The Australian public is invited to provide their views on the development of a new visa for parents of Australians. This invitation is in response to the Government’s election commitment announcement of 21 June 2016 that indicated it would enhance existing visa arrangements to enable sponsored parents to visit their family in Australia for a continuous period of up to five years, if re-elected.

The Australian Government believes that parents should have the opportunity to visit children and grandchildren who live in Australia as long as parents and their sponsors can satisfy community expectations and that their stay in Australia does not have an undue cost impact on the Australian community. While several visa options are already available for parents to spend time with their family in Australia, community feedback indicates that a fresh approach should be considered.

The closing date for written submissions is midnight, Monday 31 October 2016 - Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT).