It is so frustrating. I know what u mean and where u are coming from. Also applied through dubai in early December. Have no news from them! No emails they don't answer callsss I have wasted soo much $ on calling and then wen they do get through... They say wait... They don't answer emails as well. Have no requests from medicals. I'm so frustrated as its over 1 yr and nothing! I am an Australian born here with a Thai wife, it is shocking that the Government can charge the huge fees they do and then provide such lousy service.
I understand no one here can do anything, but they are beyond doubt the most frustrating organisation to deal with, the culture of the org got bad under Vanstone and hasn't improved since.

Talking of the insane price, the highest anywhere, is there any petitions to get the government to reduce it?

Good luck with that! Politicians are interested only in what will get them re elected and the plight of visa applicants doesn't carry enough votes to make it an attractive cause.
In fact in the current climate the average voter is probably not only ambivalent towards migration but is probably bordering on hostile, they couldn't care if a visa cost $10,000.

Hi, I need an urgent help for 309/100.

I am Australia permanent resident.
I got arranged marriage on 10th August 2015 and lived for 40 days with my wife.
I applied her tourist visa to join me for new year and Christmas but got rejected
Now i am applying her 309/100 visa.

Can anyone suggest me what evidence should i attach?
Do i have to get form 888 done as Form 888 should be filled by Australian citizen or permanent resident but i don't have any Australian friend who witnessed the marriage?
Can i apply tourist visa for my wife again after submitting 309/100 application?

To be honest I'd say posting multiple times over multiple threads will bug people, but luckily you got a reply on one of them. Worth bearing in mind in future ;)

I heard there is a petition already, asking for a doubling of immigration fees each year to trim down immigration, most people are in favour, as only rich people will then come in, and they can then cut income tax for the rest of us ;)

I would believe it, the general public are either ambivalent at best or hostile at worst to immigrants and therefore equate to no votes at the ballot box. Governments of all persuasions see immigration as a milking cow!

Here is the way I see it. The reason you increase prices to the extent they have is either to cover costs or to dissuade applications.

So point a. Cover costs. Since October I've been browsing these types of forums and the sheer volume of people posting about visas surprised me. That is just people who've posted/asked questions etc. Imagine how many more apply than what we see on these forums.
Then they have to read every application and process it. That in itself is time consuming. Now add to that the people who want to call/email/fax or whatever to find out how their application is going. Slows things down more? I do understand if an app is over 12 months it might be nice to find out if there is anything more they need to satisfy requirements. All this takes resources and bodies cost money. Maybe that's where we see increases.

Point b. To dissuade applications. It's also possible the increases are to make it less appealing to apply for visas, thereby reducing the load on the system. It could also be a deterrent for dodgy/fake applications. From what I sometimes see posted on visa forums it seems there are a lot of people who will do whatever it takes to get a visa, any visa,to continue their stay in Australia or get PR. Losing $7k on a declined application should in theory be a big enough deterrent for that.

Just my line of thinking when I see those increases.

Hi Mark,
I am Diddi, Italian.
It's been 1year since I left Australia, on the condition of my 2nd WHV expiring.
I am engaged to an Aussie and we currently live in NZ together (since I couldn't be in Australia).
In June 2015 we lodged a 309/100 (decision ready - I know it doesn't matter anymore- but we really included everything the day we submitted)
Now my partner is going through a time he must be in Australia but we cannot stand to live apart :(
My question is: can I apply for tourist visa since no case officer has yet been allocated and it's likely to take a few months still before they will look at my 309 case??
There's something I need to mention on that: I had a 600 tourist visa refused in January 2014.. Will they refuse me a tourist visa again even though it's been 2 years?

Any help will be appreciated.

Best Regard

You might aswell apply. The grant chances are high if you tell the truth.

We applied before a CO had looked at ours. And we applied for a 12 months VV.