The Australian Government is introducing a new simplified visa programme for tourists and business visitors to Australia.

The number of visitor visas will be cut from nine to four and a number of visa requirements will be standardised as part of an ongoing programme to cut red tape across a range of public services, said Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Citizenship today.

“For the growing number of Nepali tourists and business visitors that travel to Australia each year, selecting the right visa they need for a short-stay to see Australia, visit relatives and friends, or hold business meetings will now be much easier,” Australian Ambassador to Nepal Susan Grace said in a statement.

“These latest changes build on other recent improvements to our visa system including longer tourist visas for parents of Australian migrants, a simplified temporary residence visa programme and label-free travel. They will make travel and short-term visits to Australia from India easier than ever.”

The former Visitor and Business (short-stay) visas will be replaced with a new Visitor visa that will cover tourism, sponsored family visits, and business visitor activities such as meetings, conferences and contract negotiations. A new temporary work visa has been created specifically for people who need to come to Australia to undertake highly-specialised work on a short-term basis. A new streamlined medical treatment visa, that provides for a stay period of up to 12 months, has also been developed, according to the statement.

source: the himalayan times, 22 March 2013