Albanese government seeks power to block temporary visa holders amid Middle East conflict
The Albanian government will seek to amend the Immigration Act to allow Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to prevent a group of existing temporary visa holders from traveling to Australia, where they could seek asylum from ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Opposition and crossover senators were briefed on the proposed legislation that will be introduced to the House of Representatives on Tuesday morning, just hours after members of the Iranian women’s football team were granted humanitarian visas under threat of reprisals from the regime in their home country.
The proposed legislation would expand the minister’s power to delay the arrival of people who have already been granted temporary visas to “certain groups of non-citizens who hold temporary visas” for a renewable period of six months, according to briefing documents seen by this byline.
The purpose of the legislation is defined as “to respond”[s] “We aim to contribute to overseas developments by limiting travel to Australia for certain groups of temporary visa holders if it is in the national interest.”
“The current situation in the Middle East shows how quickly conditions can change for visa applicants and non-citizens who currently hold a temporary visa but have not yet traveled to Australia and whose visa application is now likely to fail,” the document says.
The majority of temporary visas in Australia are for tourism purposes, but temporary visas are also issued for education and work.
The home secretary’s new personal power, called an “arrival control decision”, will require written agreement from the prime minister and the foreign secretary.
It will come into play when a significant “event or circumstance” occurs outside Australia that would create a situation where temporary visa holders would wish to remain in Australia after their visas expire, or where their visas may not have been granted before.
Under the new powers, spouses, de facto partners and dependent children of an Australian citizen and permanent visa holders cannot be delayed from coming to Australia.
Burke will introduce the legislation after returning to Canberra from Brisbane, where she met with members of the Iran women’s football team. The government is trying to pass the law before parliament adjourns for a week on Thursday.
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Nick Newling is the federal politics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
