Under a new, move by the Gillard Government Visitor visas will be simplified and a new short stay activity visa will be created. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Brendan O’Connor commented that final approval of the legislation by the Governor-General is required; this builds on the Better Regulation Ministerial Partnership commitment to cut the total number of visa subclasses by up to 50 per cent by 2015.
“There will be no change to current visa eligibility for tourism, business visitor activities, sponsored family visits, and medical treatment, and care has been taken to ensure there is no impact on program integrity settings,” Mr O’Connor said.
Mr O’Connor explained that the new short stay activity visa enables people to come to Australia to carry out short-term, non-ongoing, highly specialised work, where the skills required are not otherwise readily available. The visa will also allow for the entry of people who are invited from overseas to participate in events.