Australia Urged to Ease COVID-19 Border Controls

More than 70,000 people have signed a petition urging the Australian government to ease COVID-19 entry restrictions on foreign-born parents of Australian citizens, who are allowed into the country only on compassionate grounds. Campaigners argue the rules are having a “profound impact” on family relations and mental health.

Foreign-born parents of Australian citizens are not considered to be “immediate family” under the law. They need an exemption on compassionate grounds to be allowed into the country under strict COVID-19 border measures. Campaigners argue that few cases are approved and that the regulations should be changed because families have been separated and children have not met grandparents. Celia Hammond, a member of the House of Representatives, the lower house of Australia’s Federal Parliament, from the governing Liberal Party, told the House that parents were a key part of an emotional support system for many immigrants and their families. Kateryna Dmytrieva has tried unsuccessfully to bring her mother back to Australia from Ukraine.