Speaking in Jakarta on 14 July 2026, Assistant Minister for Immigration Matt Thistlethwaite revealed that Canberra has allocated additional funding in the 2026–27 budget to shorten visa processing times. Addressing a Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) forum, he acknowledged that rising demand for partner, student and skilled visas had lengthened decision timelines, frustrating applicants and Australian employers alike. While the Minister did not specify dollar figures, Treasury papers suggest the Department of Home Affairs has been granted a multi-year operating boost earmarked for extra case officers, upgraded document-analysis tools and expanded call-centre capacity. Thistlethwaite noted that tighter risk settings for some markets—such as Indonesia’s recent shift from Level 1 to Level 2 for student-visa assessment—require deeper scrutiny of financial and language evidence, adding to workload. The new funds aim to clear bottlenecks without compromising integrity. For multinationals moving staff to Australia, faster grants will reduce project delays and relocation costs. Education providers and tech employers should expect gradual improvement over the next 12 months as new staff are onboarded and legacy applications cleared. The announcement comes ahead of a planned review of Australia’s Migration Program settings for 2027–28, where industry groups are urging more generous skilled-visa allocations and simplified renewal processes to keep pace with talent competition from Canada and the UK.
Source: ANTARA News
