25/9/14
The successful passage of a Greens’ disallowance motion has overturned the government’s attempts to scrap a range of essential, affordable family and carer visas.
“The Senate has voted to keep families living together and looking after each other in Australia,” the Greens’ immigration spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.
“The success of this disallowance motion means that thousands of Australian families will have a chance to reunite with relatives from around the world.”
The four ‘non-contributory’ visas that had been scrapped were the relatively affordable Age Dependent Relative Visa, Remaining Relative Visa, Carer Visa and the Aged Parent Visa.
Applications are now open again in these categories, but may only be available for a short time until the government makes more changes to the legislation. Families should act quickly if they are planning to lodge applications in any of these categories.