According to sources, the Department of Home Affairs may no longer include costs
of certain disability services provided by States/ Territories to temporary visa
applicants with disability or health condition while calculating costs under the health
requirement visa condition.
Most visas have attached condition of meeting health requirement to be eligible for
the visa. For temporary visa holders mainly, International students, temporary
workers and international tourists with disability or health conditions this requirement
created a bar from being granted a visa through addition of hypothetical cost of state
disability services to the tune of AUD $49,000 during the stay. The Department is
considering to not take state disability services into account while assessing these
temporary visa applications to facilitate the grant of visa. However, no formal
changes have been made in the policy documents as on date.
