Highlights
- Quality assurance reviews of exemptions decisions are being regularly undertaken: Australian Border Force
- I've received emails from many families who have received exemption after the Senate hearing: Senator McKim
- ABF received over 87,600 requests for inbound travel exemptions between March 20 and July 31, 2020
The Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram told a Senate committee on COVID-19 last week that he is prepared to revisit some cases of families who have applied for exemptions on compassionate grounds but have been denied permission to return to Australia.
“I will review the administrative guidance. I give you that commitment,” Mr Outram said in response to Greens Senator Nick McKim’s questions with relation to increasing incidence of “multiple rejections” received by temporary visa holders separated from their loved ones and stranded by COVID 19-induced border restrictions.
Temporary skilled visa holder Sehrish Naseem who was stuck in Pakistan’s Punjab province along with her three-old-daughter could not believe her luck when an approval greenlighting their first entry into Australia landed in her inbox on Thursday, two days after the Senate committee hearing in Canberra.
The 33-year-old who hasn’t seen her husband since he moved to Adelaide in January earlier this year, said she was overjoyed for the sake of their daughter Minsa, who hasn’t seen her dad in months and believes "he lives in the laptop."
Sehrish Naseem with her family. Source: Supplied
“I could not believe we had been exempted from the travel ban until I saw the email myself. This was our third attempt and we had applied on compassionate grounds.
“It is such a respite for us as parents especially for my husband who is alone in Adelaide and hasn’t seen Minsa in months, who now firmly believes in her dad’s virtual existence,” she said.
'Many families have received approvals since I questioned the commissioner'
Greens deputy leader Nick McKim has raised the plight of many families separated by travel bans in the Senate and also during the public hearings of the committee investigating the government’s response to the pandemic, ever since the borders were snapped shut earlier this year.
The Greens Senator and immigration spokesperson told SBS Punjabi that while it’s a great relief that some people are finally being allowed to reunite with their loved ones, it is, however, important to address concerns of hundreds of families who remain separated because of their inability to return.
“While I have received many emails since I questioned the Commissioner from people who have had their exemptions approved in the past week, we still know of dozens of people who have been separated from their loved ones and have been unable to return home to Australia.
“This includes more than 30 cases where people are separated from their children. This is not acceptable, and it must end. Families have a right to be together,” he said.
Reiterating his demand, the senator also called the Border Force to release administrative guidelines being used to assess inbound travel exemptions to provide clarity to applicants.
"Given so many people are still waiting for answers, I encourage Mr Outram to make the guidance public,” he added.
Has ABF started reviewing requests from families separated by the pandemic?
On questioned if the ABF has started revisiting some of those requests, a spokesperson said the commissioner regularly revises travel exemption guidelines as national and global circumstances in relation to the COVID-19 epidemic evolve.
Quality assurance reviews of decisions are being regularly undertaken to ensure decisions are made consistently: ABF spokesperson
Temporary visa holder Ashutosh* who wishes to remain anonymous told SBS Punjabi that he and his wife applied for a joint exemption two days after the ABF commissioner said he would reconsider some requests from families who wish to enter on compassionate grounds.
And as luck would have it, the Melbourne-based couple received approval on Sunday and is now looking out for flights to return home.
“I have lost count of the number of times we have applied until we finally got approved. But the peculiar thing is that this was the first time that we applied on compassionate and compelling grounds,” said the 31-year-old.
Ashutosh said he strongly believes that their approval has been a direct result of the impact of Senator McKim’s "persistent efforts."
Snapshot of approval received by Ashutosh* Source: Supplied
“I think Senator McKim asked all the right questions to explain the plight of the temporary visa holders stuck offshore which prompted the commissioner to say he would address some of those family-related requests and we are thankful for his efforts,” he added.
*Not his real name
According to the recent figures, ABF received over 87,600 travel exemption requests from those seeking to enter Australia, during the period March 20 to July 31, 2020, but only 15 per cent of those requests were approved, of which a majority of inbound exemptions were granted on compassionate grounds.
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