This is an automated e-mail response from the Adelaide Skilled Processing
Centre (ASPC) to provide general information about application processing.
If you send documents or an enquiry to this mailbox you will need to resend
your email to the correct departmental address.
If the application has been allocated to a case officer then you will have
been provided with specific contact information. Alternatively you can
refer to the department's website at:
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm
for information on contacting or sending documents to the Adelaide Skilled
Processing Centre.
The information in this e-mail is updated for each Tuesday and you only
need to e-mail this mailbox once per week to obtain the most recent
information on allocation dates.
News
Information on skilled migration is available from the Department's website
at
http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/g ... migration/index.htm
The Department is implemented major reforms to the General Skilled
Migration (GSM) programme on 1 September 2007 to further improve the
effectiveness of the skilled migration programme. Prior to the
implementation of these changes there has been a significant increase in
the volume of applications received by the ASPC ahead of the changes.
The surge in applications in recent months has resulted in delays in
getting all of these applications receipted and acknowledged. Every effort
is being made to clear these applications as quickly as possible however,
it may take up to 12 weeks before a full acknowledgement is received.
Communicating with this office
Information on making telephone or email enquiries to the ASPC is located
at
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm
This system has been established to provide consistent and efficient
responses to email enquiries and you are requested not to send enquiries to
individual departmental officers regarding an application unless
specifically requested to do so.
Please also be aware that the departmental officers who email out the
acknowledgement letters are not able to respond to enquiries sent to their
individual email addresses.
Providing evidence of commencing health, character and IELTS requirements
Applicants requested to provide health, character, or IELTS testing results
to support their application do not need to provide copies of receipts
unless specifically asked to do so; however, you do need to advise this
office:
1. The examination dates for medical checks;
2. The police clearances applied for and the date the application was
made;
3. The details of any IELTS test/s booked including test dates and the
name and location of the test centre.
Provided that you do this before the due date in any request letter from
the department you do not need to request an extension of time if you are
waiting to receive police clearances or IELTS results.
Receipting and Acknowledgment of Applications
The ASPC has changed the method of receipting and acknowledging
applications to improve the service provided to clients.
Once an application has been receipted it will undergo validity checking.
An acknowledgement letter with a client reference number and receipt will
be sent approximately six weeks after lodgement if the application is
valid and at this stage you will be also be advised of your file number.
The Admin team is moving towards receipting payment within 7 working days
of receiving an application where e-mail communication has been
authorised. Applicants or their authorised representatives will receive
acknowledgement that the department has received their documents and
receipted the relevant visa application charge.
If an application is determined to be invalid documents will be returned
and a refund of the visa application charge arranged.
As of 3 September 2007 the ASPC admin section is processing as follows:
Onshore Applications: receipting applications received on 17 August 2007
and acknowledging applications received on 17 August 2007.
Offshore Applications: receipting applications received on 18 July 2007 and
acknowledging applications received on 7 June 2007.
Applicants and representatives who have not authorised e-mail communication
will not receive separate advice that the ASPC has received and receipted
an application and will receive the standard acknowledgement letter and
receipt details in due course.
Please note that any delay in acknowledging an application does not affect
the date on which a valid application is recorded as having been received
and does not delay processing of the application.
Once an application has been acknowledged a case officer is appointed to
assess each application as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a
large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately.
Processing and Allocation Information - For the week of 4 September 2007
Applications lodged on or before the dates shown below have been allocated
to case officers for further processing.
ONSHORE APPLICATIONS
Student/Graduate
Paper based applications: 6 March 2007 (subclass 880), 21 February 2007
(subclass 881) and 21 February 2007 (subclass 882)
E-lodged (on-line) applications: 23 April 2007 (subclass 880) and 7 March
2007 (subclass 881) and 6 March 2007 (subclass 882)
Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)
Paper based applications: 8 June 2007
E-lodged (on-line) applications: 12 February 2007
New Zealand
All applications:1 May 2007 (all subclasses)
OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS
All paper based applications for Classes BN, BQ, BR, UX and UZ (subclasses
134, 136, 137, 138, 139, 495 and 496)
Priority Applications: 8 November 2006
Non-Priority Applications: 1 November 2006
Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (eSIR visa applications)
E-lodged (on-line) applications: 15 March 2007
Notes
Onshore: means that the visa being applied for can be granted while the
applicant is in Australia.
e-lodged: applications lodged on-line have quicker processing times. See:
Online Services - General Skilled Migration
SIR visas: All applicants for a Skilled - Independent Regional [SIR] visa
receive priority processing.
Offshore: means that the visa being applied for can only be granted when
the applicant is outside of Australia.
If a visa application was made more than two weeks before the relevant date
shown above and you have not been contacted by a case officer please
contact the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre from the web page
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm
Applications eligible for priority processing
1. Applicants whose nominated occupation is on the Migration Occupations
in Demand List (MODL)
2. For applicants whose nominated occupation is not on the MODL,
applications for any of the following visas are given priority:
a) Skill Matching (Migrant) (Class BR) - Subclass 134 - Skill Matching
b) Skilled - Independent (Migrant) (Class BN) – Subclass 137 - Skilled -
State/Territory-nominated Independent
c) Skilled - Australian-sponsored (Migrant) (Class BQ) - Subclass 139 -
Skilled - Designated Area Sponsored
d) Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) - Subclass
495 - Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional)
e) Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional) (Class UZ) - Subclass
496 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored (Provisional)
f) Skilled New Zealand (Residence) visa class (Class DB) - Subclass 863
- Skilled - Onshore Regional-Sponsored New Zealand Citizen
g) Skilled Australian-sponsored Overseas Student (Residence) (Class DE)
- Subclass 882 - Skilled Designated Area-sponsored Overseas Student
Eligibility for priority processing does not mean that any processing
requirements can be waived.
Offshore Applicants can now initiate Health and Character Checks before
being allocated a case officer
The inclusion of health forms on the department's website means that
applicants can reduce the time taken to finalise the application by
commencing health and character checking before their application is
allocated to a case officer, however, applicants and migration agents
should be aware that:
o Applicants are responsible for all costs associated with medical
examinations and providing police clearances;
o Health examinations and police clearances have limited validity
periods, generally for a period of 12 months;
o If clearances expire before the application is finalised they may be
requested again, and must be provided at the applicant’s cost;
o The ASPC may need to undertake other checking in respect of the
application that can delay a decision; and
o Undertaking health examinations and providing police clearances does
not guarantee an application will be successful.
Applicants and Agents can monitor which applications are currently being
allocated for assessing through this e-mail service before deciding when to
undertake health and character procedures.
If you decide to undertake these checks before being allocated a case
officer it is suggested that these checks be initiated when allocation
dates are within three months of your date of lodgement.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT:
Applicants are not obliged to undertake these checks now and may wait until
receiving a further request from the department.
If any applicant is pregnant - please contact this office for further
advice before any person included in the application commences health or
character checking.
Non-migrating family members of applicants for a SIR visa should not
undertake health and character checking unless specifically requested to do
so.
Medical Examinations
Information on health checking requirements and medical forms can be
obtained at
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/index.htm
Please pay careful attention to the information available on this page
including Form 1071i detailing health requirements for permanent entry to
Australia. Visa applicants in Australia must contact Health Services
Australia (HSA) to arrange a health examination.
Applicants outside of Australia must arrange their health examination with
a panel doctor and/or radiologist nominated by the Australian Government.
A list of panel doctors and radiologists is at
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/panel-doctors/index.htm
Please note that the panel doctor is required to send all medical results
to the Local Clearance Unit in Australia and not give them to applicants or
their representatives. Information about the Local Clearance Unit
including their address is available at
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/ ... tres/lcu-sydney.htm
Before attending a health examination applicants need to:
1. Print off the required numbers of forms 26 and/or 160 to present to
the panel doctor and radiologist; and
2. Complete the "Office use only" box to indicate the visa class applied
for (eg subclass 136), the file reference number and / or the ICSE Request
ID number on each form.
Police Clearance Certificates
Police Clearance Certificates are required, for each member of the
applicant’s family unit aged 16 years or over, regardless of whether or not
they are migrating. Clearances are required for each country the applicant
has lived in for a cumulative total of 12 months or more in the last 10
years. Applicants should also provide an address history for any other
relevant persons who need to satisfy the character requirements as part of
this application.
For information on obtaining police clearances please refer to the Form 47P
Character Requirements available at
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/47p.pdf
Finalising Applications
Please note that the information provided above is not about the time it
will take to process an application to completion. The time it is
expected to take to process a General Skilled Migration visa application to
completion is detailed in the department's service standards. Service
standards are specified for applications lodged with complete
documentation. Individual cases may take longer than the service standard
depending on the completeness and complexity of the case. For further
information on service standards see: service standards
Telephone + 61 1300 364 613 (outside Australia) 1300 364 613 (within
Australia)
Facsimile + 61 (0) 8 8237 6629 · Website:
www.immi.gov.au
Webmail:
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/professionals.htm
Important Notice: If you have received this email by mistake, please advise
the sender and delete the message and attachments immediately. This email,
including attachments, may contain confidential, sensitive, legally
privileged and/or copyright information. Any review, retransmission,
dissemination or other use of this information by persons or entities other
than the intended recipient is prohibited. DIAC respects your privacy and
has obligations under the Privacy Act 1988. The official departmental
privacy policy can be viewed on the department's website at
www.immi.gov.au
See:
http://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privacy.htm
