Hi Tony
I can understand how you feel, even though you are only the merest smidge over the 6 months.
DIAC will not be working at full chat again until at least Monday 7th January. Also, a lot of the staff are ladies who only work part-time and have a lot of time off at this time of year in order to cope with the long school summer hols etc, plus it is prime-time for Australians to take family holiday trips to the Far East, where the slightly-less-wet season is now in full swing.....
However, you have a good lever in that your meds will expire soon unless you can hurry these character checks up.....
The unit where they deal with Character issues is in QLD. I'm not sure whether it is in Brisbane, but Pollyana (one of the moderators on British Expats) used to work in this unit, so she knows exactly where it is. A PM to her might get you some help. If she can't get you a phone number she may be able to let you have the e-mail address for this unit.
Failing that, please see this link:
National Telephone Numbers
I don't know whether Canberra is on "Australian Central Time" but no matter. Perth time is 9 hours ahead of the UK at the minute. Sydney is 11 hours ahead, so call ACT 10 hours ahead and you won't be far out.
It says that if you can't get help from the general number in Oz, contact the Oz High Commission in London instead. Please see here:
Visas and migration - Australian High Commission
DIAC relies on the ICSE database which is their Sacred Work. The datanase is absolutely massive (it literally does almost know more about my elderly mother than I do. I'm sure it wouldn't be permitted under EU Law, the Human Rights Act etc but it is useful for your own purposes, mate. It can be accessed by the staff in any DIAC office anywhere in the world.)
If your character checks have been cleared and it is now just a matter of chivvying your CO to get on with the final processing, the Database should show that your PCCs are OK and the date on which they were cleared. If this info is on the database, London will be able to confirm the details if you ring or e-mail them.
If the database is silent, it means that the PCCs have probably not been cleared yet. In that case, you need to contact your CO in order to try to negotiate an extension on the Initial Entry Date. This is the official term for the "validation date" that one sees so much about, and it is the date which is usually - but not always - 12 months after the earlier of the PCCs or the meds.
The way this bit works is that once that date has been set and is stated in the Grant Letter, plus the visas are granted, only a serious crisis like the death of a close relative overseas will get you off the hook if you fail to make your Initial Entry to Australia before the deadline expires.
However, it is negotiable right up until the moment when the visa is granted and the confirmatory letter is issued. If all your meds were AOK, it is usually possible to get an extra 6 months on the meds. If there were any medical queries, the CO can give you a 3 month extension off his/her own bat, but he/she would need the consent of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth in order to extend the Initial Entry Date for as long as six months.
However, extending the deadline is down to the discretion of the individual CO and some are more helpful than others. Some are right little Jobsworths. Others are very accommodating and which type you have is down to the luck of the draw.
The database might or might not reveal the same of your CO - I don't know. Personally I would demand this information from my Agent and I would not brook arguments about it. DIAC and the Agent are both there to serve you, not the other way around, and I am not inclined to let either of them forget that myself. However, if you can get DIAC to give you the CO's name, it will save bickering with your Agent.
If the database does not reveal it, no great matter. Just ring up the relevant processing centre, explain any problems and say that you need assistance because of needing to agree an extension to the Initial Entry Date and/or getting them to chase the police checkers for you. Please see here:
Contact Us - Department of Immigration and Citizenship
The link above is broad because I am not sure which visa you have applied for, ergo I don't know whether you need the ASPC or one of the Business Centres.
Agents are apt to make like they are th only people permitted to use th Hotline to God. That is absolute rubbish. DIAC is not God for a start - they are merely one of many branches of the Australian Civil Service is the rather more rossaic relatity of the situation. DIAC does ask aents to discourage their clients from duplicating cenquiries to DIAC, off the client's own bat, in circs where the Agent has already asked the same question on the client's behalf. That is not an unreasonable request.
However, if the Agent cannot be bothered to chase this up for you him or herself, then it follows that there is no duplication going on. You are fully entitled to override your Agent at any time and to contact DIAC direct, irrespective of whether your agent likes that notion or not. Do not brook any nonsense about the idea that perstering DIAC ensures a place in the bin on the floor becuse that is arrant fiction as well. Some Agents are sufficiently lacking in professinalism to come out with wild suggestions of this sort, but DIAC themselves are perfectly professional and reasonable, you will find.
He who travels alone travels fastest, my friend. I would not waste my own time on squabbling with my Agent about any of this or relying on him/her to go the extra mile for you. I would just get on and do it yourself, irksome though this might be considering the loot you have paid out. Nonetheless, getting the visa sorted without unnecessary further delay is more important right now, I would suggest.
As I have said, becuse of the time it will take the creak the business back up to full operating strength post 7th Jan. I would probably be inclined to wait until at least 21st Jan and maybe even a bit later before rattling cages out in Australia. However, there is o harm in
PHONING London tomorrow or on Monday. (They have said that routine - to them - e-mails received between 21 Dec and 2nd Jan will not be dealt with. The system is auto-deleting the non-urgent stuff, it would seem.) If you decide to ring, have your passports handy because they will ask for the numbers.
In summary, do not despair, my friend. Become pro-active about this instead, I suggest.
Best wishes
Gill
