Temporary Work Visa Processing Time
When applying for a temporary work visa in Australia, the processing time can vary significantly depending on the visa subclass, stream, completeness of your application, and how closely it aligns with the requirements of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Below is a breakdown of typical processing times plus key influencing factors.
✅ Typical Processing Times
Here are some indicative time-frames:
- For the broader “Skilled (Temporary)” visa category, the median of roughly 84 days (≈ 12 weeks) for many applicants.
- For the short-stay specialist work route Subclass 400 – Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) Visa: around 2–4 weeks (14-21 days) when fully documented.
For the Subclass 403 – Temporary Work (International Relations) Visa, various streams show:
- Pacific Labour Scheme stream: ~8 days for 75% of applications.
- Government Agreement stream: up to ~59 days for 75% of applications; 90% may take up to ~12 months.
- Foreign Government Agency stream: around ~8 months for 75% of applications, up to ~15 months for 90%.
⚠️ Factors That Impact Processing Time
Some of the key variables that can make your application faster or slower include:
- Completeness of the application: Missing documents, inaccurate details, or items requiring clarification can delay decisions.
- Complexity of the stream: More specialised or unusual visa streams (e.g., diplomatic staff, foreign government assignments) tend to take longer.
- Volume of applications & resources: The DHA processes many categories and times can shift with demand or policy changes.
- Health/character/security checks: If additional checks are triggered, that can extend processing time.
- Sponsorship or nomination requirements: For employer-sponsored or agreement-based visas, the sponsor’s status, the nomination paperwork, and whether labour market testing was needed all matter.
📝 Practical Advice
- Submit a fully documented application to avoid delays.
- Choose the correct visa subclass & stream upfront, based on your purpose and eligibility.
- Expect that even when the median or 75% of applications are processed in a certain timeframe, your case may still take longer if there are complications.
- If you have an urgent requirement (e.g., employer needs you to start soon), consider the faster streams like the Subclass 400 short-stay specialist where feasible.
- Keep track of current published median/75th-percentile processing times via the DHA website to set realistic expectations.
