Recent comments by the Department of Immigration & Citizenship (DIAC), in presentations to Australian immigration lawyers and registered migration agents, indicated that State Sponsored applications lodged prior to 1 July 2010 are likely to be given low priority. 

It has been suggested that under the new priority processing guidelines (expected to be released from 1 July 2010), State Sponsored applications lodged prior to 1 July 2010, may be ranked as low as Priority Level 4, behind: Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS), State Migration Plans and Skilled Independent applications on the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL).  Priority level 4 applications have previously experienced significant processing delays.

It is anticipated that State Migration Plan sponsorships will continue to attract very high priority under the new processing guidelines, while applicants sponsored by States under arrangements in place prior to 1 July 2010 will not attract the same priority level.  If this occurs, Applicants who lodged an application prior to 1 July 2010 may wish to consider if they can lodge a new application after 1 July 2010 to have their application processed more quickly.