Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 30:53 to 33:29
Discussion on the practical difficulties faced by elderly parents who are unable to apply for permanent visas onshore due to 'no further stay' conditions.
Topics: Human rights, Social services
Speakers: Senator David Shoebridge, Michael Willard, Unknown Speaker
>> And um how many onshore applications have have been made by parents in the Well, when I say the last 12 months, perhaps it might be last financial year to make it easier
>> Senator We might take that on notice. If we can find it now, we'll give it to you. Otherwise, we'll take
>> No, I appreciate that. But the the effect is that parents who can be elderly have gone through the process of flying to Australia. That can be quite arduous for some. um often then they've put the parent application on while they've been here on a visiting visa and then had bridging visas um or granted. That's no longer going to be available because of this ministerial direction. Now even elderly parents um even frail parents will have to fly back overseas, make an application offshore and because they're making the application offshore they'll be put at the back of the queue. That that's the reality, isn't it?
uh if they're making a parent application. There's a couple of points there I'll just make for completeness. What one is that the the there are waiver provisions that exist in respect of the no further stay condition that exists on visitor visas that goes to circumstances that have come up since uh the visa was granted that are out of control of of the applicant that are that are compassionate compelling in
nature >> compelling compassionate that they may need to have urgent medical treatment or something with say for that the no further stay condition will send them
>> ordinarily the no further stay condition will mean they can't lodge a parent visa application onshore they can continue to um access uh visitor visas and and for parents there's a there's there's a facility for up to 12 month stay on a visitor visa. >> Mr. also mentioned the temporary parent,
>> but this is, you know, often quote frail people having a maximum 12 month stay going forward and bouncing back and forth and often long haul flights um with all the expense um and all the disruption that that causes. That that's that's going to be the practical effect for many parents, isn't it?
>> Yes. The the visitor visa is not intended to be uh used to remain in