The Greens are pushing for a Senate inquiry into the processing of family reunion visas over concerns the system is being plagued by lengthy waiting periods and exorbitant costs.
SBS News understands the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has agreed to the inquiry that would be put to a vote in the Senate next week.
Deputy Greens leader Nick McKim had earlier called for the inquiry, which would have a particular focus on partner and parents visas.
His push for an overhaul of the family visa system comes as Australia’s migration program has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic.
Senator McKim said now is the right time to create a “fairer” and “faster” system for applicants.
He warned that the family reunion system has “unnecessarily” kept families apart.
"It's keeping families apart and tearing families apart unnecessarily ... we want to see a fairer system, a faster system and a more affordable system,” he told SBS News.
“The size of your wallet shouldn't determine how quickly you can reunite with family members and loved ones.”
The proposed terms of refence for the inquiry – seen by SBS News – would examine the “efficacy, fairness, timeliness and costs” of the processing and granting of certain visa classes.
Senator McKim said the inquiry would hold the government "accountable for what is fundamentally a broken and failed system at the moment."
The Department of Home Affairs says processing times for visas can be impacted by changes in application volumes, seasonal peaks, complex cases and income applications.
In a statement a spokesperson for the Department said "the Australian Government recognises the importance of reuniting families."
"The Department strives to assess applications and finalise visas as efficiently and effectively as possible," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the Australian government is "committed to a managed and equitable system of migration".
Human Rights Law Centre legal director David Burke said he supported the inquiry on the basis of “massive delays, costs and inequity” plaguing the current system.
Greens Senator Nick McKim. Source: AAP
“The Australian migration system as it currently stands is failing families and it's because of the delays and the costs and the clear inequities through what is really a combination of intentionally targeted policies and misadministration,” he told SBS News.
“The federal government is causing immense suffering and it is keeping tens of thousands of people cruelly separated from their loved ones or in limbo waiting without any certainty for their future.”
Currently the backlog of partner visas applicants is estimated to be close to 91,000 applications.
These applicants face estimated waiting periods of close to two years or more, according to the Department of Home Affairs website.
The federal government promised in the most recent budget to increase the number of partner visas granted in 2020-21 to 72,300 — an increase from 37,118 last year.
Estimated waiting times for parent visa applicants are less clear.
The Department of Home Affairs refuses to provide such estimates, saying these visas are subject to "capping and queuing".
However, the Greens say non-contributory parent visas (subclass 103) can take up to 30 years to be processed at an estimated cost of $6,415.
Other contributory parent visas (subclass 143) can take up to five years to be processed – but at a much higher cost of nearly $48,000 per parent or nearly $100,000 for both parents.
The current backlog for non-contributory parent visa applications is estimated at around 50,000 and 55,000 for contributory parent visa applications.
"It's just not conscionable that in some family reunion visa classes people are waiting for many decades in order to reunite a family," Senator McKim said.
Net migration numbers are expected to fall by some 72,000 in 2020-21 as a result of migration restrictions forced by the pandemic.
This is not expected to return to positive levels until 2022-23.
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