485 web updates - Members of Family Unit
Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) rules have changed. From 13 November 2026, new rules will change which family members you can include in your Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) application.
Australian visa processing times, November 2026
Official processing time figures for 74 visa streams, from the Department's Global visa processing times tool. Pick a visa, enter your lodgement date, see where it sits.
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: official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026.
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: official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026.
Home Affairs is processing 186 visa applications lodged in March 2025
186 Direct Entry Pathway processing time: 50% decided within 670 days, 90% within 727 days.
Official figures dated · Checked by us · 186 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: official update 9 Nov 2026, checked by us 14 Nov 2026.
50% decided within670days39 d slower since 29 Sep 2026Half of decided applications took this long or less, lodgement to decision.
90% decided within727days30 d faster since 29 Sep 2026Nine in ten decided applications took this long or less.
Processing lodgements fromMar 202520 months behind todayOfficial statement, lodged in Australia. First recorded 14 Nov 2026, no change since.
Pressure index, 18670/ 100Elevated, full readings from 14 Nov 2026How the official figures moved. 50 is a flat month.
25%47816 months
50%67022 months
75%69723 months
90%72724 months
guide max744days
Days from lodgement to decision, decided applications only. Grey tick: where the Department's own processing guide scale ends. Black marker: your day count.
Priority sectorsNov 25
In AustraliaHome Affairs is hereMar 25
Outside, aloneNov 24
Outside, othersJul 24
May 2024today
Filled bar: lodgement months the Department says it has reached. Vertical line: your lodgement month.
Day 440186 Direct Entry Pathway, since 31 August 2025 (example date, change it to yours)
50%: 670 d90%: 727 d
- 50% of applications like this are decided by 2 Jul 2027, 90% by 28 Aug 2027. This is arithmetic on the official percentiles, not a predicted decision date.
- The official processing month (March 2025, lodged in Australia) has not reached your lodgement month yet. It is 5 months short.
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, "186 visa processing time (Direct Entry)", Department of Home Affairs figures dated 2 November 2026, retrieved 14 November 2026, https://visaprocessingtime.com.au/visa/186/direct-entry/
Processing Pressure Index: 53 out of 100 across all visas, November 2026
53out of 100Moderate
- Slower share
- 38 of 72 streams
- Drift
- +1.0% median
- Queue lag
- 13.0 months
Selected visa 186 70 Elevated
In plain words: 38 of 72 visa streams got slower at the latest official update, the typical change was +1.0% and the lodgement months being processed trail today by 13 months on average. 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 share38 of 72 streams have a higher 50% figure than at the previous official update. | 0.53 | 0.35 | 18.5 |
| DriftMedian change in the 50% figure is +1.0%. Minus 25% scores 0, no change scores 0.50, plus 25% scores 1. | 0.52 | 0.30 | 15.6 |
| Queue lagPublished lodgement months are 13.0 months behind today on average. Scale tops out at 24 months. | 0.54 | 0.35 | 19.0 |
| Reading | 53.0 |
8 largest processing time moves, November 2026 updates
| Visa stream | Was | Now | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 408 Research Activities | 448 | 77 | 371 d |
| 491 State/Territory Government Nominated Regional | 156 | 521 | 365 d |
| 101 Child | 743 | 878 | 135 d |
| 300 Prospective Marriage | 415 | 546 | 131 d |
| 190 Skilled - Nominated | 132 | 240 | 108 d |
| 407 Training | 353 | 459 | 106 d |
| 858 National Innovation | 180 | 78 | 102 d |
| 500 Vocational Education and Training Sector | 53 | 115 | 62 d |
Days at the 50% mark. Amber is slower, teal is faster.
Visa processing time for all 74 streams, November 2026
As of 14 November 2026, the Department publishes a processing time for 74 visa streams. At the latest official update 38 streams got slower and 24 got faster at the 50% mark. The largest move was subclass 408 Research Activities, 371 days faster. The full visa processing time table has its own page.
Show the processing time for all 74 visa streams
Days from lodgement to decision, decided applications only. Each row links to that stream's own page.
Which lodgement months is Home Affairs processing now? 7 skilled visas, read 14 November 2026
For 7 skilled visas the Department states the lodgement month each priority group has reached under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122. It is a second official signal next to each processing time.
| Visa | Priority sectors | In Australia | Outside, alone | Outside, others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 186 visaMD 122 | Nov 202512 mo behind | Mar 202520 mo behind | Nov 202424 mo behind | Jul 202428 mo behind |
| 189 visaMD 122 | Oct 20261 mo behind | Jun 20265 mo behind | Dec 202511 mo behind | Dec 202511 mo behind |
| 190 visaMD 122 | Oct 20261 mo behind | Apr 20267 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind |
| 191 visaMD 122 | not listed | Mar 20268 mo behind | Mar 20268 mo behind | Jan 202610 mo behind |
| 482 visaMD 121 | Jun 20265 mo behind | Jan 202610 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind |
| 491 visaMD 122 | Jun 202517 mo behind | Mar 202520 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind | Feb 202521 mo behind |
| 494 visaMD 122 | Dec 202511 mo behind | Sep 202514 mo behind | Sep 202514 mo behind | Oct 202513 mo behind |
Lodgement month being processed, applicants in Australia, 7 visas
Recording started 14 Nov 2026. One month on record so far. Dashed boxes are months with no reading yet; each new official statement adds a step.
Are visa processing times getting faster or slower? 38 streams slower, 24 faster in November 2026
At each official update since June 2025: how many visa streams saw their 50% processing time rise, and how many saw it fall.
Streams that got slowerStreams that got faster
| Official update seen | Slower | Faster | Unchanged | Two-component reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 24 | 14 | 49 | |
| 36 | 28 | 7 | 50 | |
| 40 | 22 | 9 | 55 | |
| 27 | 30 | 14 | 44 | |
| 28 | 30 | 13 | 44 | |
| 33 | 30 | 8 | 48 | |
| 33 | 30 | 8 | 48 | |
| 26 | 35 | 10 | 43 | |
| 41 | 19 | 9 | 60 | |
| 28 | 26 | 15 | 45 | |
| 27 | 28 | 14 | 44 | |
| 30 | 25 | 13 | 47 | |
| 31 | 26 | 11 | 48 | |
| 35 | 26 | 7 | 51 | |
| 28 | 28 | 11 | 46 | |
| 33 | 25 | 9 | 50 |
16 official updates compared, counts of visa streams. Figures before November 2026 come from public archives of the official page.
Pressure index history: latest full reading 53
Slower share and drift only, rebuilt from archived figures
The full index needs the lodgement month statements, which we began archiving on 14 November 2026. The dotted line uses the two components that can be rebuilt back to June 2025; it is not the same scale as the full reading.
What did Home Affairs change on its visa pages? 8 latest banners, newest 13 November 2026
Banner notices the Department placed on its visa pages, newest first. When a banner changes, it appears here.
191 visa page banner
We prioritise applications for the Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122.
189 visa landing page banner
We prioritise applications for the Skilled – Independent (subclass 189) visa (Points-tested stream) under Ministerial Direction No. 122.
190 visa page banner
We prioritise applications for the Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122.
491 visa page banner
We prioritise applications for the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) (subclass 491) visa under Ministerial Direction No. 122.
Skills in Demand 482 processing priorities
We prioritise visa applications for the Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa under Ministerial Direction 121.
Subclass 186
We prioritise visa applications for the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa under.
Employer Sponsored Regional 494 processing priorities
We prioritise visa applications for the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (SESR) (subclass 494) visa under Ministerial Direction 122.
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 74 visa processing time figures leave out? 5 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.
- They are not split by country, occupation or whether the applicant was in Australia.
- Separate steps such as nominations and sponsorships have their own processing time.
- Only streams the Department lists in its global processing times tool have a figure here.
12 questions about visa processing times, answered from November 2026 figures
How long do Australian visas take to process right now?
It depends on the visa. In November 2026 the official 50% processing time ranges from less than 1 day (155 Five Year Resident Return, subclass 155) to 75 months (117 Orphan Relative, subclass 117).
How long does Australian visa approval take?
From lodgement to decision, the official 50% processing time in November 2026 runs from 1 days (155 Five Year Resident Return) to 2,280 days (117 Orphan Relative). Many people call this the approval time. The official figure counts days from lodging the application to the decision.
What are the global visa processing times?
Global visa processing times is the name of the Department of Home Affairs tool that publishes these figures. It shows the current month only. This site saves every update, so each of the 74 streams has a history.
Where can I check my visa processing time?
Pick your visa at the top of this page and enter the date you lodged. The official source is the Department of Home Affairs global visa processing times tool, which we check every day.
Why do visa processing times change every month?
The Department recalculates each processing time from applications decided in its most recent reporting period, so the figure moves with the cases that were decided. At the latest official update 38 of 72 streams got slower and 24 got faster at the 50% mark.
What does 50% of applications processed in X days mean?
Half of the applications decided in the recent period took that many days or fewer, counted from lodgement to decision. The 90% processing time works the same way.
Which visa processing time changed the most this month?
Subclass 408 Research Activities: the 50% processing time went from 448 to 77 days, 371 days faster than on 29 September 2026.
Which Australian visa has the longest processing time?
Among streams with a published figure, subclass 117 Orphan Relative is longest at the 50% mark: 2,280 days.
Does a processing time tell me when my visa will be granted?
No. A processing time describes applications already decided. It is not a prediction for any single application and this site does not give migration advice.
How often are visa processing times updated?
The Department usually updates once a month: we have 17 official updates on record since June 2025. The latest official update we recorded is 9 November 2026. We check daily.
What is the Processing Pressure Index?
A 0 to 100 reading built only from official figures. It rises when more streams get slower and when the lodgement months being processed fall further behind today. The reading across all visas is 53 (moderate). The formula is printed on this page.
Is this a government website?
No. Visa Processing Time is independent and is not affiliated with the Department of Home Affairs.