Australia's immigration policy is unfairly impacting NZ Citizens
24 February 2021
Paul Gregoire, Sydney Criminal Lawyers, interviewed Oz Kiwi's Joanne Cox about New Zealanders in Australia.
The 1973 Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement is an agreement between the Australian and New Zealand governments that permits the free flow of citizens between each nation. The TTTA formally acknowledged a pre-existing open-door policy.
As of 1 September 1994, all non-citizens living in Australia were required to have a visa. For this purpose, the Special Category Visa (SCV) was introduced specifically for New Zealanders. It automatically conferred permanent residency to them, along with its associated rights.
This arrangement worked in reverse too. As it originally stood, an Aussie or a Kiwi having become a permanent resident in the other country would be eligible to vote and to access social security and student loans, as well as having an avenue to become a citizen.
However, this Friday marks twenty years since the Howard government amended the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), so that New Zealanders receiving the SCV after 26 February 2001 are no longer permanent residents, nor do they receive any support or access to citizenship.
Read the full interview on the Sydney Criminal Lawyers website.