In Australia’s system of Government, under the Commonwealth Constitution, immigration and visa matters are the responsibility of the Federal government and not State or Territory governments. The Federal Parliament has the power to make laws relating to immigration. The Department of Home Affairs is responsible for administering those laws and making decisions on individual visa and citizenship applications.

Decisions regarding visa applications are made independently of Members of Parliament (MP), by public servants in the Department of Home Affairs. A decision on a visa application is final but may be subject to a right of appeal before an administrative tribunal.

In Australia, MPs have no decision-making power over individual applications and are not able to talk directly with case officers who make decisions on applications. MPs do not have the authority to intervene in the visa process and, therefore, contacting MPs or the Minister for Home Affairs or the Minister for Immigration will not advance your application.

Immigration is a highly specialised area of law, and individual MPs and their staff, who are not trained or qualified in this area, are unable to provide specific or detailed migration advice. For specific advice, including lodging an application and keeping the Department updated regarding your application, you may wish to consult a qualified immigration lawyer or registered migration agent - Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority

If you live in the Pearce electorate and your visa application has surpassed the 90% of visas finalised timeframe, Tracey and her team may be able to explain your situation to the Department of Home Affairs, via a dedicated Parliamentary Liaison Unit, and request an update on the processing of an application (except for humanitarian applications).

We kindly ask that you provide the following information in your email to us:

• Summary of issue
• Full name of the visa applicant
• Date of birth
• Visa type and subclass applied for
• Date the visa application was lodged
• Visa reference number
• A copy of photo identification for both the applicant and the person making the enquiry (if different)
• Written consent from the applicant and confirmation that the person making the enquiry is authorised to do so in the Department’s systems (e.g. listed as authorised representative)

Once we have received this information, we will be able to make the appropriate enquiry to the Parliamentary Liaison Unit on your behalf.

Please note, given the complexity and number of queries our office receives, migration queries can only be considered by email and that our office is unable to provide letters of support, as the Department treats all applications equally and does not prioritise or fast-track cases based on parliamentary involvement.

Ministerial Intervention

The Minister has powers under the Migration Act 1958 to replace a decision of a merits review tribunal on a person’s case with a decision that is more favourable to that person, if the Minister thinks it is in the public interest to do so. This means that if you have had a visa application refused by the Department, and the Department’s decision has been affirmed by an independent review tribunal, the Minister may still intervene to grant you a visa. The Department assesses requests for ministerial intervention against the Minister’s guidelines, which describe the types of cases that might be referred for the Minister’s consideration, and those where it would be inappropriate for the Minister to consider intervening. Under the guidelines for ministerial intervention, only a small number of requests are referred by the department to the Minister, and very few requests are successful. You can find out more about ministerial intervention, including the types of unique or exceptional circumstances that may be brought to the Minister’s attention at the Department’s website: Ministerial intervention

Citizenships

Becoming an Australian citizen is a proud milestone and a significant step in joining our vibrant, diverse and multicultural community. Citizenship is about more than just paperwork – it is about belonging, contributing, and embracing the shared values that unite us all. Under the Albanese Labor Government, real progress has been made to make this process more efficient and fairer. In our first year in Government, we cut citizenship processing times by 42%, clearing the backlog and bringing it to its lowest level in six years; helping more people call Australia home, sooner.

After serving over a decade as the City of Wanneroo Mayor, I had the privilege of swearing in almost 20,000 new citizens. Each ceremony was a powerful reminder of the diversity, strength and spirit that new Australians bring to our local community. It was always an honour to witness the pride and joy on the faces of those choosing to make Australia their home - people from all walks of life, united by a shared commitment to our country's values of democracy, equality, and a fair go for all.

If you are interested in becoming an Australian citizen and would like to learn more about the eligibility criteria and process, you can find further information here: Become a citizen - (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/become-a-citizen)

Support Services

Visa and citizenship cases can have a large psychological toll on applicants and their families. Support services who may be able to help include:

Lifeline WA
Call 13 11 14
Lifeline Australia - 13 11 14 - Crisis Support. Suicide Prevention.
Lifeline provide 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services to all Australians.

Beyond Blue
Call 1300 22 4636
24/7 Support for Anxiety, Depression and Suicide Prevention. - Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue provide free mental health information and support to the community. Beyond Blue provide free mental health information and support to the community.

Call 000 in emergency situations or if life is in danger.