In what some may say is a long time coming, the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection announced last week that from 1 July 2017, Indian passport holders will be able to apply for a Visitor visa online.

Indian nationals as a source for tourism has grown considerably over the years, increase 222% over the last 10 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The accessibility of an always-on internet platform (system maintenance and IT outages aside), means applications can be made from anywhere in the world without the need for posting documents or using third party outsourced companies either.

In other news, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) have posted on their website confirmation their application fee will increase from $1,673 to $1,731 from 1 July 2017.