Australian Immigration Daily News

Australian Government Expands Health Care Benefits for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme Participants

In a landmark decision, the Australian Government has announced an extension of health care benefits to the partners of workers participating in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme. This extension comes through the recent amendment to the Social Security (Dependants—Concession Cards) regulations, now allowing partners of PALM scheme workers to be listed as dependants on the Health Care Card (HCC) issued to these workers.

Key Benefits:

Exciting update from the office of the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs: the new LIN 24/015 legislative instrument is now in effect, amending the Subclass 476 Visa regulations. Recent engineering graduates who've studied at specified institutions have an opportunity to live, work, or study in Australia for up to 18 months.

The instrument carries over the existing policies from IMMI 14/010, so there's no change to the list of qualifying institutions, all of which are accredited by signatories to the Washington Accord. This ensures continuity and stability for applicants and educational institutions alike.

Engineering remains the specified discipline under the new instrument, maintaining a clear pathway for international engineering graduates to contribute to Australia's innovation and infrastructure development.

The Migration Amendment (Strengthening Employer Compliance) Act 2024, enacted today, February 22, 2024, modifies the Migration Act 1958 to bolster mechanisms for ensuring employer adherence. This legislation introduces several key features:

• New Employer Sanctions: Implements actions against employers who coerce or improperly influence both lawful and unlawful non-citizens into accepting employment arrangements that violate visa conditions or negatively impact their immigration status, with penalties including jail time and fines.

• Prohibited Employers: Sets up a system to designate individuals or organizations as prohibited employers for failing to adhere to migration laws, especially regarding migrant worker sanctions. Criteria for these designations include previous violations and the extent of non-compliance, with prohibited employers facing restrictions on hiring certain non-citizens and substantial penalties for breaches.

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The Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Migration Regulations 1994 (Specification of a Class of Persons)) Amendment Certificate 2024 is a legislative instrument that extends the effective period of certain migration regulations. Issued under the Legislation Act 2003, this amendment delays the expiration of specific rules concerning the classification of persons for migration purposes. Originally scheduled to sunset, or automatically repeal, these regulations have been granted an additional 12-month extension, moving their new sunsetting day to April 1, 2025.

This extension is part of the Australian Government's broader sunsetting framework, designed to ensure legislative instruments are periodically reviewed and remain in force only as needed. The deferral aids in reducing the administrative workload associated with remaking instruments temporarily or when timely replacements are hindered by unforeseeable circumstances.

The Amendment Certificate specifically targets the Migration Regulations 1994, focusing on IMMI 12/127, which outlines criteria for Locally Engaged Employees (LEEs) from Iraq and Afghanistan. These LEEs, if at risk due to their employment with Australian agencies, are prioritised for Refugee and In-Country Special Humanitarian visas. The deferral follows recommendations from the Thom Report, which called for a review of the Afghan LEE program, ensuring these regulations remain active while comprehensive updates are made.

In an important regulatory update for 2024, the Australian Government issued the Legislation (Deferral of Sunsetting—Migration Agents Instruments) Certificate under the auspices of the Legislation Act 2003. This move is pivotal in maintaining the regulatory oversight of migration agents by extending critical legislation beyond its original expiration.

Understanding Sunsetting Sunsetting serves as a legislative cleaning mechanism, ensuring laws expire after a decade unless deemed necessary to extend. This ensures the legal framework remains streamlined and pertinent.

Purpose Behind the Extension The Certificate proactively extends the validity of crucial migration agent regulations by two years, moving the expiration from April 1, 2024, to April 1, 2026. This affects foundational aspects of migration agent governance, including CPD requirements and registration protocols.