Sorry to hear about your father.
Originally Posted by
Mwenenzi
People leaving AU for 3 months or more tend to get approved. With what has happened in the last few days it will be hard to get permission to leave AU for a short time. May have 20% chance of success at very best. Be prepared for refusal. For example a federal MP was denied access to attend her fathers funeral in USA a few weeks ago.
This. If he says he is leaving for >3 months on compassionate grounds he stands his best chance of getting approved. Failing that, there is always using NZ as a gateway and travelling on from there. The government has said it may enforce penalties on people who do that, but people seem to be doing it anyway.