Australia's tougher visa character rules make it easier to deport migrants who might do harm

Ministerial Direction 123, in force since 31 October 2026, makes community protection and family violence weigh more heavily in Australian character-based visa decisions, while ties to Australia become a secondary consideration.

Immigrants who "might" do harm in Australia will be deported or barred entry more easily under beefed-up ministerial powers, 1News reported on 5 November. The changes to Australia's visa character test quietly entered force on October 31 through a ministerial direction.

Ministerial Direction No. 123 was signed on 18 September 2026 by Minister Tony Burke and revokes Direction No. 110, which had been in effect since June 2024. The Directions are binding on the Department of Home Affairs' delegates and the Administrative Review Tribunal. It applies only when a visa is being refused, cancelled or restored on character grounds under section 501 of the Migration Act, and it does not cancel anyone's visa automatically.

According to 1News, behaviour threatening community safety, social cohesion, respect for the law and human rights will be grounds for removal, and there is now no need for an offence to be proven or for a criminal conviction.

Four primary considerations

• Protection of the Australian community from criminal or other serious conduct
• Whether the conduct engaged in constituted domestic or family violence
• The expectations of the Australian community
• The best interests of minor children in Australia, including the interests of child victims

The biggest change is that a person's ties to Australia, a primary consideration under Direction 110, have been moved back to a secondary consideration. Long residence, Australian family relationships and community connections must still be considered where relevant, but they will generally weigh less. For someone who arrived as a child or has lived here for decades, this may be the most significant practical change.

Family violence and hate conduct

Family violence is now considered much more seriously, including image-based and digital abuse. The broader framework covers coercive control, stalking and digital tracking, and breaches of family violence court orders, and the relationships covered can include caregiving and certain cultural family relationships.

The inherent nature of certain conduct such as domestic or family violence ... is so serious that even strong countervailing considerations may be insufficient to justify not cancelling.

Engagement with hate groups, hate crimes, anti-Semitism, support for terrorism and racist attitudes have entered the character test to align with laws passed following December's Bondi massacre. ProVisa notes the shift from "would" to "might" in paragraph 501(6)(d) came from the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026, with Direction 123 telling decision-makers how to apply it. "Might" is a lower future-risk threshold than "would", but it does not make speculation enough.

Why the rules changed

The changes are part of the long-term fallout from the 2023 High Court decision known as NZYQ, which led to the release of more than 200 people from immigration detention. Canberra later brokered a deal to send the NZYQ cohort to Naoero in February 2025. Immigration Minister Tony Burke said in a statement: "The previous direction was written prior to when the new arrangement with Naoero had been achieved and there were new interpretations which were not consistent with my view."

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