Federal Government Introduces Bill For Lifetime Visa Bans For People In Offshore Processing

Thursday 10 November 2016 @ 11.42 a.m. | Immigration

On Tuesday 8 November 2016, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton introduced the Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing Cohort) Bill 2016 into the House of Representatives.  The controversial bill would prevent people taken to offshore processing centres from ever being able to make a valid application for any kind of Australian visa.  The bill would apply to any ‘unauthorised maritime arrivals’ or ‘transitory persons’ who were at least 18 years of age and taken to a regional processing country after 19 July 2013.

Introducing the Bill into the House of Representatives, Mr Dutton said:

“The purpose of the Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing Cohort) Bill 2016 is to reinforce the government's longstanding policy that people who travel here illegally by boat will never be settled in this country…

This legislation sends a strong message to people smugglers and those considering travelling illegally to Australia by boat: Australia's borders are now stronger than ever. The government is serious about border protection.”

Key Details

The Bill amends the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) ("Migration Act") and the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) ("Migration Regulations").

The Bill inserts new subsection 46A(2AA) into the Migration Act:

(2AA) An application for a visa is not a valid application if it is made by a person who:

(a) is an unauthorised maritime arrival under subsection 5AA(1); and

(b) after 19 July 2013, was taken to a regional processing country under section 198AD; and

(c) was at least 18 years of age on the first or only occasion after 19 July 2013 when he or she was so taken to a regional processing country.

New subsections 46A(2AB) and (2AC) provide that Minister may determine that subsection 2AA does not apply to a particular application or class of applications, if he believes it is in the public interest to do so.  Equivalent exemptions provisions are inserted at section 46B(2AB) and (2AC), for transitory persons defined in subsections 46B(2AA):

(2AA) An application for a visa is not a valid application if it is made by a transitory person who:

(a) after 19 July 2013, was taken to a regional processing country under Division 7 or 8 of Part 3 of the Maritime Powers Act 2013; and

(b) was at least 18 years of age on the first or only occasion after 19 July 2013 when he or she was so taken to a regional processing country.

The Migration Regulations are amended so that a number of visa applications will contain a requirement that the applicant not be a member of the ‘designated regional processing cohort’, which will be defined in the Migration Act, subsection 5(1), and includes the criteria from subsections 46A(2AA) and 46B(2AA).

The Bill in Parliament

Mr Dutton told ABC News he would like a vote on the new Bill in the House of Representatives by the end of the week.  However, the Bill faces a tougher time in the Senate.  The Opposition and the Greens have indicated they will vote against the new legislation, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten labelling the Bill a “desperate gesture by a floundering Government”.

The Government will need to enlist the support of cross-benchers to pass the Bill through the Senate.  Senator Nick Xenophon told ABC News he had not “reached a final position” and neither had his colleagues.  He flagged an increase in Australia’s humanitarian intake as a possible ground for compromising on the issue, and suggested his party may not vote as a bloc, describing it as “a conscience issue”.

TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.

Sources:

Related Articles: