 9 was 7 2 days longer | 23 16 days longer |
| 403 Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) | 82 was 82 no change | 52 was 57 5 days shorter | 66 16 days longer |
| 403 Foreign Government Agency | 111 was 112 1 day shorter | 25 was 46 21 days shorter | 46 65 days longer |
| 403 Government Agreement | 23 was 41 18 days shorter | 13 was 9 4 days longer | 37 14 days shorter |
| 403 Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-professionals Scheme (MATES) | 106 was 97 9 days longer | 73 was 66 7 days longer | 121 15 days shorter |
| 403 Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme | 29 was 28 1 day longer | 9 was 13 4 days shorter | 37 8 days shorter |
| 407 Training | 401 was 558 157 days shorter | 38 was 322 284 days shorter | 315 86 days longer |
| 408 Entertainment Activities | 47 was 20 27 days longer | 24 was 14 10 days longer | 60 13 days shorter |
| 408 Exchange Arrangements | 41 was 74 33 days shorter | 37 was 21 16 days longer | 159 118 days shorter |
| 408 Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity | 26 was 29 3 days shorter | 3 was 11 8 days shorter | 22 4 days longer |
| 408 Religious Work | 257 was 391 134 days shorter | 90 was 90 no change | 344 87 days shorter |
| 408 Research Activities | 381 was 380 1 day longer | 64 was 75 11 days shorter | 298 83 days longer |
| 408 Special Programs | 49 was 54 5 days shorter | 40 was 24 16 days longer | 57 8 days shorter |
| 408 Sporting Activities | 46 was 50 4 days shorter | 18 was 9 9 days longer | 69 23 days shorter |
| 408 Superyacht Crew | 27 was 34 7 days shorter | 8 was 6 2 days longer | 37 10 days shorter |
| 417 Working Holiday | 20 was 25 5 days shorter | 3 was 1 2 days longer | 64 44 days shorter |
| 445 Dependent Child | 952 was 910 42 days longer | 740 was 737 3 days longer | 844 108 days longer |
| 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) | 177 was 154 23 days longer | 144 was 91 53 days longer | 118 59 days longer |
| 462 Work and Holiday | 22 was 36 14 days shorter | 8 was 9 1 day shorter | 76 54 days shorter |
| 482 Core Skills | 288 was 305 17 days shorter | 112 was 69 43 days longer | none on record |
| 482 Labour Agreement | 306 was 286 20 days longer | 206 was 196 10 days longer | 352 46 days shorter |
| 482 Nomination | 260 was 246 14 days longer | 57 was 5 52 days longer | 144 116 days longer |
| 482 Specialist Skills | 45 was 43 2 days longer | 15 was 8 7 days longer | none on record |
| 482 Sponsorship | 98 was 115 17 days shorter | 24 was 12 12 days longer | 175 77 days shorter |
| 485 Post-Higher Education Work | 97 was 128 31 days shorter | 11 was 56 45 days shorter | 96 1 day longer |
| 491 State/Territory Government Nominated Regional | 777 was 548 229 days longer | 484 was 371 113 days longer | 762 15 days longer |
| 491 Family Sponsored Regional | 191 was 193 2 days shorter | 107 was 107 no change | 823 632 days shorter |
| 494 Employer Sponsored | 374 was 344 30 days longer | 135 was 225 90 days shorter | 403 29 days shorter |
| 494 Labour Agreement | 326 was 309 17 days longer | 103 was 203 100 days shorter | 336 10 days shorter |
| 500 Higher Education Sector | 71 was 203 132 days shorter | 19 was 15 4 days longer | 154 83 days shorter |
| 500 Foreign Affairs or Defence Sector | 15 was 31 16 days shorter | 3 was 4 1 day shorter | 22 7 days shorter |
| 500 Independent ELICOS Sector | 52 was 62 10 days shorter | 18 was 6 12 days longer | 251 199 days shorter |
| 500 Non-Award Sector | 25 was 21 4 days longer | 1 was 1 no change | 34 9 days shorter |
| 500 Postgraduate Research Sector | 60 was 102 42 days shorter | 12 was 27 15 days shorter | 334 274 days shorter |
| 500 Schools Sector | 213 was 202 11 days longer | 26 was 22 4 days longer | 154 59 days longer |
| 500 Vocational Education and Training Sector | 217 was 214 3 days longer | 91 was 203 112 days shorter | 391 174 days shorter |
| 590 Student Guardian | 226 was 229 3 days shorter | 41 was 41 no change | 180 46 days longer |
| 600 Tourist | 38 was 35 3 days longer | 18 was 13 5 days longer | 23 15 days longer |
| 600 Business Visitor | 20 was 24 4 days shorter | 7 was 6 1 day longer | 18 2 days longer |
| 600 Sponsored Family | 98 was 89 9 days longer | 46 was 43 3 days longer | 41 57 days longer |
| 601 Electronic Travel Authority | 1 was 1 no change | 1 was 1 no change | none on record |
| 602 Medical Treatment | 99 was 93 6 days longer | 17 was 16 1 day longer | 25 74 days longer |
| 651 eVisitor | 1 was 1 no change | 1 was 1 no change | 1 no change |
| 771 Transit | 16 was 49 33 days shorter | 3 was 5 2 days shorter | 21 5 days shorter |
| 801 Partner | 521 was 374 147 days longer | 102 was 164 62 days shorter | 549 28 days shorter |
| 802 Child | 909 was 896 13 days longer | 642 was 598 44 days longer | 874 35 days longer |
| 820 Partner | 887 was 972 85 days shorter | 694 was 535 159 days longer | 570 317 days longer |
| 870 Visa Application | 283 was 294 11 days shorter | 231 was 228 3 days longer | 211 72 days longer |
| 870 Sponsorship | 133 was 126 7 days longer | 79 was 73 6 days longer | 125 8 days longer |
| 887 Skilled - Regional | 551 was 543 8 days longer | 267 was 203 64 days longer | 525 26 days longer |
| 888 Business Innovation | 300 was 219 81 days longer | 259 was 139 120 days longer | 150 150 days longer |
| 888 Investor | 226 was 156 70 days longer | 144 was 118 26 days longer | 184 42 days longer |
| 888 Significant Investor | 217 was 203 14 days longer | 122 was 121 1 day longer | 374 157 days shorter |
| 988 Maritime Crew Visa | 1 was 2 1 day shorter | 1 was 1 no change | 1 no change |
"Was" is the figure in use the day before this update. The last column is the 90% figure on record for 5 September 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.