The challenge of supporting elderly parents

Coalitionnow incharge,consultations on thistopichavejustbeen concludedand itisnow widelyacceptedd1at afive-year temporaryresidentvisa forparentswill soon be available.

could he around$2.9 billion. The $50,000-odd contribmory payment per parent will be nowhere close to meeting d1esecosts.

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

Walkiogthrough large

Diwali gatheringsin our majorcities inweeks past, one couldsee die diversity in die communiry and die age gapsamongst dievarious attendees.

Most notable was the youthful side of ourmigrantcomrrmnit)�whilethereis excitementandexuberance amongsr themof settlingina new coumry,the latem angst is about concern for their families,especially theparents diey have left behind in India, andthe thoughr of how theycanget their parents tospend morerimewidithemin Australia.

During melast Federalelection,there was increasingpressure on bothmemajor parties toallow forlonger temporary migrantvisasfor parents.When a petition with this demandgarneredover 30,000 signatures,diepressurewastoo much for bomsides toreject it,andbothpromised accion after theelection. With the

Currently, die contributory visa stream is the mainway to bringparencs into Australia.The cosr,which was about $26,000in 2003,isjust under $50,000 now.And yet,over 30,000applicants are in diepipeline wirh 2-3years'time frame to complete diis rype of migration. In thenon-contributory category,where me costisjust $3,870,mewait can be up to 30 years,thar's how longthe backlog is!

And so rhe temporary five-year visa for parents willbe an in1portant gap for thosewho cannot afford the large sums to fast-track their parents' applications or diose \vho may find a30-year wair unreasonable (perhapsrightly so).

This new type of visa may also work financially for the government,as the Produccivity Commission hasescimated thar aparent on a permanent visa in 2015can cost thegovernmentbetween $335,000 and $410,000over the lifetime of the migrant parent.In 2015,rhere were 8,675parent visas granted,andit is estimated that the government's liability for these visa holders over theirlifetime

Under thenew proposals,temporary migrant parents willneed to be sponsoredby their childrenwho will needto pass certain financialtests tomakesurethey can supportmeir parenrs;they will also needto rake up private i1isuranceetc. co meet any unexpected medical needs.The government reduces their financial commitments while stillfacilitating migrant families to reunite

The challenge, however,is how co balance the righrs of these remporary visirors, who willbe living in the country with limitedresomces and.limited knowledge of the local rules.There is anobligationwhich rhe government and community havein ensuring there is proper education of the eights of rhe aging parentscominghere on long-term visas.

Thelong-term visas is a welcome solution - the devil ,vill bein diedetail of how it is implemented co ensure fairness for all,most importantly for me vulnerable - tlieelderlytemporary migrants.