What is the correct interpretation of Regulation 1.20J, which limits the number of times that a person may sponsor another person for a prospective marriage, partner or “extended eligibility” visa?

Suppose, for example, that someone has sponsored two previous spouses to come to Australia prior to the effective date of Regulation 1.20J (1 November 1996): do those previous sponsorships “count” against the limitation (stated in Regulation 1.20J (1)(a)) that a sponsor may have sponsored no more than 1 other person who has received a “relevant permission” to enter Australia?

Can you have sponsored 2 or more previous fiancés/partners/spouses so long as those persons were granted their “relevant permissions” before the effective date?

Migration Alliance is in receipt of the following information from the AAT:

I write to advise that the Governor-General has appointed Ms Jan Redfern PSM to serve as a full time Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and as Division Head of the Migration and Refugee Division (MRD) for a period of seven years commencing 21 March 2016. 

Ms Redfern has served most recently as a Principal Member of the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and prior to this as a Deputy President of the Guardianship Tribunal of New South Wales. Ms Redfern was a senior member of the AAT for five years from 2009 to 2014. Ms Redfern also previously held a number of Senior Executive positions in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and in 2007 was awarded a Commonwealth Public Service Medal for outstanding service in the field of corporate and financial services regulation and enforcement. 

Some 85% of those surveyed by the Scanlon Foundation say they believe that multiculturalism has been good for Australia, according to a recent report on the SBS.

Data referred to in the Scanlon Foundation's Multiculturalism Discussion Paper shows Australians are generally very accepting of cultural diversity and immigration, but the level of support varies across generations, geographical locations and demographic groups.

Research Professor at Monash University Andrew Markus says this report looks in detail at research that's been going on over the past 30 years.

From 1 July, 2015 Significant Investor Visa (SIV) applicants are required to invest 40% of their complying investment into Venture Capital (VC) and small public company shares, and the balance of the $5M into Australian managed funds or listed investment companies.  

There has been much media attention, particularly in relation to a slowdown in applications versus the SIV1 investment regime. Whilst there have been 149 expressions of interest to date, only 6 visas have been granted under the new SIV 2 framework.

We are interested in gaining your feedback on how the SIV program is going, particularly in relation to any insights from potential applicants, and any challenges or opportunities you are experiencing.

An agreement has been signed between Australia and Hungary to enable the countries' youth to experience each other's culture through the Work and Holiday (sc 462) program.

Under the arrangement, 200 people who are at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age will be able to travel to each other’s country for one year and undertake short-term work and study under the Work and Holiday subclass 462 visa.

Similar agreements already exist with Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Uruguay. At present, only passports holder from the USA can apply online.

At the signing ceremony earlier this week, the immigration minister, Mr Peter Dutton said that Australia will be working closely with our Hungarian counterparts to establish a mutually agreed start date for this arrangement as soon as possible. Similar agreements signed with Vietnam, Greece, Israel, and Papua New Guinea have stalled and not yet commenced.

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