(SBS news screenshot)
According to SBS Broadcasting, Tan Bao (Malcolm Turnbull) goverment plans to implement major visa reforms and significantly reduce visa categories. Immigration agents warned that the success rate of the application would be affected.
Secretary of the Interior (Peter Dutton) announced last year that goverment intends to substantially adjust the visa category. Goverment plans to reduce the current 99 visas to 10. It will be the largest single immigration reform in more than 20 years. Goverment is still awaiting comments from the Home Affairs Department.
The Home Affairs Department's approach is to control the growing net immigration abroad and reduce the cost of the "unreasonable" visa system. The current visa system was once described as "outdated artifact". The Department of Home Affairs said on its website that a more flexible system would help goverment "attract new and better immigrants from its location."
Visa and naturalization applications are expected to grow by about 50 percent over the next 10 years to about 13 million a year, according to departmental data.
Brown (Jason Browne), an immigration agency in Canberra, told SBS Broadcasting: "it will be very difficult to process all applications-99 visa categories have been reduced to 10 visa subcategories."
With fewer visa categories, Mr Brown argues, applicants are more inclined to handle paperwork independently, which will no doubt trigger more rejection. "Immigration laws are not simple," he said. Individuals and enterprises apply on their own. It will increase the number of visa rejection and appeals, "he said.
Jasper (Param Jaswal), Managing Director of the Royal College of Australia (Imperial College of Australia), has been providing guidance on visa regimes for more than 20 years to help foreign students study in Australia. "it's very complicated for individuals to search all the subcategories on the Immigration Department's website to determine which items meet their specific requirements," he told SBS Broadcasting.
After the announcement, goverment received 255 comments during a seven-week public consultation period. The conclusion of the public consultation showed strong support for the "easy to guide" visa system. In addition, most views support "retaining part of the route from temporary residence to permanent residence".
In recent years, a number of reforms have reduced immigrant applicants' access to permanent residency in Australia, including the reform of the 457 skilled immigrant visa program. Under another temporary visa system still under consideration, benefits and services currently available to permanent residents will not be available to future applicants.
"this is a huge change," (Anna Boucher) (Anna Boucher), senior lecturer in public policy and political science at the University of Sydney at (University of Sydney), told SBS Broadcasting. The current visa category will be subject to major changes. In addition, Australia will fundamentally transform from a permanent country to an increasing number of temporary immigrants. "
While Labour supports a simplified visa system in principle, shadow immigration minister Newman (Shayne Neumann) said blocking permanent residency would give birth to Australia's "inferior" immigrants.
