Tern Australian Visa Information

Australian visa processing times

get_processing_times

Read-onlyIdempotent

How long the Department of Home Affairs is taking to decide applications for an Australian visa subclass: the days within which 25%, 50%, 75% and 90% of recent applications were decided, optionally for one nationality (split by applying from inside or outside Australia).

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "subclass": "<subclass>"
    },
    "name": "get_processing_times"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`stream`	No	Stream id, for subclasses with streams (e.g. "29" for the 600 tourist stream applying from outside Australia). Omit for the main stream; if that has no data, the error lists the streams that do, with their names.
`country`	No	Two-letter nationality code (ISO 3166-1), e.g. "IN", for that nationality's times.
`subclass`	Yes	Visa subclass, e.g. "309" or "600".

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedNov 12, 2026

TDQS

A3.9/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, destructiveHint=false and openWorldHint=false, so safety is covered. The description adds real behavioral context beyond that: results are percentile-based distributions over recent decisions, times are split by applying from inside versus outside Australia, and nationality filtering is optional. It still does not say how far back 'recent' reaches or how stale the figures may be.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

It is a single front-loaded sentence that leads with the decision-time question and then qualifies the percentiles and optional nationality. The nested parenthetical is dense but every clause carries information; no filler or repetition.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a read-only lookup with no output schema, the description sufficiently explains what comes back (percentile day counts) and the scope of the split, so an agent can call it correctly from subclass alone. Minor gaps remain around data currency and behaviour for an unknown subclass, though the schema covers the stream-missing error case.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100% and all three parameters carry their own descriptions (subclass pattern, ISO country code, stream id with fallback error behaviour), so the schema does the heavy lifting. The description only adds that country means one nationality and that the inside/outside split is intrinsic to the result, which is a modest supplement rather than new parameter meaning.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description names a specific resource (Department of Home Affairs processing times for an Australian visa subclass) and states exactly what is reported: the days within which 25%, 50%, 75% and 90% of recent applications were decided. That is a concrete verb-plus-resource statement that is clearly distinct from siblings such as get_visa_fees or get_country_profile.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines3/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Usage is implied rather than stated: the agent learns the tool answers 'how long is a subclass taking' and that nationality filtering is optional, and the schema's stream field explains the fallback when a stream has no data. There is no explicit when-to-use/when-not guidance or routing to a sibling, so the agent must infer the boundary itself.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

All Tern Australian Visa Information tools Inspect

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