Significant immigration policy reforms and visa initiatives in Australia are already generating more interest from people wishing to work in and visit the country.

According to Assistant Immigration Minister Michaelia Cash, amendments to the Work and Holiday visa programme and enhanced Visitor visa products are expected to result in interest in Australia’s northern regions.

She predicts that the Government’s much anticipated Northern Australia White Paper will unlock the immense potential in the country’s northern areas and amendments to the visa programmes will play an important role in this expected growth.

The announcement of a 2016 trial offering a 10-year visitor visa for Chinese nationals with a maximum three month stay provision has already prompted huge interest even although it will cost $1000.

A Mandarin Visitor visa lodgement option is to be developed and trialed in 2016. Australia already offers significant Chinese language support for visa lodgement, but Cash said that this new initiative will make it even easier and more convenient for Chinese travellers wanting to visit Australia.

Yet another measure in keeping with the Government’s commitment to streamline processes and cut red tape is the expansion of online lodgement for visitor visas to Chinese and Indian nationals, with a full roll-out in China expected by the end of 2016, and India in 2017.

‘China is Australia’s largest and fastest growing source of tourism and importantly these measures further simplify the visitor visa application process, welcoming repeat visitors,’ Cash explained.

‘These new services will provide fast and flexible travel options to those who require them and will attract high-value travellers who have the potential to inject substantial funds into the Australian economy, in particular Northern Australia,’ she added.

She also pointed out that changes to the popular Working Holiday Maker visas give holders the ability to extend employment by a further six months if they are working in certain industries in the north, allowing for a 12 month period of work with one employer and they also get the ability to acquire eligibility to apply for a second visa if they perform three months’ work in tourism or agriculture in the north.

‘These two initiatives will provide a significant incentive for such visa holders to visit and work in Northern Australia as part of their 12 month visa and this is expected to result in substantial economic benefits,’ added Cash.

Another highly anticipated measure announced as part of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is the annual provision of up to 5,000 visa places for young Chinese nationals in Australia’s largest capped Work and Holiday programme.

Set to commence in just a few months, Cash said that it will provide young Chinese adults with a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience Australia through an extended holiday, with the option of undertaking short term work and study.

‘The interest we’ve already received shows the Government and the Department have really hit the mark with this new scheme and have identified a brilliant opportunity to the benefit of both the Australian economy and Chinese nationals alike. Migration programmes have long played an absolutely vital role in Australia’s social and economic success,’ Cash concluded.