Australian Government has introduced the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 to address violence against women and children in Australia.
The Bill will mandate character checks of sponsors of family visa applications.
Currently police checks are required for sponsors in applications where children are involved and specifically focus on the protection of children.
The legislative changes will expand checks to all sponsors to allow better consideration of the potential for family violence.
This means the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will be able to refuse sponsorship applications in circumstances where the sponsor has convictions for paedophilia, other offences against children or offences relating to violence.
In refusing an application, the Department will have to consider a range of factors including the length of the relationship, the type of offence and how recently it occurred, the relevance of the offence to the family relationship and any other mitigating circumstances.
The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton said the changes to the Migration Act will significantly strengthen the integrity and protections within the family visa programme.
"Newly arrived migrants are among the more vulnerable people in our community. They are less likely to have an established support network, may not have an English speaking background and are less likely to know how to seek assistance," Mr Dutton said.
"These changes add an important safeguard to the family visa programme and will ensure sponsors are aware of their obligations under Australian law and are appropriately assessed before being approved as a family sponsor.
"Strengthened information sharing provisions will also ensure that both applicants and sponsors can make fully informed decisions before committing to the visa application process."
The Minister for Women Senator Michaelia Cash said the Bill is an important step toward protecting women and children against the very real threat of family violence.
In 2015-16, 529 partner visa applicants claimed they were victims of family violence, compared to 458 claims made the previous year.
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