Summary

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The majority voted in favour of government amendments, which means they'll be included in the bill. Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds (WA) explains that:

"On 21 June 2016, the government made a commitment to introduce a new sponsored temporary visa for parents of Australian children. This new visa arrangement will allow parents to visit their Australian children without imposing an additional burden on Australia's healthcare system. In order to implement this new sponsored visa, there needs to be an assessable sponsorship framework for family sponsored visas. The Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 will amend the Migration Act 1958 to introduce this framework. When the bill was first introduced, the framework was intended to apply to the partner program first and the rest of the family program later. The sponsorship arrangements for the new parent visa will now be introduced first. To ensure that the sponsorship framework covers the requirements for the new parent visa, as well as all family sponsored visas, the bill requires government amendments.

To ensure that the new parent visa does not place any additional burden on Australia's healthcare system, the Australian child will be a financial guarantor for their parents' health costs. This amendment will allow a legal bond arrangement for approved family sponsors so that the obligation of liability for outstanding public health costs can be enforceable by a relevant health service provider."

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest:

The purpose of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 (the Bill) is to amend the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (the Act) to introduce a sponsorship framework for the sponsored family visa program. The proposed changes will:

  • separate sponsorship assessment from the visa application process
  • require the approval of persons as family sponsors before any relevant visa applications are made
  • impose statutory obligations on persons who are or were approved as family sponsors and provide for enforceable sanctions if such obligations are not satisfied
  • allow the Minister to refuse a sponsorship application and cancel and/or bar a family sponsor where inappropriate use of the program or serious offences are detected, especially those involving violence and
  • improve the sharing of personal information between parties to the application and the program more generally.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Cory Bernardi SA Australian Conservatives Absent
Australian Greens (89% turnout) 0 Yes 8 No
Mehreen Faruqi NSW No
Sarah Hanson-Young SA No
Nick McKim Tasmania No
Janet Rice Victoria No
Rachel Siewert WA No
Jordon Steele-John WA No
Larissa Waters Queensland No
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania No
Richard Di Natale Victoria Absent
Australian Labor Party (68% turnout) 0 Yes 17 No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Anthony Chisholm Queensland No
Jacinta Collins Victoria No
Patrick Dodson WA No
Kristina Keneally NSW No
Chris Ketter Queensland No
Jenny McAllister NSW No
Malarndirri McCarthy NT No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
David Smith ACT No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Murray Watt Queensland No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Alex Gallacher SA Absent
Kimberley Kitching Victoria Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Centre Alliance (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Stirling Griff SA Yes
Rex Patrick SA Yes
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
Derryn Hinch Victoria Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Yes
Sue Lines WA Deputy President No
Lucy Gichuhi SA Independent Yes
Tim Storer SA Independent Yes
Fraser Anning Queensland Independent Absent
Steve Martin Tasmania Independent Absent
David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party Absent
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland Yes
James McGrath Queensland Yes
Liberal Party (70% turnout) 16 Yes 0 No
Slade Brockman WA Yes
David Bushby Tasmania Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Mathias Cormann WA Yes
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Jane Hume Victoria Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
Jim Molan NSW Yes
Marise Payne NSW Yes
Linda Reynolds WA Yes
Anne Ruston SA Yes
Zed Seselja ACT Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Amanda Stoker Queensland Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Lucy Gichuhi SA Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (67% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Absent
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Peter Georgiou WA Yes
Pauline Hanson Queensland Yes
Scott Ryan Victoria President Yes
Brian Burston NSW United Australia Party Absent
Totals (72% turnout) 29 Yes – 26 No