Information for New Zealanders living in Australia

Submissions to government inquiries

Oz Kiwi has made a number of submissions to government inquiries over the last few years. (Photo: Australian Parliament website)
Oz Kiwi has made a number of submissions to government inquiries over the last few years. (Photo: Australian Parliament website)

Oz Kiwi has made a number of submissions to government inquiries in the last five years, on a range of policy issues. Most have been in response to proposed legislation that would impact on New Zealander's living in Australia. For example:

Oz Kiwi would like to offer special thanks to Senator Nick McKim (Greens, TAS) for invitations to make submissions to Senate inquiries, and to appear as witnesses at public hearings.

Domestic violence in Australia

On 26 June 2014, the matter of Domestic violence in Australia was referred to the Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration Committee for inquiry and report by 27 October 2014. The Senate granted several extensions of time for reporting, with submissions finally closing on 20 August 2015.

Submission

The Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration Committee published Oz Kiwi's submission.

Select the Submission Number radio button, go to page 3, and scroll down to Submission 43 Oz Kiwi PDF on the Submissions received by the Committee page.

Report

The Senate Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration report into Domestic violence in Australia was released on 20 August 2015.

Citizenship Legislation Amendment Bill (2017)

Peter Dutton MP tabled the Citizenship Amendment Bill (2017) in the House of Representatives in June 2017. The Bill went to a second reading before being referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Senate Committee for inquiry.

Submission

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (now Home Affairs) published Oz Kiwi's submission.

Public hearing

Oz Kiwi appeared as witnesses at a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in August 2017.

Report

The Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Citizenship Amendment Bill (2017) report was released in September 2017.

Citizenship Legislation Amendment Bill (2018) Inquiry

Senator Pauline Hanson tabled the Citizenship Amendment Bill (2018) in the Senate in February 2018. The Bill went to a second reading before being referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Senate Committee for inquiry.

Submission

Respondents could complete an online survey, or a written submission. Oz Kiwi's submission was one of 110 submissions published by the Senate Committee.

Select the Submission Number radio button and scroll down to Submission 19 Oz Kiwi PDF on the Submissions received by the Committee page.

Report

The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Senate Committee released the Citizenship Amendment Bill (2018) report on 15 March 2019.

Review of visa cancellation processes

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton asked the Joint Standing Committee on Migration to review the processes associated with visa cancellations in March 2018.

Submission

Submissions were due by Friday 27 April 2018. The Joint Standing Committee on Migration has published Oz Kiwi's submission.

Public hearing

Oz Kiwi appeared as witnesses at a public hearing before the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on 24 July 2018.

Report

The Joint Standing Committee on Migration report on visa cancellation processes was released on 21 February 2019. Testimonies by Oz Kiwi and the New Zealand High Commission to Australia feature strongly in the report.

Farm Household Allowance review

The Farm Household Allowance (FHA) was introduced in 2014 to provide help for farmers facing hardship. A review of the FHA was announced in October 2018.

Submission

Oz Kiwi made a submission to the Farm Household Allowance review on 2 November 2018. Submissions have not been made public.

Recommendations

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources Farm Household Allowance Review panel made its recommendations to Government in the first half of 2019.

Temporary Migration Inquiry

On 5 December 2019, the Senate resolved to establish a Select Committee on Temporary Migration to inquire into the impact temporary migration has on the Australian economy, social cohesion etc.

The closing date for submissions was 5 July 2020 but has been extended to 30 July 2020.

Submission

The Select Committee on Temporary Migration has now published all the submissions, including Oz Kiwi's submission.

Report

The Select Committee on Temporary Migration report on Temporary Migration was released on 02 September 2021.

Chapter 5 - Pathways to permanency references the Special Category Visa under the Effects of decreasing pathways to permanency section, starting at paragraph 5.58.

Review of New Zealanders rights

In July 2022 Australian PM Anthony Albanese committed to reviewing New Zealanders rights in Australia, including the path to Australian citizenship.

There were no public submissions for the review, however, Oz Kiwi were honoured to be included in the consultation process when we met with the Minister for Home Affairs, Federal Tresurer and Minister for Citizenship, Immigration & Multicultural Affiars in November 2022.

The meetings in Canberra built on our virtual meetings with those same key Ministers in August and September 2022.

Albanese signalled work on how to give New Zealanders living in Australia an easier pathway to Australian citizenship would be complete by ANZAC Day 2023.

Outcome

The direct pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders living in Australia was announced in April 2023. The pathway opened on 1 July 2023.

Review of Australia's migration system

On 2 September 2022 the Albanese Government announced a comprehensive review of Australia’s migration system.

The closing date for submissions was 15 December 2022.

Submission

The Migration Review received 483 submissions, including Oz Kiwi's submission.

Report

The Review of the Migration System Final Report was presented to the Government on 21 March 2023.

Note: Pages 96 and 97 of Chapter 11: Australia does not want to become a nation with 'Permanently Temporaray' residents is of particular interest to New Zealanders in Australia.

The report shows that New Zealand citizens are the largest temporary migrant group in Australia. However, SCV New Zealanders are not included in the Net Overseas Migration statistics, and Zealanders were outside the scope of the review. There is a separate review of New Zealanders rights in Australia.