Australian Immigration Daily News

Purpose

Regulation 1.15N in Part 1 of the Regulations sets out the meaning of ‘concession period’ for the purposes of the Regulations. Regulation 1.15N was inserted in the Regulations on 19 September 2020 as part of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Regulation 1.15N makes provision for both an ‘initial concession period’, and also for later concession periods for the purposes of specified provisions of the Regulations. Subregulations 1.15N(1) and (2) provide for the initial concession period, which is a period that commenced on 1 February 2020 and which ends on a day specified by the Minister by legislative instrument under subregulation 1.15N(2).

The purpose of this instrument is to specify 25 November 2023, for the purposes of paragraph 1.15N(1)(b), as the day on which the concession period ends. In accordance with table item 4 in subsection 36(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the concession period includes 25 November 2023, and ends at the end of that day.

On commencement of this instrument, any reference to a ‘concession period’ in the Migration Regulations is therefore a reference to a period commencing on 1 February 2020 and ending on 25 November 2023.

Regulation 1.15N was inserted by the Migration Amendment (COVID-19 Concessions) Regulations 2020 (the COVID-19 Concessions Regulations) on 19 September 2020. The COVID-19 Concessions Regulations amended the Migration Regulations to assist certain temporary and provisional visa holders, including individuals on a pathway to permanent residence, who were disadvantaged by the consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic, such as border closures, restrictions imposed on businesses and the general economic downturn.

Source: LIN23063.pdf and LIN23063-explanatory-statement.pdf

The purpose of LIN 23/078 is to complement amendments to the Regulations made by the amending Regulations.

The instrument amends the following:

a) Migration (LIN 19/216: Exemptions from Skill, Age and English Language Requirements for Subclass 186, 187 and 494 Visas) Instrument 2019 (LIN 19/216); and

The following information has been provided by the Department of Home Affairs:

DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS: Systems maintenance 24-25 November 2023 - Will be doing systems maintenance on some of our online systems from 8.30 pm (AEDT) Friday 24 November 2023 to 9 am (AEDT) Saturday 25 November 2023

While we are making these changes, the following online services may not be available:

- ImmiAccount

- eLodgement (online visa and citizenship applications)

- My Health Declarations (MHD) service

- eMedical

- Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO)

- LEGENDcom

- Australian Trusted Trader

- Employment Suitability Clearances

- Detention Visitor Application

- APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC)

- Humanitarian Entrants Management System (HEMS)

- Adult Migrant English Program Reporting and Management System (ARMS)

- Education Provider Report (eBIT)

- Visa Pricing Estimator

- MSI Register

- Australian Migration Status (AMS) Training Portal

- Online Payment Portal

- Registration Gateway.

If you receive a 'Service Temporarily Unavailable' error message during this time, please try again after the outage period.

The Migration Amendment (Bridging Visa Conditions) Bill 2023 (the Bill) amends the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) and the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to ensure non-citizens for whom there is no real prospect of removal from Australia becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future and who are therefore not capable of being subject to immigration detention under subsections 189(1) and 196(1) of the Migration Act following the High Court’s orders of 8 November 2023 in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (NZYQ) and who do not otherwise hold a visa are subject to appropriate visa conditions on any bridging visa granted to them following release.

The objective of the Bill is to keep the community safe, and to strengthen relevant migration laws to respond to the decision in NZYQ.

The Australian Government is taking action to strengthen the BVR framework to support the effective management of the migration status of members of this cohort, and to reinforce expectations about the purpose of the BVR, including reporting and notification obligations.

The BVR permits, eligible non-citizens whose removal is currently not reasonably practicable to lawfully remain in Australia pending removal. The Department of Home Affairs (the Department) may use a BVR where a non-citizen in the NZYQ-affected cohort has no entitlement to remain in Australia and is and is unlikely to qualify for any other visa.

The BVR includes requirements for the person to engage and cooperate with the Department to facilitate their removal from Australia.

The current requirements for BVR holders are being further strengthened through this Bill to reflect the current environment and the expectations of the Australian community in respect to the management of non-citizens holding BVRs, in light of the implications of the orders in NZYQ.

Amendments to the BVR are required to ensure the effective management of this aspect of the migration system, including recognising that non-citizens with a history of serious criminal offending, including but not limited to serious offences committed in Australia, require appropriate and proportionate management while their migration status is being resolved.

The Australian community expects well-managed migration and reasonably expects non-citizens will cooperate with removal planning and immigration processes. The Australian community expects non-citizens not to engage in behaviour contrary to resolving their immigration status, and the Australian community expects that non-citizens in Australia abide by Australia’s laws. It is also recognised that failure to comply with Australia’s laws affects the Australian community and impedes the Government’s ability to effectively manage the person’s removal from Australia.

Source: Migration-Amendment-Bridging-visa-conditions-bill-2023.pdf

and Migration-Amendment-Bridging-visa-conditions-bill-2023-explanatory-memorandum.pdf

The following information has been sent to us from the NSW government to share with members:

Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491)

Updates to our Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visa nomination criteria and procedures, aimed at improving clarity and the application experience, are now available on our website.