Australian Immigration Daily News

The following email has just been received from the DIBP:

Good morning

Included below are a number of advisory notices for your attention.

Temporary activity visa framework changes

From 19 November 2016 a new temporary activity visa framework will be implemented which is designed to make the process of applying for a temporary visa or sponsoring an applicant simpler for business, industry and individuals.

Key changes

The attached diagram provides an overview of how the current visas are incorporated within the new temporary activity visa framework. The changes include:

• a reduction in the number of subclasses from seven to four
• sponsors and applicants will be required to lodge their applications online using ImmiAccount with the exception of the subclass 403 International Relations visa, which will also retain a paper visa lodgement option
• if you apply for a subclass 408 Temporary Activity visa:

you will not need a nomination

you will not need to be sponsored if you applied from outside Australia and you intended to stay in Australia for three months or less

you will need to be sponsored if you applied from inside Australia, regardless of how long you intend to stay

you will need to be sponsored if you applied from outside Australia and you intend to stay in Australia for more than three months.

• if you apply for a subclass 407 Training visa, you will need a nomination and sponsorship, regardless of how long you intend to stay. No nomination is required if the sponsor is a Commonwealth agency
• a single sponsorship (temporary activities sponsor) will replace six existing sponsorship types (long stay activity, training and research, professional development, entertainment, special program and superyacht crew), which will be valid for five years.

 Transitional Arrangements

There will be an outage to upgrade our systems from 9pm (AEDT) Friday 18 November until 10am(AEDT) Saturday 19 November 2016. This will include changes to a number of online application forms.

The online application forms for the current Temporary Work (Short Stay Activity) visa (subclass 400) and Superyacht Crew visa (subclass 488) will cease at 9pm 18 November 2016 (AEDT) due to the new Temporary Activity visa framework commencing on 19 November 2016.

Any 400 or 488 applications in ImmiAccount that have not been submitted by 9pm (AEDT) on 18 November 2016 cannot be lodged and will be set to a status of ‘discontinued’ in ImmiAccount.  Applicants will then need to complete a new application on a new form.

More information

Information about the new visa framework, including transitional arrangements, is available on the Department’s website. http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Work/temporary-activity-visa-changes

Please send any queries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The following enhancements will be introduced to ImmiAccount on 19 November:

Email validation in application forms will be improved with the introduction of additional checking using known rules about email addresses and domain names. You will receive a pop up notification if you enter an email address incorrectly based on these rules.

Mobile Responsive User Interface will be updated to improve the ImmiAccount experience on the majority of mobile devices and browsers, initially for e600 applications only. You’ll have the option to switch over to a more modern view of the ‘My Account’ screen and will have the opportunity to provide feedback to inform the design of future versions.

Pre-lodgement attachments were first last year for the Visitor Visa (Subclass 600 Tourist Visitor stream) and will now be adopted for both the Sponsored Family and Business streams. You will be able to attach documents before lodgement and will be presented with a list of required documents based on the answers in the form.

System Maintenance - 19 November to 2 December 2016

A series of maintenance activities will be delivered between 19 November and 2 December 2016. This may result in intermittent issues with access to online application systems. If you encounter an error message during this time – please try again later.

Changes for Sponsors of Partner and Prospective Marriage visa applicants

The Australian Government is committed to reducing violence in the Australian community, including family and sexual violence. As part of this commitment, amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 will come into effect from 18 November 2016. Please note attached Family Violence Factsheet for further information.

Thank you

Department of Immigration and Border Protection