I have been told that, according to Sefardi minhag, it is permissable to wash chalavi & besari cutlery and crockery in the same dishwasher at the same time. Is this true?

Shalom, Thank you for your question. You are correct that Rav Ovadyah Yosef zt"l did give a lenient ruling when it comes to using a dishwasher for milk and meat at the same time. His ruling is that ideally it is better not to use the dishwasher for milk and meat together – but those who act leniently may do so if they abide by the following conditions – 1. they wipe off all remains of milk and meat from the dishes etc before putting them in the dishwasher. 2. the first hot cycle of washing is done with a strong detergent (one needs to check how each machine works, and whether the detergent is released at the start of the hot cycle or not – or insert detergent into the dishwasher onto the dishes so it is there from the beginning of the cycle.) He relies on the fact that according to the Shulchan Aruch a strong soap will nullify any tastes of meat or milk found on the dishes. Not everyone agrees with this – and some claim that even scraps that have gone through a load of the dishwasher are still fit to be eaten, and the detergent did not make them not eatable. As we said, even Rav Ovadya zt"l advises one to ideally not use the dishwasher for both meat and milk together. (See Otzar Dinia LaIsha VeLaBat, 30,15) Blessings