'It's madness': emergency doctor being forced to travel abroad slams Australia's visa rules

Hotel quarantine places should be kept for stranded people desperate to come home, medic says

An emergency doctor has slammed Australia's visa policies as madness" and dangerous" after he and his partner were told they must fly abroad and return to obtain a family visa.

The federal government has been under fire over requirements baked into some visa categories that compel applicants to be outside the country at the time they are granted. The rules have forced applicants to travel out of Australia, stay offshore for several days, then return - a requirement described as madness" during a global pandemic.