A spokesman for the Department said “These initiatives will put Australian visa services on a sustainable financial footing in the long term, while not detracting from Australia’s global position as a destination of choice to visit, live, work or study”.

Furthermore DIAC’s eLodgement systems will go offline from late Friday 28 June to early Monday 1 July so IT systems can be updated before the pricing changes come into effect.

For more information on the new visa charges.