It will now continue with the rollout of a pilot scheme launched in December extending online lodgement for Chinese visitors on the tourist visa (subclass 600), which covers travel for short-term, non-work purposes for up to a year, including study of up to three months.

“The introduction of online lodgement will make Australia an even more attractive destination for visitors from China”

The scheme produced its first successful visa grants within a month of its launch, and Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Michaelia Cash said that while the current programme is restricted to low risk cohorts, there are plans to extend it to all nationalities by the end of 2015.

The online rollout will begin using only a limited number of agents owing to “the volume and importance of the Chinese caseload,” Cash said.

“Given that the PRC is now the largest source country for visitor visas, with more than 550,000 granted in 2013-14, the introduction of online lodgement will make Australia an even more attractive destination for visitors from China in particular,” she commented.

Announcing the pilot in December last year, Trade Minister Andrew Robb said that the programme will help to “ensure Australia maintains its position as a preferred destination for Chinese tourists and investment”.

Last year was the first year more visitor visas were granted to Chinese nationals than to any other country, and Australia expects to receive an annual million visa applications from Chinese nationals by 2018.

In fact, China is expected to contribute around a quarter of the increase in inbound visitor numbers over the next seven years, according to Juliana Payne, CEO of Australia’s National Tourism Alliance.

“Chinese visitors are also top of the list for the share of spending in Australia, which makes them a key market,” she noted.