Australian Immigration Daily News

Today the High Court unanimously allowed an appeal from a judgment of the Federal Court of
Australia. The issue raised by the appeal was whether an invalid certificate purportedly issued by a
delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection ("the Minister") under s 473GB of the
Migration Act 1958 (Cth) was "new information" within the meaning of s 473DC(1) of the Act. Section
473GB relevantly provides that the Minister may issue a written certificate certifying that certain
information given by the Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection ("the
Department") to the Immigration Assessment Authority ("the Authority") as part of the "fast track
review process" established by Pt 7AA of the Act should not be disclosed because it would ground a
claim of public interest immunity by the Commonwealth. Section 473DC(1) relevantly defines "new
information" to mean "documents or information" that "were not before the Minister when the Minister
made the decision [under review]" and that "the Authority considers may be relevant".

The first respondent's application for a protection visa was refused by a delegate of the Minister and this
decision was referred to the Authority for review under Pt 7AA of the Act. The "review material"
provided by a delegate of the Secretary of the Department to the Authority included a "Draft IMAPS
Identity Assessment Form" ("the Identity Assessment Form"). A certificate was purportedly issued
under s 473GB(5) ("the Certificate") certifying for the purpose of s 473GB(1)(a) that disclosure of the
information contained in the Identity Assessment Form would be contrary to the public interest
"because it is a Departmental working document". The Authority affirmed the delegate's decision and
an application for judicial review was dismissed by the Federal Circuit Court.

ORDER

Skills Assessment Authorities

Latest updates announced by various Skills Assessment Authorities 

ACS 262112: ICT Security Specialist

Applicants applying under the ICT Security specialist ANZSCO occupation code will be assessed based on separate criteria to the other occupations in this Unit Group 

Acceptance of Electronics subjects in ICT qualifications: Analogue and other non-ICT related electronics subjects will no longer be accepted when assessing qualifications. Applicants may provide a subject/course outline to support an assessment of Electronic related subjects which we will consider. 

The role of a practitioner in preparing an application or a matter before the AAT is crucial.  All practitioners are always bound by the Code of Conduct therefore it is important that a practitioner understands their duties and obligations towards clients.

What is a client?

Deciding who your client is in a migration advice engagement is often the first critical question to be answered. Getting this right will help set you on the right path. Getting this wrong, or not taking the time to consider it, may lead to potential confusion, misunderstanding and disputes. Each year the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) receives a number of complaints and queries which may not have arisen had this question been considered carefully by the RMA.

Australian Immigration landscape continues to change now more than ever.  As such, it is appropriate to think about what the future of Australian immigration holds in wake of the new financial year.

Immigration Intake is likely to be reduced

Whilst there has been no formal announcement made by the Government, some States and Territories have closed their migration programs (business and skilled) and there is no definite date in terms of when the migration intake will re-open. 

The new Act is found below:

Migration-Agents-Registration-Application-Charge-Amendment-Rates-of-Charge-Act-2020.pdf