Australian Immigration Daily News

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

On 14 February 2023, the Migration Amendment (Transitioning TPV/SHEV Holders to Resolution of Status Visas) Regulations 2023 (the Transition Regulations) amended the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to facilitate the transition to permanent residence of persons who arrived in Australia before the TPV/SHEV transition day (14 February 2023) and who applied for or obtained temporary protection in Australia through a Subclass 785 (Temporary Protection) visa (TPV) or a Subclass 790 (Safe Haven Enterprise) visa (SHEV).

Source: Migration-Amendment-Resolution-of-Status-visa-regulations-2023.pdf and Migration-Amendment-Resolution-of-Status-visa-regulations-2023-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

The Migration Amendment (Giving Documents) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) amend the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to clarify the requirements relating to the giving of a document relating to the proposed cancellation, cancellation or revocation of the cancellation of a visa (cancellation-related documents).

In particular, the Regulations clarify the circumstances in which regulation 2.55 applies to the giving of a document, and expressly reference the provisions of the Migration Act for which Division 2.10 of Part 2 of the Migration Regulations is made.

Source:  Migration-Amendment-Giving-Documents-Regulations-2023.pdf and Migration-Amendment-Giving-Documents-Regulations-2023-Explanatory-Statement.pdf

The objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness of the Department of Home Affairs’ regulation of migration agents.

The ANAO proposes to examine:

• Have appropriate arrangements been established to support regulatory activities?
• Is the regulatory approach effective?

The ANAO welcomes members of the public contributing information for consideration when conducting performance audits. Performance audits involve the independent and objective assessment of the administration of an entity or body’s programs, policies, projects or activities. They also examine how well administrative support systems operate.