Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, upon notice, on 7 November 2011:

(1) Can details be provided of how many girls aged 17 or under have entered Australia on partner visa or prospective spouse visa over the past 5 years, including their country of origin.

(2) Has the Government conducted a review of the visa criteria or conditions in light of concerns raised by child safety campaigners.

(3) Does the Government conduct any regular follow up of the on-going welfare of under-age women who have entered Australia for the purpose of marriage.

(4) Has the Government sought legal advice on whether the issuing of visas to 'child brides' contravenes domestic marriage laws.

(5) Is the Government aware of any marriages conducted in connection to a prospective spouse visa which have required special permit from an Australian court for the marriage of a minor.

(6) What steps does the department take on a case-by-case basis to be satisfied that applicants can demonstrate their genuine and ongoing partner relationship with their sponsoring partner.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Materiel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) In the last 5 years, the Department granted 207 Prospective marriages visas to 17 year old applicants. All but a few of these were women. The table below shows their nationalities.

No Prospective marriage visas were granted to applicants under the age of 17.

In relation to Partner visas, preliminary analysis of the data indicates that approximately 13 visas were granted overseas and two were granted in Australia to applicants under the age of 18 but over the age of 16. Their nationalities are as follows:

(2) The Department has not conducted any specific reviews of the visa criteria or conditions, nor have any child safety campaigners approached the Department directly with any concerns. However, the Department has measures in place to protect the welfare of minor applicants, which include refusing visa grant in cases where the sponsor has a conviction for a registrable offence.

(3) The Department does not conduct any regular follow up of the on-going welfare of women under the age of 18 who have entered Australia as holders of a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa. All new migrants are, however, given access to information about legal services through a number of products managed by the Department. Of particular relevance to Partner migrants is the Beginning a life in Australia booklet, which contains information about services in Australia. It also contains information about criminal offences and legal rights. This booklet is currently available on the Department's website in 37 community languages. In addition to the above, holders of Partner or Prospective Marriage visas also have access to services under the Settlement Grants Program administered by the Department. Services include information provision and casework services as well as referral to mainstream agencies following an assessment of individual needs.

(4) The Migration Act explicitly states that a marriage will only be recognised under migration legislation if it is recognised as valid under the Marriage Act 1961. In a similar way, in order to satisfy the criteria for the grant of a Prospective Marriage visa, there must be no impediment to the proposed marriage in Australian law. This means it must be demonstrated that the visa applicant and their sponsor will be aged 18 or over when the intended marriage will occur. Alternatively, if either the applicant for a Prospective Marriage visa or his or her prospective spouse is under 18 at the time of the proposed marriage, a Judge or magistrate must have made an order under section 12 of the Marriage Act 1961 authorising the marriage.

(5) The Government is not aware of any marriages conducted in connection to a Prospective marriage visa which have required a special permit from an Australian court for the marriage of a minor.

(6) A range of legislative measures and risk profiling tools are available to case officers to ensure integrity in the Partner and Prospective Marriage visa programs and minimise any potential abuse. These include:

Sponsorship limitations on repeat sponsors;

A two stage process for Partner visa applicants where the couple must demonstrate that they have continued to be in a genuine relationship for at least two years after the Partner visa application was lodged;

A requirement that the applicant and sponsor provide evidence to support their claims, including statutory declarations from third parties;

A range of options to further investigate claims, including document verification, interviews with sponsors and applicants, home visits and evidence that a Notice of Intended Marriage has been lodged with an authorised marriage celebrant in the case of a Prospective Marriage visa application;

Risk matrices developed by the individual posts to assist the determination of the level of risk associated with an application; and

Where an application includes a person under the age of 18, the sponsor is required to provide police clearances.