Australian Immigration Daily News

Well, I thought this was going to be a whole lot easier than it has turned out to be! 

On 30 November I was scrolling through the cases on Austlii and came across a case, Singh v Minister for Immigration & Anor (2018) FCCA 3427 (27 November 2018) where it seemed that a judge of the Federal Circuit Court had followed the recent decision of Justice Greenwood in Brown v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection where it was held that the AAT does in fact have discretion to hear an application for merits review even if it is filed after the statutory filing deadline. 

While that is indeed essentially the holding in Singh, and it does now seem clear that the courts will recognise that the AAT filing deadline can be extender under certain, very likely very limited circumstances, the procedural history of the case was as convoluted as it gets and had many twists and turns. 

From 19 November 2018, Australian Biometrics Collection Centres (ABCCs) will commence collecting biometrics from visa applicants who are in Russia or Kazakhstan at the time of making a visa application to enter Australia, unless they are excluded or exempt from doing so under Australian Government policy.

As per Home Affairs’ press release, applicants who lodge their applications from this date will be sent a letter requiring them to attend an ABCC in person to provide their biometrics.  Applicants will need to contact an ABCC to make an appointment and have their biometrics collected.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/news-media/archive/article?itemId=50

Minister for Families and Social Services Paul Fletcher today announced the Employer-led Refugee Employment Project, which will provide training, coaching and work experience to prepare 100 working age migrants and refugees for paid positions within the Woolworths Group.

The Australian Government is providing $600,000 to fund the project, which will run over 18 months in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales, and be operated by Community Corporate, a specialist in employment programs for migrants and refugees.

Source: Helping-migrants-and-refugees-into-work.pdf

As noted on my post on this blog on 19 November, there was a crucially important decision by Justice Greenwood of the Federal Court in Queensland in the case of Brown v Minister for Home Affairs (No. 2) where it was held that the AAT does in fact have power to extend the deadline for the filing of applications for merits review.

This decision literally shattered commonly held assumptions and wisdom that it was "settled law" that the filing deadling is absolutely rigid and inflexible and cannot be extended for any reason whatsoever.

The Brown  decsion is more than of  "casual"  or "passing"  interest - it is potentially of great significance to anyone who has had an applicaiton for review dismissed on the basis that it was filed past the filing deadline.

I have raised the issue of 'no SAF Levy refunds' today with the government.  I have made the submission in writing by way of email but cannot put the contents of that email on this blog, as the communication has been marked as 'FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY".

I will report back on here when I receive an update.

Liana Allan