Australian Immigration Daily News

There was a very disturbing story over the weekend in the Sydney Morning Herald concerning the alleged misconduct of a high-profile Sydney migration lawyer who recently died, Mr David Bitel. 

The story was reported by Nick O’Malley and ran under the headline: “Death of lawyer David Bitel denies justice for rape victims”.  

According to the story, Mr Bitel was, at one time, the president of the Refugee Council of Australia, chairman of the Australian Refugee Foundation and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and the lead partner at the well—known Sydney law firm Parish Patience Immigration Lawyers. 

The AAT have asked Migration Alliance to distribute the following information:

From Monday 24 October 2016, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s Adelaide offices will provide services from a single location at level 2, 1 King William Street, Adelaide.

The AAT’s Adelaide offices at 45 Grenfell Street and 91 Grenfell Street will close at 5.00pm on Friday, 21 October 2016.

Can love conquer all? 

Or does the law sometimes have the power to conquer love? 

What if you have a client who has been in Australia on a Working Holiday (Subclass 417) visa – is there any way that you can help them get a Visitor visa (Subclass 600) to enable him to stay in Australia beyond the expiration of the Working Holiday visa so that he can stay in Australia with the partner of his dreams until the end of her own Working Holiday visa? 

The debate about the proper interpretation of the “genuine temporary entrant” for student visas is continuing in the Federal courts, with no definitive resolution on the horizon. 

On one side of the debate, there is the view of Judge Manousaridis of the Federal Circuit Court as stated in the Khanna case.  In Khanna, Judge Manousaridis held that it is not inconsistent with being a genuine temporary entrant for a person to harbor a subjective hope, wish or plan to remain in Australia after the completion of a course of study if a further visa pathway should become available. 

On the other side of the debate is the view of Judge Cameron, also of the Federal Circuit Court, as stated in the Saini case: namely, that the intention to stay only temporarily must be “unqualified”.  Therefore, under Saini, holding an intention to remain in Australia following the conclusion of one’s studies is incompatible with being a “genuine temporary entrant”.  

The following email has just been received from the DIBP:

Dear Migration Agents 

For your information, please find attached changes to processing arrangements for sub-classes 785 (TPVs) and 790 (SHEVs).