AUSTRALIA VISA PROCESSING TIME TO INCREASE BECAUSE OF STAFF CUTS AND MASSIVE INCREASE IN NEW APPLICATIONS AND SECRETARY TO DIBP SAID TIME BOUND VISA PROCESSING IS NOT GUARANTEED WHICH MEANS WEBSITE SHOWING GLOBAL PROCESSING TIME IS OF NO USE
Visa Wait Times to Increase Following DIBP Staff Cuts
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has confirmed that wait times for Australian visas and citizenship applications are only going to worsen, thanks to hundreds of staff cuts, a massive spike in the number of lodgements being made, and the ongoing shift to greater automation.
The secretary for the Department of Immigration, Mike Pezzullo, told Senate Estimates last week that he would offer no guarantee that wait times would not increase for citizenship, refugee or permanent residency visas.
However, Pezzullo claims that the issue does not concern him as he takes an “aggregated view” of the issue, nominating the threat of potentially returning foreign military insurgents and the challenge of ensuring counter-terrorism units are adequately equipped as more pressing concerns.
“At a human level, you don’t want anyone to wait for a government decision any longer than is absolutely necessary,” Pezzullo said.
“If some folks have to wait a little bit longer then so be it.”
“In a circumstances of constrained resources which applies to all government departments—because the Government’s got a strategy around deficit and debt reduction—all agencies have to then make choices about potentially growing some areas and then cutting other areas,” he said.
Pezzullo told the Senate committee that 355 staff from the visa and citizenship department have been lost since the beginning of the financial year, with the DIBP choosing to redirect its manpower to counter-terrorism efforts. He characterized the Department’s stance on border protection as of paramount importance, saying that even if more staff and funding becomes available it will most likely not be used to improve visa processing times.
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