The Department of Home Affairs publishes partner visa processing times as medians. The current published median for the Subclass 820 (onshore temporary partner visa) is approximately 17 months.
A median reflects the midpoint of decided applications; half of decisions are made more quickly, and half take longer. The distribution around the median is materially influenced by application quality at lodgement. Applications that are decision-ready — supported by complete documentation, coherent relationship evidence, and free of unresolved character or health matters — tend to fall in the lower portion of the distribution, while applications with material gaps cluster at the slower end.
Three procedural points are worth recalling.
First, the qualifying period for the permanent partner visa (Subclass 801) runs from the date of lodgement of the temporary 820 application, not from its grant. Where an 820 remains undecided, the 801 may still be progressed once the two-year qualifying period has elapsed.
Second, the long-term relationship provision under Regulation 1.09A may permit the grant of the 820 and 801 visas concurrently, removing the two-year wait. The provision applies where the parties have been in a relationship for at least three years, or for at least two years where a dependent child of the relationship is present. Evidence requirements are stringent, but the procedural saving is substantial.
Third, applicants holding a visa subject to Condition 8503 ("No Further Stay") cannot lawfully lodge an onshore partner visa without first obtaining a waiver. The Department's discretion to grant a waiver is narrow, and the timing implications can be significant.
Application strength is materially determined at the point of lodgement. Subsequent supplementation is generally possible but tends to extend processing rather than improve outcomes.