The Federal government promised a parent visa in the run-up to the 2016 Federal election following a campaign by migrant communities.
The Federal Government unveiled a temporary sponsored parent visa last year that would allow parents of migrants to stay in Australia for up to ten years without having to leave the country.
On Friday 5 May 2017, the Australian Government announced the introduction of the new temporary sponsored parent visa for parents of Australians during the 2017–18 Migration Programme year. The new visa will allow Australians to sponsor their parents to stay in Australia for up to five years at a time.
The Federal Government, at the time of announcing this visa, said it would be available by the end of 2017. However, the visa has not been made available so far.
Implementation of the visa is still subject to passage of legislation through Parliament.
The Department of Home Affairs has told that the implementation of the visa is subject to the passage of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 through Parliament.