From the WIA:

Date : 03 / 08 / 2015 
Author : Jim Linton – VK3PC

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has announced that it will suspend all apparatus licence processing from Friday August 14 to Tuesday September 1, to replace its licensing and frequency processing system. The ACMA in announcing this two week closure, acknowledges the need to bring a more efficient process to Apparatus licences, which are widely used including by the Amateur Service. 

The Wireless Institute of Australia highly recommends that if your licence is due for renewal during the closure period, to immediately renew it even if this is well before its expiry date. If you or your club need to renew a licence for a 6 metre beacon on a frequency below 52MHz prior to September 9, please contact the WIA immediately. This is because the ACMA are not renewing beacon or repeater licences below 52MHz after September 9, and the shut-down may affect any that have still not been renewed. 

The ACMA in a statement said that during the shut-down, there will be no apparatus licences processed, device registrations or licence renewals. Processing of them resumes on Wednesday September 2. Most licensees will not notice the shut-down, but in some cases the ACMA warns there may be delays. Although the shut-down period has been announced, the ACMA foreshadowed the new HELMS system earlier this year.