Australian government Announces 5-year parent visa

"Reuniting three generations of families has great societal benefits, and that's why we're announcing a temporary visa of five years," Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Alex Hawke announced on Friday.

"Aged parents are also an asset to their families…families are the fundamental building blocks to their society."

Mr Hawke acknowledged the current visa program as inefficient, sometimes resulting in wait times of 30 years.

The current visa system for parents of either Australian citizens or permanent residents into two streams: the 'non-contributor' visa which takes 18-30 years to process and costs $7,000, and the 'contributor' visa which has about a two-year processing time at $50,000.

Implementing the policy would begin community consultations by inviting community leaders to make submissions about the policy's features.

"Today I'm announcing that the Turnbull government will consult widely so that the setting for this visa enable the most options."

The announcement comes after the Productivity Commission released a report that suggested supporting parents of immigrants cost the country too much at between $2.6 billion and $3.2 billion over their lifetimes.

“A high cost for a relatively small group,” the report stated, given that their contribution to Australia was “typically poor”. The commission recommended an overhaul of the visa scheme, proposing among others that families of non-contributing parents paid for any income and health support during their residence.

During the election campaign in June, the Coalition promised a continuous five-year visa for parents of Australian residents and citizens, currently offered to only to those applicants on a case-to-case basis who have lodged a concurrent permanent parental visa application.