Upwards of 800 non-citizens were stripped of their Australian visas for serious crimes in 2018, according to a January 7 joint media release from the Minister for Home Affairs, Peter Dutton and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, David Coleman.
One hundred individuals had their visas cancelled for committing child sex offences or for involvement in child exploitation and pornography, while 53 were stripped of their visas for domestic violence and 34 lost theirs for rape or other sexual offences.
Around 500 criminals who committed violent offences are among those stripped of their visas, including 13 for murder, seven for manslaughter, 125 for assault and 56 for armed robbery.
In a statement included in the media release, Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton said the Government is committed to protecting communities and keeping Australians safe.
"We welcome people from all round the world, but those few who think they can live in Australia and be involved in criminal actions need to know they won't be staying long," said the statement.
According to the press release, under the previous Labor Government, in the five years between 2009 and 2013, 582 visas were cancelled under the character provisions in section 501 of Migration Act 1958.
Since 2014, the Coalition has cancelled a total of 4,150 visas.
Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs David Coleman said the Government was sending a strong message to non-citizen law-breakers.
"Foreign nationals who think they can flout our laws and harm Australian citizens should expect to have their visa cancelled," said Coleman.
The Government says that it has significantly strengthened the character provisions in the Migration Act, introducing mandatory cancellation provisions in December 2014. These changes provide that a non-citizen's visa must be cancelled if they are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment or have been convicted of a sexual crime against a child.
More recently, the Government introduced into Parliament the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 to introduce a list of designated offences into section 501, providing "clear and objective grounds" for the consideration of visa refusal or cancellation.
Such offences include those that involve violence, sexual assault, domestic abuse and the use or possession of weapons, whereby the offence carries a two year or more maximum jail sentence.
The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 is expected to be debated in the Federal Parliament's first sitting period of 2019.
