Australian Immigration Daily News

Overview of the Bill

This Bill will have the effect of:

- providing an offer of transfer to Australia from the Minister to all persons in the offshore cohort in Papua New Guinea or the Republic of Nauru at the commencement of this Act, who have not had an adverse security assessment made against them by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

- placing all transferred persons into community detention, and making any medical assessment and treatment they require available to them, while that person pursues a durable solution for their displacement with a third-country that is a state party to the United Nations f 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees

 Source: Migration-Amendment-Evacuation-to-Safety-Bill-2023.pdf and

Migration-Amendment-Evacuation-to-Safety-Bill-2023---explanatory-memorandum.pdf

The Global Skills Attraction Fact Sheet and information below have been provided by the Department of Home Affairs' Immigration Outreach and Engagement Branch:

GSA-Fact-Sheet-1.pdf

Following the Jobs and Skills Summit in September 2022, the Australian Government announced increases to the permanent Migration program from 160,000 to 195,000 to help address Australia’s skill shortage.

Overview of the Bill

The Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 (the Bill) amends the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) in response to the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in Pearson v Minister for Home Affairs [2022] FCAFC 203 (Pearson).

The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Act to provide a clear basis for aggregate sentences (that is, one sentence imposed in respect of more than one offence) to be taken into account for all relevant purposes under the Migration Act. This is of particular relevance for the application of the character test in section 501 of the Act.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Aggregate-Sentences-Bill-2023.pdf and 

Migration-Amendment-Aggregate-Sentences-Bill-2023---explanatory-memorandum.pdf

Purpose

Subregulation 2.12H(1) of the Regulations provides that the Minister must refund the amount paid by way of the second instalment of the visa application charge (VAC) in relation to an application for a visa if any of the circumstances mentioned in subregulation 2.12H(2) exists and the Minister has received a written request for a refund.

The circumstance set out by paragraph 2.12H(2)(f) is that the amount was paid under a provision of Schedule 1 to the Regulations specified in an instrument in writing and, within the period of 12 months starting on the applicant’s visa commencement day (within the meaning of the Immigration (Education) Act 1971), certain events specified in paragraph 2.12H(2)(f) occur.

The instrument specifies provisions of Schedule 1 to the Regulations for this purpose. The instrument will ensure ongoing access to VAC refunds for applicants who made applications for the visas listed in the Schedule to the instrument and to whom an event mentioned in paragraph 2.12H(2)(f) applies.

Source: LIN23022.pdf and LIN23022-Explanatory-statement.pdf

A person who is the holder of a valid passport issued by a designated APEC economy, and who has applied to the Government of the designated APEC economy for an APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) under arrangements in force between Australia and designated APEC economies is taken to have made a valid application for a Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa in the Business Visitor stream by operation of regulation 2.07AA of the Migration Regulations. The ABTC scheme provides accredited business people streamlined entry to participating economies.

The instrument commences retrospectively on 2 October 2022. This means that where a designated APEC economy passport holder has applied to the designated APEC economy for an ABTC on or after that date, the person will be taken to have made a valid application for a Subclass 600 (Visitor) visa in the Business Visitor stream.

Source: LIN23008.pdf and LIN23008-Explanatory-statement.pdf