Inquiry into the migration treatment of disability

Submitted by Nigel Palmer on Thu, 2009-10-22 10:26

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator the Hon Chris Evans, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services, the Hon Bill Shorten, have asked the Committee to undertake an inquiry relating to the health requirement in the Migration Act.

The Inquiry

Every year, millions of people apply to visit or migrate to Australia, and grant of a visa is conditional on a person satisfying the health requirement specified in the Migration Regulations. The health requirement is designed to protect Australia from public health risks, contain public expenditure on health and community services, and maintain access of Australian residents to those services.

Disability does not in itself mean that a person or a family will be refused a visa. However, as part of the health test, applicants with a ‘disease or condition’ are assessed on the potential cost and impact on Australian health and community services.

The Committee has been asked to inquire into the assessment of the health and community costs associated with a disability as part of the health test undertaken for the Australia visa processing.

Terms of reference

The Committee shall:

  • Report on the options to properly assess the economic and social contribution of people with a disability and their families seeking to migrate to Australia.
  • Report on the impact on funding for, and availability of, community services for people with a disability moving to Australia either temporarily or permanently.
  • Report on whether the balance between the economic and social benefits of the entry and stay of an individual with a disability, and the costs and use of services by that individual, should be a factor in a visa decision.
  • Report on how the balance between costs and benefits might be determined and the appropriate criteria for making a decision based on that assessment.
  • Report on a comparative analysis of similar migrant receiving countries.

Call for submissions

The Committee invites submissions to the inquiry by Wednesday 28th October 2009. Please refer to our brochure called preparing a submission for more information.

The Committee would welcome submissions from people with a disability, employers, business organisations, disability and community services providers, and any other interested individuals or organisations who would like to make comment. 

If you, a family member or a friend have had issues with the health requirement due to a disability, disease or condition, the Committee is also interested your story. Submissions can be of any length or format, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not Australian or not in Australia.

Following the terms of reference, submissions might choose to respond to the following questions:

  • Is the current process for assessing a visa applicant against the health requirement fair and transparent?

  • What types of contributions and costs should be considered?

  • How do we measure these?

  • Are there additional factors that should be considered?

  • Do you have personal experience of this?

  • What principles should apply to the assessment of visa applications against the health requirement? Should there be exceptions?

You do not have to provide a view on all of these points. The Committee welcomes your responses to any or all of these questions.

Following the submission period, the Committee may conduct visits to learn more or call for individuals or organisations to provide further evidence at public hearings or roundtables.

Submitters may wish to refer to Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994, which specifies the health requirement for visa applicants and outlines the considerations that apply for applicants with a ‘disease or condition’.

If you would like to keep informed of the progress of the inquiry, email jscm@aph.gov.au to request to be added to an electronic mailing list for all media releases associated with this inquiry. 

Groups: