Australian Immigration Daily News

The purpose of the instrument is to specify the approved activities for detainees in immigration detention. This ensures that those detainees who participate in the approved activities will not be considered to be performing work in breach of paragraph 235(3) of the Act.

Paragraph 235(3) of the Act provides that an unlawful non-citizen who performs work in Australia, whether for reward or otherwise, commits an offence. However, paragraph 235(7)(a) of the Act provides that ‘work’ for the purposes of section 235 of the Act does not include a voluntary activity performed by a detainee in immigration detention, if that activity is of a kind approved in writing by the Secretary. Further, paragraph 245AF(a) of the Act provides that no offence is committed where a person in immigration detention engages voluntarily in an activity of a kind approved in writing by the Secretary.

The purpose of the instrument is to specify the approved activities for detainees in immigration detention. This ensures that those detainees who participate in the approved activities will not be considered to be performing work in breach of paragraph 235(3) of the Act.

The following announcement is on the BSMQ website:

The BSMQ business and skilled program is NOW OPEN.  We are open from Tuesday 29 September 2020 until Monday 5 October 2020. Please note, only decision-ready applications in a COVID-19 priority area will be considered.

Due to the limited nomination allocation and processing timeframe:

The Hansard document below is from a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Temporary Migration. This hearing was being held both via video conference and with witnesses in person in Canberra at Parliament House.

This was a public hearing and a Hansard transcript of the proceedings have been made public. The hearing was also broadcast via the Australian Parliament House website.

Source: Public-Hearing-17-Sept-2020-Temproary-Migration.pdf

ACT State Nomination

Invitation Round results published! 

Invitation Round took place on 24 September 2020. Invitations were issued as follows: 

457 / 482 visa holders: 16 invitations

• 190 nomination: 10 invitations
• 491 nomination: 6 invitations

 Matrix nominating Critical occupations: 206 invitations 

Migration Alliance has received the following email from the AAT's Deputy President and Division Head:

As you’re aware, the Tribunal recently resumed limited in-person hearings at locations suitable for such arrangements, with the listing of in-person hearings considered on a case by case basis in accordance with the AAT’s practice directions. However, many MRD hearings will continue to be conducted by video/phone due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Further to discussion at our recent meetings, I am writing to invite submissions to identify review applications considered suitable for video hearings for Partner and Family cases lodged to the Tribunal prior to 1 April 2018. This initiative is a small trial to address the aging backlog and difficulties in arranging for in-person hearings for these cohorts of cases case due to the current situation arising from COVID-19.