October at Nomos
October has shown itself to be a month of many legislative changes in the immigration space, all of which are positive and encouraging. Here are our major highlights of the month:
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- The good news just keeps on flowing into Nomos headquarters for our clients as we saw more grants in the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) (subclass 494), temporary Partner (subclass 309), Temporary Activity (subclass 408), TSS (subclass 482) and ENS (subclass 186) visa categories along with a number of new Australian citizenship approvals. Happy clients make a happy Nomos!
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- Early in the month, Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC signed into legislation the Migration Amendment (Family Violence Provisions for Skilled Visa Applications) Regulations 2024 and the Migration Amendment (Public Interest Criteria 4005 and 4007) Regulations 2024. The Migration Amendment (Family Violence Provisions for Skilled Visa Applications) Regulations 2024 is part of the Federal Government’s ongoing focus on addressing family violence and will allow certain secondary visa applicants to be granted a visa if their relationship with the primary visa applicant ends due to family violence committed by the primary applicant. This change will impact skilled visas including the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (Subclass 187), Skilled – Independent (subclass 189), Skilled – Nominated (subclass 190), Permanent Residence – Skilled Regional (Subclass 191) and Skilled Regional (Subclass 887) visas.
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- The Migration Amendment (Public Interest Criteria 4005 and 4007) Regulations 2024 will prevent minors born and living in Australia with a health condition and/or disability from being disadvantaged in the visa process. Until this legislative amendment, such children (and their family members) have typically been refused a visa on account of the child’s inability to meet the relevant public interest criterion. This is definitely a welcome change, in line with the Review into the Migration Health Requirement and Australia’s visa Significant Cost Threshold that was conducted by the Department of Home Affairs earlier this year. The Review called for a number of changes, including greater access to a health waiver (PIC 4007) for permanent skilled visas. At a recent seminar that we attended, a representative from the DHA stated that the expansion of PIC4007 remains subject to government consideration, so it will be interesting to see if further changes to the health requirements eventuate.
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- On 14 October, the Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’) commenced operations and formally replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’), with all ongoing matters transferred to the new ART. The introduction of the ART is considered to be the most significant reform to Australia’s administrative review system in decades, with the new body aiming to be more accessible, efficient, fair and independent than its predecessor while having the same jurisdiction as the AAT. Many thousands of people seek independent review of government decisions every year, which resulted in a significant backlog for the AAT during its tenure. The ART aims to overcome such challenges by adopting a more transparent and merit-based selection process for its non-judicial members, improving accessibility for users with a responsive and demand-driven funding model, and the utilisation of more flexible procedures across the broad range of case types. The ART has aimed to set itself apart from its predecessor by way of increased transparency, which the Albanese government hopes will restore faith in the system and, by extension, the Federal Government. As part of this new focus on transparency, the ART released the Migration, Protection, and Character Practice Direction 2024 as part of the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) Act 2024. The Practice Direction focuses on detailing the submission process, fee structure and anticipated timelines for the review of migration and protection matters, defines stringent timeframes for events in character-related cases (such as lodging and the provision of evidence), outlines the Minister’s role in such matters (i.e. when the Minister can become involved in proceedings), and addresses the procedures for family applications to ensure that cases with multiple family members are fair and consistent.
That’s the Nomos wrap-up for October. See you next month!
*All information is general information only, as at the date of publication, and should not be interpreted as legal advice. For an accurate and current assessment of your circumstances and visa options, please contact us to receive this advice.
