EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Migration Act 1958

VISA CAPPING FOR 2005/2006 FINANCIAL YEAR: CONTRIBUTORY PARENT (TEMPORARY) (CLASS UT) VISAS

(SECTION 85)

1. This Instrument is made under regulation 1.17 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (‘the Regulations’) and section 85 of the Migration Act 1958 (‘the Act’).

2.                  Regulation 1.17 of the Regulations provides that the Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, specify matters required by individual provisions of the Regulations to be specified for the purpose of those provisions.

3.2.            Section 85 of the Act allows the Minister to determine by Gazette Notice, the maximum number of the visas of a specified class or the visas of specified classes that may be granted in a specified financial year.

The Contributory Parent Category was introduced in 2003 to enable the expansion of the parent migration programme, thus addressing the demand in the pre-existing Parent Category while minimising the potential cost to the Commonwealth budget of an increase in Australia’s aged population.

The purpose of the Instrument is to impose a cap on the number of visa grants for the Contributory Parent Category over the 2005-2006 financial year. The Contributory Parent Category consists of 4 visa classes – the Contributory Parent (Migrant) (Class CA) visa, the Contributory Parent (Temporary) (Class UT) visa, the Contributory Aged Parent (Residence) (Class DG) visa and the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) (Class UU) visa. A cap of 3,500 visas is placed on the Contributory Parent Category for the 2005-2006 financial year.

3.                    The purpose of this Instrument is to impose a cap on the number of Contributory Parent (Temporary) (Class UT) visas granted for the 2005/-2006 financial year. This visa is subject to visa capping due to high demand and limited number of places available. Once the limit for a specific financial year has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that financial year.  This will affect only a small number of applicants this financial year.  Their applications will be carried over and decided early in the 2006/2007 financial year.

4.                   Relevantly, tThis Instrument operates to imposes a maximum number of xxx832  in the Contributory Parent (Temporary) (Class UT) visas that may be granted for the 2005/-2006 financial year.

4.                  A sSeparate Instruments imposes a cap of XXX for Contributory Parent (Migrant) (Class CA) visas, XXX for the Contributory Aged Parent (Residence) (Class DG) visas and XXX the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) (Class UU) class visas that may be granted over the same financial year.

5. The Contributory Parent (Class UT-Temporary) (Class UT) visas is are subject to visa capping due to high demand and limited number of places available. Once the limit set by the Government for the Contributory Parent (Class UT-(Temporary) (Class UT) visas for a specific financial year has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that financial year.  This will affect only a small number of applicants this financial year.  Their applications will be carried over and decided early in the 2006-2007 financial year.

. Applicants are queued until a place becomes available.  There are approximately 900 people waiting for a decision on a Contributory Parent (Class UT-Temporary) (Class UT) visa.

6. The Contributory Parent (Temporary) (Class UT) visa is also subject to queuing.  The qQueuing mechanism is a method of managing the parent caseload so that the visa places available under the parent program are allocated in an orderly way until the numeric target or cap is met.  Queuing eliminates unnecessary requests for the payment of second instalments of visa application charges and bonds.  Applicants know where they stand well in advance and it is more precise.  The queue is a continuum used both before and after the cap is reached.

7. The Contributory Parent Category was introduced in 2003 to enable the expansion of the parent migration program, thus addressing the demand in the pre-existing Parent Category while minimising the potential cost to the Commonwealth budget of an increase in Australia’s aged population.  The Contributory Parent Category for 2005-2006 was not to exceed 3, 500 places.  

8. The Instrument operates to specify the number of Contributory Parent (Class UT-Temporary) that may be granted for the 2005-2006 financial year.  

9. This Instrument does not have a direct, or a substantial indirect, effect on business or restrict competition (subsection 17(1) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 refers). As such, consultation was not undertaken.

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10. The Instrument, IMMI 06/042, commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments. first moment of the day following the day when the Instrument is registered (the default commencement, paragraph 12(1)(d) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 refers).

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