Plans to tighten character test wins Senate committee approval despite deportation concerns

The federal government's bill to strengthen the character test for visa applications 'strikes an appropriate balance', the final report of a parliamentary inquiry finds.

Immigration Minister David Coleman Source: AAP

A parliamentary committee has recommended that a bill on a strengthened character test for visa applicants be passed in the Senate.

The measures would widen the grounds for visa cancellation and refusal; and make it easier to deport tens of thousands of migrants.

Under the proposed changes to Section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, visa-holders who have committed a crime that carries a maximum sentence of at least two years, such as common assault, will automatically fail the character test, even if they are not sentenced to jail. 

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