Australian families separated by international border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic were let down by inconsistencies from government decision makers, a new report has found.
The Home Affairs department also failed to give applicants specific reasons about why they were refused and did not have an adequate review process in place.
An audit of Australia’s management of international travel restrictions between March 2020 and June 2021 found decisions made by Home Affairs officers were not consistent with the department’s own policies.
The Australian National Audit Office found decisions relating to de facto partners were particularly inconsistent, with an approval rate of just 11.8 per cent between August 2020 and March 2021.
Home Affairs spent $2.85 million on an online travel exemption portal for prospective arrivals to provide relevant documentation to support their case.
Yet, the audit office found the decision-making framework still allowed officers "considerable discretion" when assessing applications.
Home Affairs accepted travel exemptions in "a small number of cases" were inconsistent with its own policies, but said findings must be considered against the more than 900,000 rapid exemptions that were made.
The department will ensure applicants receive more detailed feedback if refused and will put mechanisms in place for applicants to seek a review.
The Human Rights Law Centre has called for an overhaul of the system, particularly in light of new travel restrictions due to the Omicron variant.
Senior lawyer Scott Cosgriff said the audit office findings reflected the strain on people who had been separated from loved ones during the pandemic.
"The process for granting exemptions from the travel ban lacks parliamentary oversight, has no review rights, is opaque, and does not have adequate grounds for compassionate exemptions," he said.
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