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Registered Migration
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Parish Patience
Solicitors, Immigration Law Section
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| Issue No 8 | April 1999 | ||
Senate disallows parent visa restrictions |
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Parent visa restrictions disallowedOn Wednesday 31 March the Senate voted to disallow Migration Amendment Regulations 1998 (No 8). As a result, the changes to onshore and offshore parent visas which came into effect on 1 November last year were reversed (see Issue No 2 for details). The Regulations ceased to have effect when the vote was taken. They remain valid for the period from 1 November to 31 March, so applications made during that period should continue to be processed. The most significant result of the disallowance is that applications for residence by aged parents and "aged dependent relatives" can once again be lodged onshore, and parents offshore can apply regardless of age. In all cases, other criteria including the balance of family test for parents need to be satisfied. The punitive $5,000 per adult second instalment of the application fee will also return to its pre November level of $945 per person. The Minister's response was immediate and vitriolic. In a media statement released the same day, he claimed that "Australian taxpayers face a huge financial burden" as a result of the disallowance. He went on to suggest that all parent applicants would face much longer waiting periods. This overlooks the fact that migrants already face the burden of paying the same rates of tax as Australian-born taxpayers without receiving the same benefits, in this case community support for their parents in old age. Rather than "expecting their neighbours to meet the costs", as the Minister claims, they are meeting the costs for others with no benefit to their own relatives. In its rush to woo back the votes of One Nation supporters, the government is prepared to perpetuate the myth of migrants as a burden on the economy. Perhaps as a reflection of the haste in which it was prepared, the Minister's press release contains several inaccuracies, such as this:
As the Minister will be well aware, there is absolutely no connection between the $5,000 fee and any "health costs" the parent may incur. Unlike the Medicare levy, through which healthy taxpayers (including migrants) directly subsidise the cost of health care to those who need it more, the visa fee goes straight into consolidated revenue where it can be used by the government for any purpose it chooses. As for the "average" cost of health care for people over 65, no doubt the Minister will remember that all migrants are subject to stringent health screening before being allowed entry, so their health costs are likely to come in well below a national average which includes chronically ill people born in Australia. By law, the government cannot reintroduce the Regulations for six months following the disallowance. Ministerial Media Release: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/media99/r99053.htm
Essential details of July changes unavailableWith substantial changes to the skilled migration program due to come into effect in under three months, a number of vital details have still not been made public. The workings of the new points test have been known since December (see Fact Sheet 36 and Issue Nos. 4 and 5). However, while a potential applicant can work out what their minimum score might be, they still don't know what the pass mark will be. Other essential information still not released is the contents of the "Migration Occupations in Demand List", which will award extra points to people with occupations that are highly sought after by Australian employers. The government Department responsible for employment issues, DEWRSB, has no difficulty issuing monthly statistics on occupational demand. The latest figures for March show strong annual growth in demand for Medical/Science Technical Officers, Marketing and Advertising Professionals, Hairdressers, Science Professionals, Metal Trades and Printing Trades. Applications lodged before 1 July will continue to be processed under the old rules. There is no indication that someone with a current application will be able to transfer to the new system without paying a further application fee, so many potential applicants are still in the dark as to whether they should apply now or wait. We can only suggest that anyone hoping for news watch our website as well as the Department's. Fact Sheet 36: http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/36changes.htm
Hot linksWith each edition of Australian Immigration Law Update we will try to find some new or interesting sites that you might enjoy visiting. This month, you might like to try out some of these:
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Patience Immigration Tel: +612
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Patience Solicitors 1999. All rights reserved.
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