Australian Immigration Daily News

The following information has been sent to us from the NSW government to share with members:

Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491)

Updates to our Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa nomination criteria and procedures, aimed at improving clarity and the application experience, are now available on our website.

The changes will provide employers and holders of TSS visas with more certainty and ensure Australia attracts and retains the skilled workers it needs.

Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482)

From 25 November 2023* the Government plans to remove the limit on the number of Short- term stream TSS visa applications that visa holders can make in Australia.

This change is intended to apply to new TSS visa applications made on or after 25 November 2023. Short term-stream TSS holders with visas expiring before 25 November 2023 will need to travel outside Australia to lodge a third short term-stream TSS application.

Source: Expanding-pathways-to-PR-for-temporary-skilled-sponsored-workers.pdf

Submissions will close on Friday 17 November 2023 by COB 

Introduction
The Department of Home Affairs recognises the importance of engaging with the community to ensure that the Migration Health Requirement (under Public Interest Criteria 4005 and 4007 as outlined in the Migration Regulations 1994) and its relevant policy settings, continue to facilitate a balance of fairness while containing public expenditure on health and community services.

The Australian public is invited to provide their views on the policy settings for the Australian visa Significant Cost Threshold (SCT). The SCT is the underpinning policy to ‘contain public expenditure on health care and community services’1 from migration.

To inform this policy proposal the Department of Home Affairs has consulted with:

• state and territory governments and Commonwealth agencies; and

• peak health and disability organisations

Terms of Reference

• How the Australian visa Significant Cost Threshold is calculated

• How ‘Significant’ is defined in the Australian visa Significant Cost Threshold

• The implications of special education as a costing policy definition of ‘community service’

• The impact of the migration health requirement on non-citizen children with a disability born in Australia to people on temporary visas.

• And any other matters in relation to the Migration Health Framework.

This paper provides background information to inform written submissions.

Source: Review-of-Australias-Significant-Cost-Threshold-CST.pdf

The Migration Amendment (Biosecurity Contravention) Regulations 2023 (the Amendment Regulations) amends the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to expand the grounds for the cancellation of visas where the Minister or a delegate reasonably believes that a visa holder has contravened provisions under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Biosecurity Act), to include contravention of new subsection 186A(1) of the Biosecurity Act.

The Biosecurity Act provides the regulatory framework for the management of diseases and pests entering Australia that may cause harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment. Contraventions of the Biosecurity Act pose a serious threat to Australia’s economy, agricultural sector, animal, plant, human health and the environment.

Under the Migration Amendment (Biosecurity Contraventions and Importation of Objectionable Goods) Regulations 2019, the cancellation ground under subparagraph 2.43(1)(s) was introduced. This ground gives the decision-maker the power to cancel a specified visa (visitor, student and temporary work visas) where it is reasonably believed that the holder has contravened subsections 126(2), 128(2), 532(1) or 533(1) of the Biosecurity Act. The purpose of this amendment was to strengthen compliance tools available to deter and respond to behaviour that is in contravention of Australia’s biosecurity laws.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Biosecurity-Contravention-Regs-2023.pdf and Migration-Amendment--Biosecurity-Contravention-Regulations-2023-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument

The Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (the Citizenship Act) provides for the process of becoming an Australian citizen, the circumstances in which citizenship may cease, and other related matters.

Section 54 of the Citizenship Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Citizenship Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Citizenship Act. Paragraph 46(1)(d) of the Citizenship Act provides that an application made under that Act must be accompanied by the fee prescribed by the regulations.

The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Refund of Fees) Regulations 2023 amends the Australian Citizenship Regulation 2016 (the Citizenship Regulation) to provide for the relevant refund amounts under section 17 of the Citizenship Regulation to be calculated with reference to relevant items in Schedule 3 to the Citizenship Regulation rather than express dollar amounts.

This amendment addresses consequential amendments that were not covered by Australian Citizenship Amendment (Indexation of Citizenship Application Fees) Regulations 2023 (the Amendment Regulations). While the Amendment Regulations effected increases to citizenship fees on 1 July 2023 by way of amendments to Schedule 3 to the Citizenship Regulation, amendments were not similarly made to section 17 to reflect a consequential change to provide, where applicable, for a refund of the proportion of the fee that represents the component of the fee that relates to the sitting of a citizenship test.

The amendments of this instrument to subsections 17(4), (5), (6) and (7) of the Citizenship Regulation remove the express dollar figure and instead ensure that the correct amount is refundable in line with the 1 July 2023 fee changes of the Amendment Regulations.

Where payment of a citizenship application fee included a credit card surcharge or Paypal surcharge, the Amendment Regulations also provide that the proportion of the refund of the surcharge is equal to the proportion that the refund amount is of the relevant fee specified in Schedule 3 to the Regulation.

 Australian-Citizenship-Amendment-Refund-of-Fees-Regulations-2023.pdf and Australian-Citizenship-Amendment-Refund-of-Fees-Regulations-2023-Explanatory-Statement.pdf