A character test for Australian visas
People who support this policy believe that the federal government should impose a character test on all non-citizens holding or applying for an Australian visa which would give the minister the power to cancel or refuse a visa under certain character-related circumstances as set out in the relevant legislation.
View on They Vote For You →How each party's members voted
Each bar is 100% of a party's current members in the House of Representatives whom They Vote For You places in one of its seven agreement groups for this policy (its own categories, shown as published). Bars show percentages of members, not vote totals; the number beside each bar is how many members that is. Members They Vote For You says haven't cast enough votes on the policy are counted separately, not in the bars.
- Consistently against
- Almost always against
- Generally against
- Mixture
- Generally for
- Almost always for
- Consistently for
Labor
61 members
Liberal
12 members
Independent
9 members
Nationals
8 members
LNP
4 members
Centre Alliance
1 member
One Nation
1 member
Katter's Australian
1 member
Speaker
1 member
Greens
1 member
Party breakdown as a table (number of members in each group)
| Party | Consistently against | Almost always against | Generally against | Mixture | Generally for | Almost always for | Consistently for | Not enough votes | Members in bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 61 |
| Liberal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
| Independent | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Nationals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| LNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Centre Alliance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| One Nation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Katter's Australian | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Speaker | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Greens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
All 99 members, by agreement
| Member | Party | Position | Agreement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Tehan (Wannon) | Liberal | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Michael McCormack (Riverina) | Nationals | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Melissa Price (Durack) | Liberal | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo) | Centre Alliance | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay) | Liberal | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Jerome Laxale (Bennelong) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Carina Garland (Chisholm) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Alison Byrnes (Cunningham) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Dai Le (Fowler) | Independent | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Tania Lawrence (Hasluck) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Sam Rae (Hawke) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Cassandra Fernando (Holt) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Dan Repacholi (Hunter) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Andrew Charlton (Parramatta) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Tracey Roberts (Pearce) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Sally Sitou (Reid) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Gordon Reid (Robertson) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Matt Burnell (Spence) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Sam Lim (Tangney) | Labor | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Andrew Gee (Calare) | Independent | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Tim Wilson (Goldstein) | Liberal | Voted consistently for | 100% |
| Barnaby Joyce (New England) | One Nation | Voted almost always for | 90% |
| Darren Chester (Gippsland) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Scott Buchholz (Wright) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Tony Pasin (Barker) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Michelle Landry (Capricornia) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Angus Taylor (Hume) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Jason Wood (La Trobe) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Rick Wilson (O'Connor) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Kevin Hogan (Page) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Andrew Hastie (Canning) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Ted O'Brien (Fairfax) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Julian Leeser (Berowra) | Liberal | Voted generally for | 83% |
| David Littleproud (Maranoa) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Llew O'Brien (Wide Bay) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Bob Katter (Kennedy) | Katter's Australian | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Pat Conaghan (Cowper) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Phillip Thompson (Herbert) | LNP | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Terry Young (Longman) | LNP | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Anne Webster (Mallee) | Nationals | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Angie Bell (Moncrieff) | LNP | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Andrew Wallace (Fisher) | LNP | Voted generally for | 83% |
| Matt Keogh (Burt) | Labor | Voted generally for | 67% |
| Zali Steggall (Warringah) | Independent | Voted generally for | 67% |
| Anne Urquhart (Braddon) | Labor | Voted generally for | 67% |
| Justine Elliot (Richmond) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Shayne Neumann (Blair) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Tony Zappia (Makin) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Rob Mitchell (McEwen) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Ed Husic (Chifley) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Lisa Chesters (Bendigo) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Tim Watts (Gellibrand) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Clare O'Neil (Hotham) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Joanne Ryan (Lalor) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Sharon Claydon (Newcastle) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Andrew Giles (Scullin) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Susan Templeman (Macquarie) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Julian Hill (Bruce) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Peter Khalil (Wills) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Anne Stanley (Werriwa) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Patrick Gorman (Perth) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Daniel Mulino (Fraser) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Anika Wells (Lilley) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Josh Burns (Macnamara) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Steve Georganas (Adelaide) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Mark Butler (Hindmarsh) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| David Smith (Bean) | Labor | Voted generally against | 33% |
| Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith) | Labor | Voted generally against | 30% |
| Tony Burke (Watson) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Julie Collins (Franklin) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Catherine King (Ballarat) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Richard Marles (Corio) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Tanya Plibersek (Sydney) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Chris Bowen (McMahon) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Jim Chalmers (Rankin) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Anne Aly (Cowan) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Emma McBride (Dobell) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Mike Freelander (Macarthur) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Luke Gosling (Solomon) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Pat Conroy (Shortland) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Andrew Leigh (Fenner) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Josh Wilson (Fremantle) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Alicia Payne (Canberra) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Libby Coker (Corangamite) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Fiona Phillips (Gilmore) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Ged Kearney (Cooper) | Labor | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Milton Dick (Oxley) | Speaker | Voted generally against | 17% |
| Helen Haines (Indi) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Andrew Wilkie (Clark) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Kate Chaney (Curtin) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Monique Ryan (Kooyong) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Sophie Scamps (Mackellar) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan) | Greens | Voted consistently against | 0% |
| Allegra Spender (Wentworth) | Independent | Voted consistently against | 0% |
Votes that make up this policy
The policy position on each vote. Strong votes count more towards a member's agreement score.
- 20 Jan 2026 · SenatePolicy: AyeCombatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Bill 2026 - Limitation of Debate - Character concerns and right to refuse visas
- 13 Feb 2023 · HousePolicy: Aye (strong)Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 - Consideration in Detail - Agree with the bill
- 8 Feb 2023 · SenatePolicy: Aye (strong)Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 - Second Reading - Agree with bill's main idea
- 18 Sept 2019 · HousePolicy: No (strong)Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019 - Second Reading - Refuse a second reading
- 18 Sept 2019 · HousePolicy: Aye (strong)Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019 - Second Reading - Agree with bill's main idea
- 4 July 2011 · SenatePolicy: Aye (strong)Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test and Other Provisions) Bill 2011 - In Committee - Apply to people outside detention
- 4 July 2011 · SenatePolicy: Aye (strong)Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test and Other Provisions) Bill 2011 - Third Reading - Read a third time