The Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016, passed by Parliament on 28 November 2018, will provide a framework to separate sponsorship assessments from visa application assessments for Family visas.
The separate sponsorship framework will first be implemented in the new Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa which will be open for sponsorship applications from 17 April 2019.
Further regulation and system changes are required for the new framework to apply to other visas. At this stage, there is no timeframe for expansion of the new sponsorship framework to other family visas and therefore the current arrangements for existing visas, including partner visas, will continue to operate from 17 April 2019.
We still anticipate that the sponsorship changes will apply to all family visas in the near future. (i.e. child, parent, remaining relative, carer etc).
We encourage all clients with eligibility to file at the earliest possible opportunity under the current program if a critical date is fast approaching and a Bridging Visa is required. If you have already lodged your application then you can disregard this notice.
Should you have any questions please contact Hunt Migration on 1300 MYVISA or go to huntmigration.com and complete an enquiry form and a team member will contact you at the earliest.