New bill with regards to the Partner visa application in Australia has been introduced and passed through the Parliament on 10 December 2018. The implementation of the new bill is yet to be determined. However, the commencement date could happen at any time.

The bill is made to reduce family violence with immigrants in Australia under the family sponsored scheme visas. The new Bill requires the Australian citizen, Permanent Resident, or Eligible New Zealand Citizen sponsoring their partner in Australia to first lodge their sponsorship application and have it approved before the partner visa can be submitted. The processing time of the sponsorship application may take months. The current processing time is approximately 12 to 18 months.