Australian Immigration Daily News

The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon. David Coleman has requested and been provided with leave of absence for personal reasons. Minister Coleman is an incredibly valued member of our team and has been doing an outstanding job. I look forward to him to returning to his Ministerial role when he is in a position to do so.

I have appointed the Hon. Alan Tudge to take on Mr Coleman’s ministerial responsibilities in an acting capacity effective immediately until such time as Mr Coleman is in a position to return. Mr Coleman will continue to perform his local responsibilities as Member for Banks. Mr Tudge has previous experience in this portfolio area in Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs and will continue with his current responsibilities as Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure.

To assist Minister Tudge I have tasked the Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien to lead the Government’s negotiations in relation to the South East Queensland City Deal. This new responsibility will complement his existing role representing the Australian Government in relation to the 2032 South East Queensland Olympics and Paralympics.

Source: Ministry-Arrangements----Coleman-and-Tudge.pdf

Migration Alliance would like to wish Registered Migration Agents, those at the Department of Home Affairs, State, Territory and Regional Governments, the AAT, the Courts, and other partners and providers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

To all of you and your families we send thankful thoughts, happy hearts, and well-wishes. Merry Christmas. We appreciate your devoted service to Migration Alliance, to one another and to this great country, Australia.

Please keep safe over the holiday period.

The Morrison Government is responding to changing workforce needs by inviting stakeholders to provide their feedback in the review of the skilled migration occupation lists.

The skilled migration occupation lists underpin a range of employer-sponsored, points-tested and state-nominated visa programs and are reviewed regularly. The Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business is seeking public submissions on proposed changes to the lists.

Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, said the consultation process will ensure the skilled migration occupation lists meet the needs of employers across Australia. “My Department started consultation in September, with over 200 stakeholders attending meetings across states and territories,” Minister Cash said. “As part of this consultation the department is working closely with stakeholders to identify new and emerging occupations — like data scientist and blockchain manager — not currently reflected on the lists.

Today the High Court, by majority, allowed an appeal from the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia concerning whether a decision of the Immigration Assessment Authority ("the IAA") was infected by apprehended bias. The majority held that the decision was infected by apprehended bias because the IAA considered material provided by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection ("the Secretary") which was irrelevant to the review and prejudicial to the appellant. 

A majority of the High Court held that the provision of the extraneous material to the IAA gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. The IAA was required to consider the review material provided by the Secretary, which included the extraneous material, and said that it had done so. A fair-minded lay observer might think that consideration of the extraneous material might lead the IAA to have a bias against the appellant, possibly by thinking, consciously or subconsciously, that the appellant was not a fit person to hold a visa or that he would be a danger to the community. This might lead the IAA to make a decision otherwise than on the merits of the appellant's application. The IAA's decision was therefore quashed and the matter remitted to a differently constituted IAA.

Source: HCA-CNY17-v-Minister-for-Immigration-and-Border-Protection--Anor.pdf

The Global Talent Independent program (GTI) represents a new way of approaching highly skilled migration to Australia.  The program is designed to strengthen Australia’s ability to compete for the world’s best and brightest skilled migrants and support Australian businesses of the future. 

The Hon David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs, formally launched the GTI program on 4 November 2019 and announced the eligibility requirements for candidates to be invited to apply.  

These include that a GTI candidate: