Australian Immigration Daily News

The instrument, Departmental reference LIN 23/062, is made under subregulation 2.07(5) of the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) and subparagraph 1224A(3)(b)(iii) of Schedule 1 to the Regulations.

The purpose of this instrument is to retrospectively add Papua New Guinea passport holders to the class of persons who are excluded from the requirement in subparagraph 1224A(3)(b)(iii) of Schedule 1 to the Migration Regulations. This enables applicants from Papua New Guinea to make valid applications for a Subclass 462 visa without providing evidence of support for the grant of the visa from the Papua New Guinea government.

This instrument amends LIN 21/019 to implement Subclass 462 visa arrangements agreed to by the Australian Government and the Government of Papua New Guinea. This will assist to simplify the application process and remove the administrative burden for both countries.

Purpose

3Subsection 26(1) of the Act requires a person to make a pledge of commitment to become an Australian citizen, unless they are a person to whom paragraphs 26(1)(a), (b) or (c) of the Act apply. Section 27 of the Act sets out how the pledge of commitment is to be made, and subsection 27(3) provides that the pledge of commitment must be made before a person mentioned in that provision.

Paragraph 27(3)(c) provides that a pledge of commitment may be made before a person who is included in a class of persons authorised under subsection 27(5) of the Act.

Subsection 27(5) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, authorise a class of persons for the purposes of paragraph 27(3)(c).

Some dodgy RTOs have been providing Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) instead of instructing these workers to follow the necessary TRA program. Usually coming from overseas, the workers are paying upwards of $20-30K for a fake qualification that doesn’t meet the requirements to get an electrical licence, so they are left with nothing.

There have also been reports of Australian workers who had partly completed an apprenticeship being sucked into paying for fake qualifications by these RTOs. Paying for electrician qualifications at a dodgy RTO is NOT a pathway to an electrical licence.

Source: Dodgy-RTOs-ripping-off-migrant-and-other-workers-through-fake-qualifications.pdf

Subsection 488(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) provides that a person must not read, examine, reproduce by any means, use, or disclose by any means, any part of the movement records, otherwise than in accordance with an authority given by the Minister pursuant to subsection 488(2) of the Act.

Subparagraph 488(2)(a)(vii) of the Act provides that the Minister may authorise an officer to perform one or more actions prohibited by subsection 488(1) for the purposes of prescribed Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation.

Paragraph 488(2)(g) of the Act permits the Minister to authorise a prescribed employee of a prescribed agency of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory to perform one or more of the actions prohibited by subsection 488(1) of the Act for prescribed purposes.

Subregulation 3.10A(1) of the Regulations provides that the prescribed legislation for subparagraph 488(2)(a)(vii) of the Act is that specified by the Minister in an instrument in writing.

Similarly, subregulation 3.10A(2) of the Regulations provides that for paragraph 488(2)(g) of the Act, the Minister may specify a Commonwealth, State or Territory agency, an employee of a prescribed agency, and a purpose in an instrument in writing.

Therefore, the purpose of this instrument is to specify:

• the prescribed Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation for the purposes of which an officer may be authorised to access the movement records for subregulation 3.10A(1);
• and the prescribed agencies and employees of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory for paragraphs 3.10A(2)(a) and (b) of the Regulations, and the purpose for which those employees may access the movement records pursuant to paragraph 3.10A(2)(c).

Source: LIN23015.pdf and LIN23015-Explanatory-Statement.pdf