Visa Application Charges (VACs) will change from 1 July 2015.
The cgovernment has announced that the changes will fund investment in a number of improvements to support stronger borders and national security initiatives.
These adjustments include:
• A price increase in line with inflation (2.3 per cent) on visas which face strong international competition or have been impacted by recent price increases. o These include specific visas
within the Permanent Migration Skill Stream, Skilled Graduate, Temporary Long Stay Business (Subclass 457), Visitor and Student visa streams.
• A 5 per cent price increase on visas which continue to see strong demand despite previous increases, or are likely to see a sustained volume increase through policy changes under consideration. o These include specific visas within the Temporary Resident Short Term Business and Entertainment visas, Working Holiday visas, Resident Return and Retirement Investor visas, and Contributory Parent visa streams.
• A 10 per cent price increase on specific visas within the Other Family (Remaining Relative, Carer and Aged Dependent Relative) visas, and (non-contributory) Parent visa streams where the underlying demand is not expected to be impacted by the price increase.
• A 50 per cent increase to the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) stream in the permanent migration Skill stream category where the VAC is a very small component of the minimum $5 million of investments required under the visa regulation.
An alignment of VAC prices where a differential currently exists for lodging an onshore and offshore application for specific visa subclasses.
