Regional Sponsored visa applicants Notes from DIAC

ruelcortez_BH

Below is a part of an Auto-Reply message when I responded to my CO, quite alarming but not sure if November - December 2013 applicants will be affected by this news.

Regional Sponsored visa applicants – please note:


In the skilled stream, of which your visa application is a part, priority processing arrangements and Migration Program planning levels have been designed to ensure the Australian economy gets the skills it needs now. The Migration Program planning levels for the visa category, Regional Sponsored, has a limited number of places left for the 2013-14 program year.
This will mean processing times may be longer and that once the remaining places are used, the department cannot grant any application until the following program year, unless more visa places become available. Until that time, I cannot guarantee that your application will be decided in the immediate term, nor can I give an indication as to the likely timeframe. You can be assured, however, that the department will contact you when we are ready to finalise your visa application.