I'm Kirk. If you would like to plan your study and migration pathway in Australia, you can add me on WeChat: NewstarsMel03
Following the news from the day before yesterday, Labor is preparing to introduce its migration reform bill to Parliament as early as next week. Wednesday’s talks with the Liberals are aimed at securing their agreement so there are enough votes for it to pass. However, the Liberals’ proposals currently appear more drastic, and the two sides are far apart on the size of the NOM cut and the restrictions they want.
More news emerged yesterday: the draft reform has two main parts, one dealing with onshore student visa renewals and the other with asylum visas.
Key proposal 1 | EOI invitation system proposed for onshore student visa renewals
To apply for a visa renewal onshore, you would first need to submit an EOI (express of interest — yes, you read that correctly: it is similar to the EOI used for skilled migration). You would then have to wait for the Department to decide whether to allow you to lodge your renewal application. If the Department never gives its approval, you would be unable to renew onshore, effectively forcing you to leave. As you could not lodge a visa application, you would also have no right of appeal. They believe this would stop more applicants from flocking to ART after a refusal and using its review process to buy time. Last year, onshore student visa appeals lodged with ART reached 50,000+.
Key proposal 2 | Proposed deadline for asylum visa applications after arrival
Another source of ART’s backlog is asylum visas: people renew their visas repeatedly after arrival, apply for asylum when they have ‘nowhere else to turn’, then go to ART after a refusal. This can drag on for years. To reduce this, the government is considering a time limit for asylum visa applications: applications would only be allowed within a few months of arrival (reports say the window could be as short as 30 days). Once that deadline had passed, applications could no longer be lodged.
However, judging by the reports, the bills for these 2 rules both have to go through Parliament. For now, the opposition may be unwilling to show weakness by offering support. In other words, it thinks the government is not being tough enough. It does not want to simply back the government’s restrictions, let the government score points on migration and face attacks from One Nation. It really is now, as the South Australian Premier put it, ‘running to the bottom.’
Onshore temporary visas continue to tighten: what applicants should do now
This bill is not the whole reform: this is a package of measures. The media have already repeatedly mentioned WHV visas, Subclass 500 dependants, visitor visas, onshore renewals and so on. Although these are not mentioned in the bill, they may be pushed through by amending administrative regulations (LI), with some even taking effect without any advance announcement. Typical examples are the 6-month visitor visas for parents of permanent residents and the addition of condition 8503.
As I keep saying, onshore temporary visas and renewals are now a ‘thorn in the government’s side’. If you meet the requirements, act as soon as possible!
