Australia's Migration (non-Humanitarian) Program comprises two main components, the Skilled Stream and the Family Stream.

The Australian Government has shifted the focus of the Migration (non-Humanitarian) Program to skilled migration, to reflect Australia's current social and economic needs, while maintaining a strong commitment to family migration. To achieve this shift, the Family Stream component of the Migration Program has been set at just under 50 per cent of the Migration Program.

In 2001-2002, between 100,000 and 110,000 migrants will be selected in the Migration Program, of which 43,200 (between 40 – 43%) will be in the Family Stream.
Family stream migrants must be sponsored or nominated by a close family member or fiancé(e) living in Australia. The sponsor must be settle and either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and would usually be 18 years of age or older.

Family Stream migrants are selected on the basis of their family relationship with their sponsor or nominator in Australia; there is no test for skills or language ability as for Skilled Stream migrants. Like all migrants, Family Stream applicants are assessed on an individual basis and they MUST also be assessed against Australia's health and character requirements.

The Family Stream

Family Stream applicants can be sponsored for migration (or nominated for permanent residence*) in one of the following visa categories:

Partner

• Spouse (Married and De facto)
• Prospective Marriage (Fiancé[e])
• Interdependency

Child

• Dependent Child
• Adoption
• Orphan Relative

Parent

• Parent
• Aged Parent
• Contributory Parent

Other Family

• Aged Dependent Relative
• (Last) Remaining Relative
• Carer

* Application for Visa granted outside of Australia are “Applications for Migration . . .”. Applicants for migration are Sponsored by their Australian relatives. Application for Visa granted in Australia are Application for Permanent Residency . . .”. Applicants to remain permanently are Nominated by their Australian relatives.