Processing delays for some Temporary Activity (subclass 408
There are processing delays for some Temporary Activity (subclass 408) visa applications in the Research Activities stream.
408 Special Programs visa processing time, November 2026
Temporary Activity, Special Programs: 50% decided within 7 days, 90% within 30 days. Department of Home Affairs processing time figures.
50% decided within means half of the applications decided in the latest reporting period took this many days or fewer, counted from lodgement to decision. The 90% figure works the same way. Applications still waiting are not counted.
Stream codes: DE = Direct Entry, TRT = Transition, AGR = Agreement, PT = Points-Tested, CS = Core Skills, ST = State/Territory, HE = Higher Education, ES = Employer Sponsored.
Where it comes from: the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool. We copy the figures and keep the history.
Dates: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
Stream codes: DE = Direct Entry, TRT = Transition, AGR = Agreement, PT = Points-Tested, CS = Core Skills, ST = State/Territory, HE = Higher Education, ES = Employer Sponsored.
Where it comes from: the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool. We copy the figures and keep the history.
Dates: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
408 23 days Entertainment Activities 90% 40 no change408 29 days Exchange Arrangements 90% 50 1 d longer408 6 days Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity 90% 34 2 d longer408 120 days Religious Work 90% 292 21 d longer408 77 days Research Activities 90% 430 371 d shorter408 7 days Special Programs 90% 30 24 d shorter408 14 days Sporting Activities 90% 56 2 d shorterSee all visasall 74 streams
408 visa processing time: 50% decided within 7 days
408 Special Programs processing time: 50% decided within 7 days, 90% within 30 days.
Official figures dated · Checked by us · Official source · 408 visa page
Stream codes: DE = Direct Entry, TRT = Transition, AGR = Agreement, PT = Points-Tested, CS = Core Skills, ST = State/Territory, HE = Higher Education, ES = Employer Sponsored.
Where it comes from: the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool. We copy the figures and keep the history.
Dates: latest official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026. Each visa shows its own official date.
Count from the day the visa application was lodged.
50% decided within7days24 days shorter than on 29 Sep 2026Lodgement to decision, among applications already decided. Not the time left on yours.
90% decided within30days26 days shorter than on 29 Sep 2026Nine in ten decided applications took this long or less.
Now processing, lodged innot publishedno official statementThe Department states a lodgement month for 7 skilled visas only.
Pressure index, 40852/ 100Moderate, slower share and drift onlyHow the official figures moved. 50 is a flat month.
25%33 days
50%77 days
75%1313 days
90%3030 days
Days from lodgement to decision, among applications already decided. 25% means a quarter of them took this many days or fewer. Black marker: your day count.
Day 440408 Special Programs, since 31 August 2025 (example date, enter yours above)
50%: 7 d90%: 30 d
- If the latest figures held, 50% of applications lodged on that date would be decided by 7 Sep 2025 and 90% by 30 Sep 2025 (both dates are already past). This is arithmetic on the official percentiles, not a predicted decision date.
- The Department does not publish a lodgement month for this visa.
What this can't tell you
- When your own application will be decided. Nobody outside the Department can see individual cases.
- Whether anything is wrong with an application that has passed a percentile.
- How occupation, nationality or requests for more documents change the wait. The official figures are not split that way.
Cite this page: Visa Processing Time, "408 visa processing time (Special Programs)", Department of Home Affairs figures dated 2 November 2026, retrieved 14 November 2026, https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/visa/408/special-programs/
408 Processing Pressure Index: 52 out of 100, moderate, November 2026
52out of 100Moderate
- Slower share
- 4 of 8 streams
- Drift
- +1.8% median
- Queue lag
- not published
All visas 53 Moderate
In plain words: 4 of 8 streams of the 408 visa got slower at the latest official update, the typical change was +1.8%. A reading above 50 means the published figures moved towards longer waits; below 50, towards shorter ones.
Calculated from official processing time figures only. It describes how published figures moved, not a prediction, and it is not advice. How the index is built.
Show the formula and today's working
PPI = 100 × (0.35 × slower share + 0.30 × drift + 0.35 × queue lag)
- Slower share: streams whose 50% figure rose since the previous official update, divided by all streams with a figure.
- Drift: median percentage change in the 50% figure, clipped to plus or minus 25% and mapped to 0 to 1.
- Queue lag: average number of months between today and the lodgement month the Department says it is processing, divided by 24 and capped at 1.
Every input is a figure the Department of Home Affairs publishes. Bands: 0 to 39 Low, 40 to 59 Moderate, 60 to 79 Elevated, 80 to 100 High. The index describes how the published figures moved. It says nothing about any single application and it is not advice.
| Component | Score 0 to 1 | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slower share4 of 8 streams have a higher 50% figure than at the previous official update. | 0.50 | 0.35 | 17.5 |
| DriftMedian change in the 50% figure is +1.8%. Minus 25% scores 0, no change scores 0.50, plus 25% scores 1. | 0.54 | 0.30 | 16.1 |
| Queue lagThe Department does not publish a lodgement month for this visa. | not published | 0.35 | 0.0 |
| ReadingTwo components only, so the sum is divided by 0.65. | 51.6 |
408 processing time since 29 Sep 2026, 50% mark
| Stream | Was | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment Activities | 23 | 23 | no change |
| Exchange Arrangements | 28 | 29 | 1 days longer |
| Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity | 4 | 6 | 2 days longer |
| Religious Work | 99 | 120 | 21 days longer |
| Research Activities | 448 | 77 | 371 days shorter |
| Special Programs | 31 | 7 | 24 days shorter |
| Sporting Activities | 16 | 14 | 2 days shorter |
| Superyacht Crew | 7 | 8 | 1 days longer |
Days. "Was" is each stream's figure before its latest change.
408 processing time then and now, 50% mark
| Stream | First | 1 yr ago | Now | vs 1 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment Activities | 24 | 19 | 23 | 4 days longer |
| Exchange Arrangements | 54 | 48 | 29 | 19 days shorter |
| Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity | 13 | 4 | 6 | 2 days longer |
| Religious Work | 110 | 91 | 120 | 29 days longer |
| Research Activities | 139 | 123 | 77 | 46 days shorter |
| Special Programs | 160 | 10 | 7 | 3 days shorter |
| Sporting Activities | 15 | 12 | 14 | 2 days longer |
| Superyacht Crew | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 days longer |
Days. First figure on record for Special Programs: 9 Jun 2025. Longer means applicants waited longer than a year ago.
Is the 408 Special Programs visa processing time getting faster or slower? 24 days faster since 29 September 2026, 3 days faster than a year ago
As of November 2026, the Department of Home Affairs reports that 50% of Temporary Activity (subclass 408) Special Programs applications are decided within 7 days and 90% within 30 days. The 50% processing time was 160 days in June 2025.
90% decided within50% decided within
| Recorded | Special Programs 50% / 90% |
|---|---|
| 7 / 30 | |
| 31 / 56 | |
| 40 / 49 | |
| 24 / 54 | |
| 23 / 38 | |
| 21 / 77 | |
| 49 / 107 | |
| 43 / 50 | |
| 31 / 85 | |
| 23 / 72 | |
| 30 / 57 | |
| 10 / 32 | |
| 18 / 36 | |
| 17 / 57 | |
| 18 / 71 | |
| 21 / 260 | |
| 160 / 246 |
Special Programs in the chart, the same stream in the table, days. 17 changes recorded since 9 June 2025. Figures before November 2026 come from public archives of the official page.
408 pressure index history: latest reading 52
Slower share and drift only, rebuilt from archived figures
The Department publishes no lodgement month for this visa, so the reading uses slower share and drift only, rebuilt back to June 2025.
What did Home Affairs post about the 408 visa? 3 banners, newest 14 August 2026
Banner notices on the Department's visa pages that mention the 408 visa, newest first.
workplace justice pilot
In July 2024, the Government introduced new reporting protections to encourage early reporting and resolution of workplace exploitation claims.
Beta - Bringing Someone
We are working to improve the layout and content of this page.
Source: banners on official Department of Home Affairs visa pages, archived daily since 14 November 2026. 69 banners on file, read 14 November 2026. Titles and first sentences are the Department's own wording. No interpretation added.
What do the 408 processing time figures leave out? 4 things
- They count decided applications only. Cases still waiting are not in the percentiles.
- The figures describe the recent past. They are not a forecast.
- The percentiles are not published by occupation, by state, or by whether the applicant was in Australia.
- Only streams the Department lists in its global processing times tool have a figure here.
7 questions about the 408 Special Programs visa processing time, answered from November 2026 figures
How long does a 408 visa take to process in 2026?
In November 2026 the Department of Home Affairs reports a 408 visa processing time of 7 days for 50% of Special Programs applications and 30 days for 90%. Entertainment Activities is 23 and 40 days. Exchange Arrangements is 29 and 50 days. Invited for Other Social and Cultural Activity is 6 and 34 days.
What is the 408 Special Programs processing time right now?
Half of Special Programs applications are decided within 7 days, a quarter within 3 days and three quarters within 13 days. These are the official processing time figures dated 2 November 2026.
Is the 408 visa processing time getting faster or slower?
The 50% processing time for Special Programs moved from 31 days on 29 September 2026 to 7 days now, 24 days faster. The first figure we have on record is 160 days in June 2025.
Is the 408 processing time counted from the day of lodgement?
Yes. The published processing time runs from the day the visa application was lodged to the day it was decided, and it covers decided applications only.
How often is the 408 visa processing time updated?
The Department usually refreshes its processing time figures once a month. The latest official date for the 408 visa is 2 November 2026. We check the official page every day and record any change with its date.
Does the 408 processing time tell me when my visa will be decided?
No. A processing time describes applications that were already decided. It is not a prediction for any single application and this site does not give migration advice.
What is the Processing Pressure Index for the 408 visa?
A 0 to 100 reading calculated from official figures only: how many 408 streams got slower, by how much, and how far behind today the lodgement month being processed is. The 408 reading is 52 (moderate); across all visas it is 53. The formula is printed on this page.