Australian Immigration Daily News

Outline

The Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Bill 2021 (the Bill) amends the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) to:

- modify the effect of section 197C to ensure it does not require or authorise the removal of an unlawful non-citizen (UNC) who has been found to engage protection obligations through the protection visa process unless:

- the decision finding that the non-citizen engages protection obligations has been set aside;

- the Minister is satisfied that the non-citizen no longer engages protection obligations; or

- the non-citizen requests voluntary removal; and

- ensure that, in assessing a protection visa application, protection obligations are always assessed, including in circumstances where the applicant is ineligible for visa grant due to criminal conduct or risks to security.

Section 197C of the Migration Act provides that, for the purposes of section 198 (removal from Australia of unlawful non-citizens), it is irrelevant whether Australia has nonrefoulement obligations in respect of a UNC, and that person must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable.

Section 197C was introduced to deter the making of unmeritorious protection claims as a means to delay an applicant¡¦s departure from Australia. In these cases, the Minister or delegate had already found the person did not engage non-refoulement obligations. Section 197C was therefore not intended to operate to require the removal of a person who had been found to engage non-refoulement obligations.

 Source: Migration-Amendment---Clarifying-Bill-2021.pdf and 

Migration-Amendment---Clarifying-Bill-2021-explanatory-memo.pdf

and

Migration-Amendment---Clarifying-Bill-2021-Second-Reading-speech.pdf