Skilled - Independent visa (subclass 189) processing times.

The Department of Home Affairs publishes how long recently decided applications took, as percentiles. “50% of applications” is the median: half of the applications decided in the reporting period were processed within that time. “90%” means nine in ten were decided within it. The figures describe past decisions — they are not a promise about any individual application.

Times move month to month. Application volumes shift, planning levels change at the start of each program year, and incomplete applications or slow health, character and security checks stretch the tail. Complete, decision-ready applications generally sit at the faster end of the range.