End Excessive Delays in Australian Partner Visa (Subclass 309) Processing

Ensure Families Are Not Kept Apart for Years

We call on the Australian Government to improve the processing of Partner Visa (Subclass 309) applications and reduce excessive waiting times that are keeping genuine couples separated for years.

Many Australian citizens and permanent residents have complied with every legal requirement, paid substantial visa application charges, provided extensive supporting evidence, completed health examinations, police clearances, and biometrics, yet some families continue waiting 36 to 48 months for a decision.

These prolonged delays can have serious consequences, including:

Long-term separation of husbands, wives, and children.
Emotional stress, anxiety, and mental health impacts.
Financial hardship caused by maintaining two households and repeated international travel.
Missed family milestones such as births, illnesses, and funerals.
Difficulty planning employment, housing, education, and family life.
We understand that every visa application must undergo appropriate health, identity, character, and security assessments. We are not asking for lower standards or less thorough decision-making.

Instead, we respectfully ask the Australian Government to:

Allocate additional resources to reduce Partner Visa (Subclass 309) processing backlogs.
Improve transparency by providing applicants with meaningful progress updates during long processing periods.
Establish reasonable service standards and investigate applications experiencing unusually long delays.
Prioritise applications where Australian families have already experienced extended separation.
Regularly publish accurate processing data so applicants have realistic expectations.
Australian families deserve a migration system that is both secure and efficient. Genuine applicants should not remain in uncertainty for three or four years without a decision.

By signing this petition, you support a fair, transparent, and timely Partner Visa system that protects Australia’s borders while recognising the importance of keeping families together.

We respectfully ask the Australian Government to take immediate action to address these excessive processing delays.