The Joint Standing Committee on Migration is conducting an inquiry into the health requirements undertaken for Australian visa processing. The current rules prevent many individuals and families from accessing visas because the applicant or a member of their family has a disability.
The Centre made a submission to the inquiry arguing that that decisions to grant or refuse a visa must comply with Australia’s international human rights obligations – particularly those contained in the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – and the standards of non-discrimination set out in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
Neither international law nor the DDA prohibit all forms of discrimination. However, for discrimination to be lawful it must be demonstrably justifiable and meet standards of reasonableness and proportionality. The Centre considers that the current migration regime focuses on costs associated with disability in a way that is neither reasonable nor proportionate. Importantly, the health requirement does not consider the economic and non-economic contributions that can be made by people with disability and their families.
