Registered Migration Agents
55523, 60676, 59088, 70721, 9800540, 9802999, 9896806

www.parishpatience.com.au/immigration/

Amendments to the Migration Act, the Australian Citizenship Act and the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act have been introduced into the Federal Parliament by the government. If passed, the new laws will convert a wide variety of offences under those laws into "strict liability" offences, which means that it wll not be necessary to prove that the accused person had any intention to break the law. The offences concerned include failure to provide information or documents to the Department of Information in relation to the identity or whereabouts of non-citizens without visas.

Other changes to criminal provisions remove the requirement that the was no "reasonable excuse" for the accused person breaching the provision, and require instead that the accused provide evidence of such an excuse, or of an inability to comply with the law.

Migration Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Bill 2001 - text and explanatory memorandum

Bill to increase powers of detention centre staff

Staff at Australia's immigration detention and "immigration processing and reception" centres, who are employees of a US-based private prison operator, will be given powers to strip search detainees and search their clothing under a proposed amendment to the Migration Act currently before the Federal Parliament.

Australia's treatment of the thousands of inmates held in these institutions continues to attract criticism inside and outside the country. Opposition parties in the Parliament have called for an independent judicial inquiry, rather than simply handing out more powers.

Migration Legislation (Immigration Detainees) Bill 2001 - text and explanatory memorandum

New Fees and Charges from 1 April 2001

With effect from 1 April, most fees and charges for visas and other immigration services increase by about five percent.

The Migration Act stipulates that a visa application is valid only if the correct fee is paid at the time of lodgement. Applications sent by post with the old fee, therefore, may not be considered as validly lodged until the extra amount is paid. There were no increases to review application fees.

Australian and other immigration fees

News in brief

A man set fire to himself outside the Federal Parliament on 2 April to draw attention to his attempts to bring his family to Australia from Pakistan. The man is believed to have been allowed to stay in Australia as a refugee, while his family has been denied entry because of a medical condition affecting one of his children.

Fourteen detainees escaped from the Immigration Detention Centre at Villawood on 26 March. The group consists of seven men, two women and five children.

Recent cases

Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Jia Legeng
The High Court overturned a finding of the Full Federal Court to the effect that a decision of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs had been affected by "actual bias". The Minister made public statements about his strong views in respect of non-citizens convicted of crimes in Australia. The Court considered the law in respect of "actual bias" and held that it had not be demonstrated that the Minister's mind was closed on the subject.

Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Anthonypillai
The Minister appealed to the Full Federal Court from a decision of a single judge who held that a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal displayed a failure to give "proper, genuine and realistic consideration" to the applicant's case. The Full Court held that while this ground of review was established in general administrative law, the legislation restricted the Federal Court's jurisdiction in relation to immigration decisions to such an extent that the Court had no pwer to overturn a Tribunal decision in such circumstances.

Contact us:

Parish Patience Immigration
Level 1, State Street Centre
338 Pitt Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000
AUSTRALIA 

Tel: +612 9286 8700
Fax: +612 9283 3323
Email

Liability is limited by the Solicitors Scheme under the Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW)

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