September at Nomos
September has brought a shift in seasons for the warmer, and with it, some interesting movement throughout the immigration sphere. Here are some key updates that shaped the month:
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- September brought another round of good news for our clients, with strong outcomes across multiple visa categories. We were pleased to celebrate more approvals in the SID (subclass 482) and ENS (subclass 186) visa categories along with more successful business sponsorship applications, and Australian citizenship conferrals.
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- Early in the month, the Australian Government confirmed that the permanent Migration Program intake for 2025–26 will remain at 185,000 places, continuing the same planning levels set for 2024–25. The program maintains a strong emphasis on skilled migration to support workforce growth and address ongoing labour shortages, especially in regional areas of Australia. A total of 132,000 places (more than 70%) of the total intake will be allocated for the Skilled stream, intended to bolster economic productivity and address gaps in the current labour market. By comparison, the Family Stream will comprise only 52,500 places with a focus on Partner visas. Partner visas are, of course, demand driven, so the numbers are indicative only, and are not intended to serve as a cap.
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- The Department of Home Affairs (‘DHA’) held a quarterly stakeholder meeting this month, which revealed some interesting statistics. Skills in Demand (‘SID’) visa processing times remain varied, with the Specialist Skills stream averaging 19 days and the Core Skills stream taking around 90 days. The legacy caseload of the Temporary Skill Shortage (‘TSS’) visa is expected to be fully cleared by December 2025, with approximately 5,000 applications still in the pipeline. The demand for Partner visas remains high, causing significant delays due to limited places and resource constraints. For child visas, processing times currently range between 22 and 28 months, driven by high application volumes and remittals from the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’), despite 3,000 places being allocated to 2025-26 program intake. In terms of skilled migration, a SkillSelect invitation round held on 21 August resulted in 7,000 invitations, including 150 invitations for the Subclass 491 (Family Sponsored stream) visa. The DHA intends to run quarterly invitation rounds, with the next expected before the end of 2025. The Company-Specific Labour Agreement caseload remains steady, with processing times varying case-by-case, depending on information requests. Additionally, as of 15 August 2025, the National Innovation Visa (subclass 858) had received 8,200 applications, with 225 invitations issued to date. Overall, the delays in the program are significant. Whilst the DHA suggests that Core Skills SID applications are taking a median of 90 calendar days, in practice it is not uncommon for these applications to take 5 months. It is important to factor the DHA’s current processing times into any decisions you are making in terms of staffing, relocation and/or forward planning.
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- September brought several changes to Australian visa regulations, particularly around English language requirements. These have changed across a range of skilled and employer-sponsored/nominated visas, and the changes include changes to some of the required scores as well as the addition of new tests to the list of tests that are accepted for immigration purposes. This adjustment is aimed at helping address ongoing labour shortages. If you’re unsure how these updates might affect your application, feel free to reach out to us.
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- A Queensland immigration lawyer is facing removal from the profession after the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (‘QCAT’) found him guilty of both unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct. The tribunal held that he failed to provide services “competently, diligently and as promptly as reasonably possible” to three clients across two immigration matters. In a similar case of professional misconduct, the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority decided to suspend the registration of a registered migration agent for a period of 2 years and until she met specified conditions. This decision was based on conduct including failure to act professionally, honestly, ethically and with integrity, her provision of false and misleading statements and documents to the DHA in support of visa applicants, and her failure to act in accordance with the legitimate interests of her clients, among other things. Regardless of whether you are seeking advice from a lawyer or a migration agent, it is important to be aware of your rights as a consumer and it is important to be sure that you feel comfortable with the way in which your representative conducts your matter as well as any complaints mechanisms that may be available to you, such as those offered by the Legal Services Commissioner or the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
That’s the Nomos wrap-up for September. See you next month!
*All information is general information only, as at the date of publication, and should not be interpreted as legal advice. For an accurate and current assessment of your circumstances and visa options, please contact us to receive this advice.
