If they accepted, they would be assessed against the visa criteria, pay for mandatory health checks and provide biometric information if it was not already held by the department.
Successful visa holders would receive special benefit payments and work and study rights, and those who transitioned to the full three-year visa would also have access to Medicare.
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More than 900 people with Palestinian documents who had applied for asylum since arriving in Australia would have to withdraw that application to be eligible for the new pathway.
Two weeks ago, Burke said 12 families had been transferred onto short-term humanitarian visas.
“At the moment, what we’re doing is we’re going case by case,” he said. “They don’t all have to be personal meetings with me, but so far, they have been, and I’ll tell you, there’s been some extraordinary people I’ve met.”
The Palestine Australia Relief and Action group welcomed the government’s decision to launch a humanitarian pathway but said a route to permanency was essential.
“The ongoing uncertainty of visa status has a huge impact on the wellbeing of refugees, who are an already traumatised and vulnerable group of people,” it said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the temporary humanitarian visa does not give access to tertiary education, which Palestinians highly value.”
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