While the Department of Home Affairs and Administrative Appeals Tribunal will only be closed for the official public holidays (25 & 26 December 2023, 01 January 2024), processing does usually tend to slow down over the holiday period as case officers and Tribunal staff and members take their annual leave to enjoy the summer weather and holiday season. Public holiday closures should be taken into account when preparing and lodging an application with an authority.
The Migration Queensland office will be closed from Monday, 25 December 2023 and will re-open on Tuesday, 2 January 2024.
The Cairns Chamber of Commerce office will be closed from 12pm on Friday 22 December 2023 and will re-open at 8:30am on Tuesday, 8 January 2024.
Skills Assessing Authorities
Some Skills Assessing Authorities have announced holiday closure periods which will affect their processing times, including any requests for priority processing. Please consider these extended timeframes when lodging your skills assessment application, Expression of Interest and visa applications.
ANMAC will close it's migration skills assessment portal on 20 December 2023 until 10 January 2024. No new applications can be made during this time.
The Australian Computing Society will be closed 22 December 2023 and will re-open 8 January 2024.
Engineers Australia will be closed from Monday, 25 December 2023 and will reopen on Monday 08 January 2024.
Trades Recognition Australia (TRA) will close its Enquiry line at 4pm, 21 December 2023 AEDST and re-open at 10am, 2 January 2024 AEDST. TRA contracted Registered Training Organisations will be running with reduced staffing throughout December 2023 and January 2024.
Vetassess’ head office will be closed from close of business on Friday, 22 December 2023 and will reopen on Monday, 08 January 2024. You will still be able to lodge online Skills Assessment applications during the closure period but payments will only be processed when their offices reopen. Vetassess’ Priority Processing Service will be suspended on Friday, 10 December 2023 and will resume on Monday, 08 January 2024. The last trade occupation Vetassess assessment outcome letters for 2023 will be issued in the week ending 22 December 2023. Trade occupation assessment will resume from Monday, 09 January 2024. The Skills Assessment Support service will finish consultations for 2023 on Tuesday, 19 December023 2 and will resume on Wednesday, 10 January 2024.
Other Skills Assessing Authorities are also expected to close over the holiday period, with closure period announcements pending. State and Territory offices have various office closures over the holiday period. For instance, the Cairns Chamber of Commerce office will be closed from 12pm on 22 December 2023 and will re-open at 8.30am on 8 January 2024.
Migration Plus office
The Migration Plus office will also be closed over the holiday period from Thursday, 21 December 2023 and will reopen on Monday, 08 January 2024. Please be assured that our work does not stop while we are closed or away. For existing clients with matters in processing with the Department or AAT, should we receive any communications from the authority on your application, this will be sent to you with instructions as needed. For any new migration matters, we look forward to assisting you in the new year.
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Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
