From 1 July 2015, Australian Visa Application Charges (VAC) will increase.
The fee changes include an increase in line with inflation (2.3%) for
the Subclass 457 visa for temporary skilled work, and for certain
employer-sponsored migration routes.
Key Changes
The full fee changes are listed here and are in Australian dollars.
The application fee for a Subclass 457 visa for temporary skilled work
will increase from $1035 to $1060 for the principal applicant and any
adult dependents, and from $260 to $265 for any child dependents aged
under 18 years.
The application fee for the Subclass 186 Employer Nomination Scheme and
the Subclass 187 Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme will increase from
$3520 to $3600 for the principal applicant, from $1760 to $1800 for
adult dependents and from $880 to $900 for child dependents.
Planned System Outages
To implement the fee changes, there are a number of planned system outages leading up to 1 July 2015.
These outages could prevent online submission of applications. The dates of the planned outages are:
Reorganisation of Immigration and Border Services
From 1 July 2015, the
Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) and the
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) will be
consolidated into a single Department of Immigration and Border
Protection. At this time, the Australian Border Force, a single
frontline operational border agency, will be established within the
department.
In protest at the change, DIBP staff began industrial action on Monday
16 June and will continue intermittently until Friday 26 June. During
this period, airports, client service centres, ports, container
examination facilities and visa processing offices will be affected.
Action Items