Highlights
- Australia strengthens character test for applicants and visa holders
- Immigration Minister Alex Hawke says the new rules will ‘safeguard’ the Australian community
- ‘Non-citizens who commit serious offences will not be permitted to enter or stay in Australia’ says Mr Hawke
As part of new stricter migration rules, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has strengthened the character test in visa applications to prevent the entry or stay of non-citizens who may present a risk to the safety or good order of the Australian community.
The ministerial direction signed on Monday, reinforces the government’s intolerance towards family violence by ordering decision-makers to factor in incidents of family violence as a primary consideration when assessing visa applications.
“Being a member of the Australian community is a privilege and it comes with a responsibility to respect and abide by our laws,” Minister Hawke said.
“Family violence and crimes against vulnerable members of the community have no place in Australia and will not be tolerated," he added.
As part of the new rules, officials will also be required to ‘seriously consider’ other forms of unacceptable behaviour such as of serious non-violent crimes including fraud, extortion, exploitation and neglect towards vulnerable people such as the elderly.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke. Source: AAP
“These changes align with the Australian community’s expectation that non-citizens who commit serious offences will not be permitted to enter or stay in Australia,” Minister Hawke said.
What is the character test?
Under Australia's migration laws, non-citizens can have their visas refused if they don’t pass the character test at the time of making the application or cancelled if they fail to maintain a ‘good character’ once the visa has been granted.
The test applies to past and present conduct. If a person has had any criminal conduct, association or membership in the past, it may impact the outcome of their visa application or status.
Click on this to learn more about character requirements.
Outlining the requirements, Melbourne-based migration agent Ranbir Singh said the new character requirements are aimed to protect the community from those who commit crimes and in some cases, are serious offenders.
Australian visa application form Source: Getty Images
“The new strengthened test is specifically aimed at preventing domestic violence and crimes against the vulnerable people in the community,” he said.
“Character checks have always been a mandatory requirement for most visa grants and have often led to visa cancellations where applicants have been unable to maintain the character requirements," he added.
As per government figures, at least 1,021 visas were cancelled and at least 352 visa applications were refused on character grounds in the financial year 2019-20.
The new rules have come months after the federal government announced laws for
At the time of making the announcement in October last year, the then acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said the new changes will protect migrants from domestic and family violence.
