I applied early August this year to London (still no response), based on the comments from an earlier post below, I think the logic is - if you applied between 28th Feb and end of Nov and your file is a straight forward >67 points and NOC code on the list with relevant description of duties etc then London will process - if London are unsure, they send it to Sydney, NS to check out.
Anything Dec> should be checked out and sent direct to Sydney, NS.
This wait is driving me crazy, come on CHC or NS put me out my misery......
"2 - applied prior to Nov but after Feb to their local visa office with a friend (exact same application....more or less). One got a reply from visa office to say that the rest of the information and documentation need to be sent. The other got a reply from Sydney NS to say, that they are reviewing his/her application and will be in touch within four months"
PS - Trackitt is the way to go to keep bang up to date, so long as everyone remembers to add their case ;-)