Australian Immigration Daily News

The Australian Government has announced the appointment of 14 new Members to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

These Members will commence their terms on August 19, 2024, ensuring the Tribunal's capacity to hear matters before the new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) begins on October 14, 2024. Each member was selected through a transparent and merit-based process, assessed by an independent selection panel in line with the Guidelines for AAT appointments and the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.

The new appointees are Mr. Mark Carey, Mr. Richard Chia, Dr. Andrew Cichy, Ms. Alison Colvin, Ms. Meredith Graham, Mrs. Rachelle Hampson, Ms. Laura-Leigh Manville, Dr. Paul Millar, Ms. Dominique Murphy, Mr. Jonathon Papalia, Ms. Kathryn Thornton, Mrs. Julie von Doussa, Ms. Susan Waring, and Ms. Catherine Willis.

Important Amendments to Bridging Visa Applications

The Department of Home Affairs has issued a new instrument, LIN 24/045, which amends the Migration (Arrangements for Bridging Visa Applications) Instrument LIN 21/045. This amendment specifies that applications for Bridging D (Class WD) and Bridging E (Class WE) visas using paper forms 1007 and 1008 must not be submitted electronically, including via fax or email.

Effective Date: The changes come into effect the day after registration.

The latest Provider Update for July 2024 covers significant developments and statistics related to Student and Temporary Graduate visas. Key points include:

Student and Temporary Graduate Visa Data:

• There were 580,193 student visa applications lodged globally in the 2023-24 program year, a 1.75% decrease compared to the previous year.
• The grant rate for applications lodged in Australia was 83.7%, while it was 78.3% for those lodged outside Australia.

Recent Changes in the Student Visa Program:

The Migration (Workplace Justice Visa—LIN 24/055) Instrument 2024 establishes a new visa under the subclass 408 Temporary Activity Visa for addressing workplace exploitation.

Effective from the day after registration, this legislative instrument specifies the entities that can issue certificates for workplace exploitation matters, the types of exploitation covered, and the eligibility criteria for applicants. Key entities include the Fair Work Ombudsman and various unions.

The visa aims to allow temporary migrant workers to remain in Australia to resolve workplace exploitation issues effectively. Detailed consultation with relevant government agencies and practitioners informed the drafting of this instrument.

Please be aware that from 1 August 2024, the Department of Home Affairs will no longer accept payments from Diners Club cards and Discover cards. 

The National Australia Bank limited, which acquired Citigroup's consumer banking business including Diners Club Pty Ltd in Australia ('Diners Club') in June 2022, recently advised the Department about their intention to end the Diners Club Merchant Agreement by no later than 15 September 2024.

As Discover card payments are processed through the same merchant, the Department will also no longer accept payments from Discover cards. A decision may be made in the future to commence a new merchant agreement directly with Discover and if so, you will be informed.