The federal government has approved more than 800 visas for Palestinians to come to Australia. The announcement has attracted criticism from the opposition over concerns the cohort poses a security risk.
The government says all Palestinians offered temporary Australian visas have undergone the necessary security checks. The same checks have been applied to the more than 1,700 Israeli citizens who have been granted temporary visas.
The visa application process is complex and confusing. Not all details are made public for security reasons. Here’s what we know so far.
What sort of visa has been granted?
The visa offered to Palestinians and Israeli citizens wanting to come to Australia is not a permanent visa. It’s a visitor visa, subclass 600, which allows for temporary entry for up to 12 months. In most cases, people will live with family in Australia. Between 7 October and 20 November, 1,793 visas were granted to Israeli citizens and 860 to Palestinians.
Is it only during war that this happens?
No. Visas requests from conflict zones may receive priority, and there may be an increase to the number Australia would usually accept, but these visas exist as part of Australia’s visa system and have not been specially created.
Has this happened before?
Yes. Most recently, the former Coalition government granted 3,000 visitor visas to Ukrainian citizens between 23 February to 11 March 2022, after the Russian invasion. The Morrison government also approved 5,000 temporary visas for Afghans between 18 August and 20 September 2021, after the US withdrawal from the country and the return of the Taliban to power.
Can anyone get a visa?
No. There are still strict character, security and identity checks which must be undertaken as part of the visitor visa process, even for children.
The character checks can be found here, but there are additional security checks which are undertaken which are not as public. Those security checks vary in their thoroughness depending on which country or region the person applying is associated with, or lives in.
For example, someone applying from Britain will not have a lower level of security check as someone applying from Syria, Iran or Palestine.
What is Peter Dutton saying?
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton,has raised concerns over whether enough time has passed for those checks to have taken place when it comes to approving Palestinian visas. On Friday, Dutton said:
“We have a big humanitarian program; happy for that to continue, and it may well include people coming out of the Middle East, but at the moment, to take people out of Gaza, through a desktop search from a person in Canberra in the Immigration Department, without the requisite security checks being undertaken is reckless and it’s also dangerous.
“You can’t be taking people out of a war zone and bring them to Australia without the checks being conducted and it’s obvious that the government hasn’t done it because they’ve got to go to the US – by way of one example – to their database holdings, who have the most significant database holdings in terms of biometrics and in terms of those people who have been flagged in the Middle East as being of concern.”
Dutton claims he is able to speak on this with authority because as a former minister for home affairs, he knows how the procedure works and how long the checks can take.
What has the government said?
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, have strongly rejected Dutton’s claims. As has the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, who accused Dutton of attempting to stoke fears for political gain.
“National security is the first priority of our government. As security agencies have repeatedly warned, inflammatory language has a direct link to increased risk of violence. Everyone in our parliament needs to consider the impact that their language will have,” she said.
What checks have been done?
Every applicant undergoes a series of checks, including with security agencies, before a visa is granted. Those checks include criminal records, aliases, known associates, checks of their family and a character test. For a visa to be approved, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has to have assessed that the applicant is not a direct or indirect security risk.
For Asio to come to that decision, it is not just Australian databases which are relied upon. Australia is a member of Five Eyes, which includes the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand and also has strategic relationships with Asean countries, which gives Australia access to security partner databases.
Amnesty International Australia’s refugee rights adviser, Dr Graham Thom, said
“in line with the variance and complexity within Australia’s visa system, Palestinians seeking entry to Australia are already subject to comprehensive assessment and robust security checks. While the government keeps the specifics of those checks confidential, Australia’s membership to the Five Eyes Alliance indicates the vast scope of intelligence that the government can consider when issuing visas.”
Have the Palestinian visas been approved faster than usual?
There is no evidence of that.
Palestinians also have more identity documents to hand than other groups seeking to escape a conflict zone, because of the unique situation of life in Gaza and the West Bank, which requires passage through Israeli check points. A lot of the information Australian authorities require has already been gathered.
Visas are also routinely provided to family members who meet eligibility criteria, which has been the case under all Australian governments.
It is also important to note that being granted a visa does not mean someone can automatically leave Gaza. Citizens still have to be able to cross from Gaza into Egypt and this has proven very difficult in many cases. So far, only 127 Australian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to cross the border. Another 69 Australians have sought to leave, but have so far been unable to.
