Immigration Law Reform.

Speaker 1 00:00

The Immigration Minister is being urged to reform laws denying permanent residency for people living with a disability. All visa applicants must complete a health declaration or undergo a full medical examination conducted by a doctor. Critics say this process operates on outdated definitions of disability which don't consider individual circumstances but operate exclusively on a cost-based model. National Radio News ' Emma Myers asked Executive Officer of Disability Voices Tasmania, Vaughan Bennison, if the government could still decide people's immigration status based on disability.

Speaker 2 00:32

We're at a point now where this ridiculous notion of deciding whether or not people can come to Australia based on their disability is absolutely ridiculous. When I came over here from New Zealand in 1986, if we had had the same requirements then that we have now, I would have been sent back home. I was only 10, but I would have, you know, I would probably not have complied with what was considered to be or what is now considered to be the appropriate measure. 

It's something that disability organisations like ours have been campaigning on for a very long time - and I've got friends who are personally affected by this who would like to come to Australia, one of whom is an Australian citizen, but his wife has been disallowed from living in Australia because as a blind person she is considered to cost too much to the system, so she doesn't comply with the requirement.

Speaker 3 01:31

Do you feel like this is a form of discrimination? Are there any precedents where someone has become disabled while applying for residency?

Speaker 2 01:41

There's no "feel like" involved. There's absolutely discrimination. But for some strange reason, under the Disability Discrimination Act, the Migration Act is exempt from claims of discrimination. So very clearly, other people considered that this might be discrimination and decided that they might like a Get Out of Jail Free card by including an exemption in the Disability Discrimination Act. In my view, that should be removed immediately. And the same principles that apply to any other law in Australia should apply here as well. This discriminatory requirement needs to be amended. 

But also, the fact that any piece of legislation would be exempt from consideration by the Disability Discrimination Act is absolutely abhorrent to me. And that needs immediate repair and is something that I will communicate with the Australian Human Rights Commission on. The second question is, am I aware of any precedents where somebody has become disabled while on a student visa in Australia and then essentially been sent home because they are now disabled? I'm not aware of any, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Speaker 3 02:50

What can you tell us about Canada's immigration laws that opened it up to include be more inclusive of immigrants with a disability? Do you think the federal government could learn a thing or two from their laws?

Speaker 2 03:06

I think there's a lot that the Australian government could learn from Canada actually and not least of which is covered under the Accessible Canada Act, but also the way that Canada treats migration, you know, they have, as you say, opened up the field and alleviated to a large extent the discrimination faced by disabled people who come to Canada. We absolutely need to do the same sort of thing. 

We know for example that disabled people contribute to society that we pay taxes, we work, we have families and we make a living and support the government in the same way that everyone else does and people who come here to live and arguably get a better quality of life from Australia should be allowed to do that whether they are disabled or not.

Speaker 3 03:52

And what is Disability Voices Tasmania doing on this front? Are you consulting with the government? Are you trying to talk to the federal immigration minister about this? What would you say to him if you had the chance?

Speaker 2 04:10

Look, we're not in a position to do with individual advocacy on this matter, but we did put out a logo to a consultation and a statement of expectations earlier on this year about the removal of this requirement, this discriminatory requirement from the Immigration Act. And as far as what I would say to the Minister, this needs to be sorted out because you are missing out on a talent and a wealth of opportunity by some of the disabled people that come from other countries to live in Australia. They bring with them a wealth of information and a wealth of skill and, you know, some very actively contributing people.

Speaker 1 04:54

Vaughan Bennison from Disability Voices Australia there, speaking with NRN's Emma Myers.