Australian Immigration Daily News

The Director of the Office of the MARA has sent the following message to Migration Alliance today:

"Further to my message to you on Friday 29 May 2020, the Practice Guide for representing clients at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal has been updated to include reference to the Tribunal’s practice direction on COVID-19 measures. 

The updated version is available on the OMARA website at https://www.mara.gov.au/media/685812/Guideline_for_representing_clients_at_the_AAT.pdf "

Dear friends,

These are the last words of George Floyd, a 46-year-old man who died as a US police officer pinned him down, kneeling on his neck for seven minutes, until he suffocated:

"It's my face man
I didn't do nothing serious man
please
please
please I can't breathe
please man
please somebody
please man
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please
(inaudible)
man can't breathe, my face
just get up
I can't breathe
please (inaudible)
I can't breathe sh*t
I will
I can't move
mama
mama
I can't
my knee
my nuts
I'm through
I'm through
I'm claustrophobic
my stomach hurt
my neck hurts
everything hurts
some water or something
please
please
I can't breathe officer
don't kill me
they gon' kill me man
come on man
I cannot breathe
I cannot breathe
they gon' kill me
they gon kill me
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
please sir
please
please
please I can't breathe"

Then his eyes shut and the pleas stop. George Floyd was pronounced dead shortly after.

Right now, we have a choice. This can just be one more tragic death at the hands of US police -- or the moment for change.

We are a movement of more than 60 million people -- when we all speak up, we are deafening. So let's raise our voices to join everyone calling for an end to these racist killings, and push those in power to do the same.

Sign this open letter with one click, and when it's massive, Avaaz will publish it in major US newspapers and websites around the world. Let it be an anthem to end the killing and honour all those we've already lost.

As people of the world, we grieve the senseless loss of another life at the hands of US police.

We stand in community with everyone who is hurting.

These brutal killings must end. Each is a wound to the heart of our humanity and a shameful, indelible mark on that great flag of the United States of America.

Racism thrives in the company of silence -- so we will not stay quiet. Racism is a problem that belongs to us all. It is our fight.

But we will not allow that fight to become hatred, for then we are no wiser than those whose hearts we seek to change. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King: "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

It is in this spirit that we call on all those in power to act NOW, and hold President Trump and US state and local governments accountable to:

• Ensure all officers involved in the killing of George Floyd face legal due process,
• Expel and prosecute officers for even one instance of excessive force or the failure to prevent it,
• Ensure every police killing is independently and transparently investigated.

We pledge to do our part, meeting the fear, anger, and ignorance of racism with all the hope, love, and strength of our humanity.

Rest in Power, George Floyd.
It will not be in vain.

Let’s say a Spanish passport holder wants to travel to Australia on an Electronic Travel Authority e601. This traveller thinks he will find accurate information in the Home Affairs website but when he tries to lodge an online application, he will soon discover that his passport is not one of the eight eligible to apply online. The ETA e601 is available for thirty-three nationalities, however, an online application is only possible for eight of them. Then, what is the avenue to do a valid application for the other twenty-five nationalities?

Item 1208A(1) submits that an application must be made in a way set out in regulation 2.07AB. Then, Reg. 2.07AB(3) states if a person makes an application for an ETA to a diplomatic or consular office, or an office of an agent approved in writing by the Minister, by telephone, in writing, by electronic transmission, the person is taken to have made the application at that office.

In this direction, item 1208A(3)(d) affirms that an application made in Australia must be made at a diplomatic, consular office, or an office of an agent approved in writing by the Minister.

The OMARA provides practice guides to assist registered migration agents (RMAs) in meeting their obligations under the ‘Code of Conduct for registered migration agents’ (the Code). 

In consultation with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal), the OMARA has recently developed a practice guide to assist RMAs to better understand their role when representing clients at the Tribunal, and to comply with their obligations under the Code and the practice directions of the Tribunal. 

Please find the new guide attached for your information.  OMARA practice guides can be found on the OMARA  website https://www.mara.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/practice-guides/

Migration Alliance is in receipt of an email from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal's Deputy President, Migration & Refugee Division Head, regarding the new Practitioner guide to virtual hearings using Microsoft Teams.  The Practitioner Guide is available on the AAT's website.

To assist practitioners, the Practitioner Guide has been developed to provide information on virtual hearings and the Tribunal’s expectations of participants.

The guide provides a list of technical requirements for a video hearing, and incorporates a visual guide for connecting to the virtual hearing through a variety of platforms.