Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has announced a crackdown on visa overstayers as part of his broader plan to tighten Australia's migration system, but a leading criminologist warns the policy could leave domestic and family violence victims trapped in dangerous situations by giving abusive partners fresh leverage to silence them.
Professor Marie Segrave, an Australian Research Council future fellow at the University of Melbourne and interim chair of inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, wrote in SBS News on 19 September that the crackdown was announced without any apparent safeguard for temporary migrants experiencing violence. The piece, sourced from The Conversation, said the threat of detention facilities to deter overstayers could have a particular impact on women whose visa status is controlled by an abusive partner.
The Department of Home Affairs published details of Burke's migration changes on its news archive, and the minister delivered the plan at the National Press Club after a six-week delay. For applicants following the broader skilled migration pipeline, movements in the SkillSelect expression of interest pool continue to be tracked on the EOI Insights dashboard.
Segrave cited the largest national study of migrant and refugee women in Australia, which found that one in three had experienced domestic and family violence. Temporary migrants were more likely to experience violence connected to their visa status, she wrote. The research also found that only 22 per cent of temporary visa holders surveyed were confident they understood the visa they held and their rights under it.
In documented cases, perpetrators deny women access to correspondence from the Department of Home Affairs and control all information about visa matters. Many women do not know they have overstayed, Segrave wrote. Domestic violence service providers across Australia regularly encounter survivors who are unaware their visa has expired and that they are in the country unlawfully.
The professor argued the crackdown would hand perpetrators an additional control mechanism: the threat of reporting a victim-survivor to authorities for removal from Australia. She wrote that this already happens at high rates, and the new policy would expand that power.
current safeguards and their limits
Australia's migration framework does contain family violence provisions for women on partner visas, providing a pathway to permanency even after a relationship breakdown due to violence. However, Segrave noted that many victim-survivors are not on partner visas. Women who arrive on student visas, visitor visas, or protection visas can form relationships that become abusive, and they may lack the safety net that partner visa holders can access.
The current National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Their Children has shown limited commitment to addressing the intersection of migration status and domestic violence, Segrave wrote. She called for urgent measures to review how the migration system affects victim-survivors and for a clear visa solution for women experiencing family violence.
Segrave wrote that the national advocacy group for women on temporary visas experiencing domestic and family violence will launch the third edition of its Blueprint for Reform next week. The document is expected to outline ways to adjust migration system settings so all women experiencing violence can access safety in Australia, regardless of their visa subclass. Applicants exploring pathways such as the 189, 190, or 491 visas can review nomination programs through South Australia and Western Australia, while legislative changes may appear through the Parliament's bills register.
The Department of Home Affairs' previous SkillSelect rounds remain available for applicants tracking invitation activity. EOI Insights will continue to report on policy developments affecting the skilled migration program as further details emerge from the government's announced changes.
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