Australia's government has signed off on major changes for 501 deportees.
It's the biggest move towards a 'commonsense' approach since Anthony Albanese's Labor government took charge.
Currently, visas can be cancelled on character grounds if people have served more than one year in prison. However Australia's immigration has signed off on the new directive that will come into effect from March 3.
In a statement to Newshub a government spokesperson said: "The Department of Home Affairs must now consider the length of time someone has lived in the Australian community as one of the primary considerations when determining whether to cancel someone's visa."
When a deportee's application is being looked at they will now consider the impact on family members in Australia, with more weight being given to the ties their children have with the country.
Not only that, but the "strength, duration and nature" of their ties with the Australian community will be taken into account.
The new rule says "considerable weight should be given to the fact that a non-citizen has been ordinarily resident in Australia during and since their formative year, regardless of when their offending and level of that offending began".
However where individuals "pose a risk to the community", Australia will continue to cancel their visas and remove them.
Many 501s are currently being deported with little to no connection to New Zealand. Newshub revealed one man was waiting to be deported after his mum gave birth to him on holiday in New Zealand.
Dion Taiapa doesn't have any memory of ever being in New Zealand in 1974 as he was just a newborn when he went to Australia.
His Australian mum had him during a short visit - and twelve weeks on Kiwi soil is all it took for Australia's government to believe he now belongs in New Zealand.
"She was pregnant over there on holidays, she had me over there. Three months later we came to Australia," Taiapa said.
"New Zealand to me is a foreign country, never visited New Zealand, never left Australia."
