Hey All! I actually got through to Immigration today (woo hoo!) and "officially" they are processing applications received on October 9th, in Sydney. The other thing is that if you are applying from a country that did NOT require biometrics before Jan, 1, 2019 and now biometrics are required, it won't delay the application and you won't be penalized - just that at some point in the future the Applicant may be asked to provide them. Hope that helps some folks.