A police check from the Australian Federal
Police is now required for anyone acting as the
sponsor of a visa application including a minor.
(Image: Australian Federal Police).
As of 16 September 2009, the sponsors of Australian child visa applications and Australian partner visa or prospective marriage visa applications which include a minor applicant will be required to provide a National Police Check as part of the assessment process.
The results of the National Police Check will be used by the department to ensure that children seeking to enter Australia are protected from being sponsored by people with convictions for child sex offences or other serious offences indicating that they might pose a significant risk to a child in their care.
This new requirement applies to new applications as well as any existing applications that have not already been decided. Therefore, if you have yet to have your Australia visa application approved, your sponsor will be required to provide a National Police Check.
Will these checks lead to processing delays?
The requirement for sponsors to obtain an Australian National Police Check may lead to some delays in finalising existing visa applications. These are expected to be relatively short for the majority of cases where the result of the check does not indicate any significant convictions.
For new applications, it will be open to the sponsor to obtain the Australian National Police Check prior to making the visa application if they wish to do so to speed up processing of the visa application.
How can my sponsor obtain an Australian National Police Check?
An Australian National Police Check may be obtained from the Australian Federal Police. Information on obtaining the check is available from the AFP website (www.afp.gov.au/business/national_police_checks).
- Lauren Mennie is Casework Department Manager for the Australian Visa Bureau.
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