The federal government is cracking down on Australians with a history of violence being able to sponsor foreigners for family visas as well as those in fake relationships being hoodwinked into supporting applications.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton introduced a bill to parliament on Thursday aimed at reducing domestic violence by ramping up the emphasis on sponsors' characters.
Under existing arrangements sponsors are only required to provide police checks if children are part of an application and even then there are limited grounds to refuse applications from sponsors with a violent criminal history.
The lack of focus on sponsors in the partner visa category had also led to the situation of some sponsors being targeted by non-genuine visa applicants seeking entry to Australia, Mr Dutton said.
The changes will separate the sponsorship assessment from the visa application process.
Meanwhile, in a separate bill the government is seeking to shore up its ability to deport foreigners with criminal convictions whose visas have been cancelled with some technical changes.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
