Family violence & Commonwealth laws e-news | Issue 2

Issue 2 | January 2011   View original format

As this is the first e-newsletter for the year, let me wish you all a happy New Year. Over the past month the Inquiry team has been able to organise a few consultations, but the focus now is on the preparation of consultation documents to elicit submissions to assist us in the direction of reform across the various areas under review.

We are producing a series of four short issues papers to be released over the month of February, to engage stakeholders early in the year and provide a solid base from which a Discussion Paper can be produced mid-year.  The papers will cover:

• Migration
• Employment and superannuation
• Social security
• Child support and family assistance

There will then be a six-week period for comment on each paper.  Your responses to these papers—as many as you would like to comment on—will greatly assist us in the formulation of possible reform directions to be raised in the Discussion Paper. We will alert you to the release of each issues paper as it becomes available.  We look forward to hearing your responses!

The ‘family violence exceptions’ in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations) are designed to ensure that visa applicants do not have to remain in abusive relationships in order to obtain permanent residence in Australia. The exceptions provide for the grant of permanent residence to victims of family violence—usually in partner visa cases— notwithstanding the breakdown of their married or de facto relationship. It provides an exception to the requirement that a relationship remain ‘genuine and continuing’…

Please read this post in full and share your responses to these questions on the Inquiry Blog >>