• Joint Standing Committee on Migration

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30 June 2010Australia’s current health requirement for migration to this country is prejudiced against people with a disability and their families, according to this report.
 
The Committee report makes 18 recommendations to Government to ensure migration assessment across the visa streams is fairer families where a member is a person with a disability. These recommendations support changes so that:

• The theoretical cost of migration known as ‘significant cost threshold’ is modernised to reflect likely actual costs associated with disabilities or conditions. The committee also recommends that information on the costing methodology be made public.

• Where a person does not meet the new updated Health Requirement, some visas provide for a waiver to allow for the assessment of the social and economic contributions made by a prospective immigrant or their families. 

• Families including skilled immigrants should not be unfairly disadvantaged under the Health Requirement as a result of a family member having a disability – the ‘one fails, all fail’ rule.

• For offshore refugee applicants who have a disability or other health condition, compelling and compassionate visa waivers are relevant considerations, including those applying on a family reunion
basis. 

• Australia’s migration legislation distinguishes between conditions which may impose a public health risk versus those linked to disability.