457 Applications - Service standards and processing issues

Extract from Migration Institute of Australia Notice:

The Department’s website is currently showing 457 service standards as 2 months for low risk and 3 months for high risk countries. Although some members are reporting much faster service than this, certain types of applications are being delayed.

Members are reminded that lodging an assessment ready application and having medicals completed promptly is the best way to ensure the application is processed in the shortest time possible.

Reports from recent discussions with the 457 processing centres show the most common reasons processing is delayed are:

• incomplete supporting documentation requiring a request for further information to be generated
• security checks taking longer than service standards
• no supporting evidence to demonstrate the genuine position requirement
• nominated occupations not consistent with the nominating business eg corporate general managers, sales and marketing managers, customer service managers, training managers and project administrators, in small businesses, especially where the owner is also working in the business
• recent identification of at least 10 ‘fake’ organisations attempting to access the 457 program has required increased scrutiny of applications.

 

After lodging 457 applications an automated response is generated which provides extensive information to the applicant/RMA including:

• processing status requests
• current allocation/Processing times
• request for urgent assistance or priority allocation
• pre-lodgement enquiries
• current issues
• lodgement of applications
• assessment ready applications
• submitting supporting documents
• updating your passport or personal details
• relationship breakdown
• bridging visas
• babies born in Australia
• lodging assessment ready applications – The Health Requirement
• retrieval of TRN
• cessation of work
• superannuation
• condition 8547 waiver requests
• withdrawal of applications