Managing Client Expectations on Subclass 117 Timelines in 2026: No Status Updates Inside Processing Times

Nothing has happened to your client's Orphan Relative visa (Subclass 117) application — and that is exactly what silence inside processing times means. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Orphan Relative visa (Subclass 117), the Department cannot provide updates on the progress of a Subclass 117 application within normal processing times; the applicant is contacted if anything further is needed, and otherwise is contacted with the outcome. This article is general information about how that rule works in practice and is not personalised advice for any individual case — outcomes, documents and timing should always be checked against the Department's current official pages or with a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

Why is there no news on a 117 application while it sits inside processing times?

Because the published position is that contact happens at set points, not continuously. The official listing sets out three moments:

Acknowledgement — the applicant should receive acknowledgement of the application within approximately one month after lodgement.
A request for further information — the Department contacts the applicant using their authorised method if more information is needed.
The outcome — otherwise, the next contact carries the decision.

Anything between those points is processing, not a status change. For an agent, the useful reframe is that silence carries information: it means no request has been triggered. It does not mean the file is stalled, lost, or being penalised.

What can an agent honestly put in writing to the sponsor?

Put the timeline in terms of these milestones rather than dates. A short expectation-setting note at lodgement works better than reassurance later:

Paper-only lodgement: Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia) go together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth.
Acknowledgement is expected at roughly one month; nothing further is promised before then.
Inside the published processing time, absence of contact means absence of a request — not progress being withheld.
If supply of documents, health exams or biometrics is requested, the clock that matters is the applicant's response time, not the elapsed time so far.

This answers the question sponsors actually ask ("has it moved?") with something verifiable, without anyone sending a chase letter that prompts nothing but a copy of the same published position.

How should the processing time guide be read without over-promising?

The Department directs applicants to its global visa processing times guide tool, which reports processing times for recently decided applications. The official wording matters in two ways agents should pass on unedited: it is a guide only, and it is not specific to your application. It reflects how recently decided cases ran, not a quoted turnaround.

A reliable way to quote it is as a band rather than a deadline, tied to the decision date rather than lodgement. If a sponsor hears a single number, they will treat it as a promise; if they hear "recently decided cases clustered here, and your case is quoted individually," they understand why no update is forthcoming.

Which four things push an application past normal processing times?

The listing names four, and all four are within the applicant's control before lodgement rather than during the wait:

Factor cited by the Department	What front-loading looks like
Application not filled in correctly	Check both forms page by page; forms must be completed in English. Errors later are corrected with Form 1023 (Notification of incorrect answers).
Missing documents, or further information needed	Identity pages, photographs (45mm x 35mm, less than six months old), travel documents, relationship evidence, and evidence the child has no parent capable of caring for them are lodged together.
Time taken to verify information	Consistent names, dates and relationships across every document reduce verification loops. For children over 16, police certificates are valid for 12 months from issue.
Full payment not made at initial lodgement	Pay the application charge before posting, and include evidence of payment. The Department does not process until the charge is paid.

A 117 application lodged with an incomplete set does not simply wait; it waits for a request, and then waits again for a reply. This is the one place where "no news" and "delayed" genuinely part company, and it is worth saying plainly during onboarding.

Payment deserves its own line in any engagement letter. If the correct visa application charge is not paid, the Department states it cannot process the application, will let the applicant know, and may return the application. The visa application fee is also not refunded if the application is refused. The listing page points users to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the cost, which excludes separate costs such as health checks, police certificates and biometrics; there is also a charge for each dependent child included. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, recognised by a valid passport from the specified countries, with family members eligible based on the primary applicant's passport — check the Department's current page for the prevailing position.

What should the response window look like once a request arrives?

Silence ends the moment a request is issued, and this is where preparation pays off. Assume a response window rather than an open-ended one, and pre-position the following:

Import the application into ImmiAccount after the acknowledgement letter arrives, using the application ID, date of birth and identity document number. Applications made outside Australia on or after 1 April 2020 can be imported. Once imported, additional documents can be uploaded, messages viewed, details updated, and the application status seen online.
Where ImmiAccount cannot be used, or where the application was lodged outside Australia before 1 April 2020, additional documents are attached through the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form.
Health examinations are arranged when the Department says to arrange them, not at lodgement. The same applies to biometrics: the Department asks if they are needed.
Corrections run through Form 1023, uploaded in ImmiAccount or attached to that online form.
Changes in circumstances — phone number, address, passport, relationship status, the birth of a child, or a decision to withdraw — should be notified as they occur, since the applicant's authorised contact channel is how a request would reach them.

A practical commitment an agent can make — and keep — is that identifiable documents (passport renewals, police certificate expiry for applicants over 16, changes in care arrangements) are tracked against their own validity dates, so that a request arrives to a file already prepared rather than starting a fresh round of collection.

What should sponsors be told to hold off on?

Two things that anxious families commonly do early, and shouldn't:

Travel. Do not arrange for the child to travel to Australia until the Department advises in writing that the visa has been granted. The visa cannot be granted unless the child is outside Australia at the time of decision.
Repeat chasers. Requests sent inside normal processing times do not produce a status update, because no update exists to give; they consume time better spent keeping documents current.

After grant, the obligations change shape: the child must enter Australia before the date in the grant letter, generally set at 12 months from the date of grant, and the visa carries a five-year travel facility before a Resident Return visa or citizenship would be needed for re-entry. VEVO can be used to see when that travel facility ends. These are post-grant dates worth putting in the calendar at the time of grant, again so that no avoidable lapse occurs later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why has there been no update on my Subclass 117 application within processing times?

The Department of Home Affairs states that it cannot provide progress updates on Subclass 117 applications within normal processing times. Contact comes if more information is needed, and otherwise with the outcome.

How long after lodgement should the acknowledgement arrive?

The official listing says the applicant should receive an acknowledgement within approximately one month after lodgement. Until that arrives, there is nothing to report and no milestone missed.

Does the global processing time guide tell me when this application will be decided?

No. The guide reports processing times for recently decided applications and is described by the Department as a guide only, not specific to any individual application. Treat it as a band observed in past decisions rather than a quoted turnaround.

Is it worth asking-the Department for an update inside normal processing times?

There is no status information to release during that period, so a request does not produce a progress report. The better use of waiting time is keeping identity, police certificate and care-arrangement documents current so that any request can be answered quickly.

Are health checks and biometrics needed at lodgement?

No. The official listing states the Department will tell the applicant when to arrange the child's health examinations, and that it will advise if biometrics are required. Doing them unprompted adds cost without shortening the wait.

What happens if incorrect information was given in the application?

Incorrect answers are notified using Form 1023 (Notification of incorrect answers), uploaded through ImmiAccount or attached to the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form. Notifying early is safer than leaving a discrepancy to surface during verification.

Will the fee be refunded if the application is refused?

No. The Department states it will not refund the application fee if the application is refused, and it will advise in writing why the visa was refused and whether there is a right to review the decision.