Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2008
Proclamation
Schedules 1, 4 and 5 to the Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2008
(“the Amendment Act”) amend the Migration Act 1958 (“the Act”) to provide for amendments relating to merits review; Australian citizenship; and other miscellaneous amendments.
Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act provides for amendments relating to merits review. Schedule 1 creates a new position of Deputy Principal Member to be created in the Migration Review Tribunal; removes the requirement for review Tribunals to “hand down” their decisions; and provides that where two or more non-citizens apply for review of a decision together, any documents given to any of them in connection with the review are taken to be given to all of them.
Schedule 4 to the Amendment Act provides for miscellaneous amendments to the Migration Act 1958 to provide the Minister with the discretion to refuse to communicate with an authorised recipient who is providing immigration assistance whilst unregistered and removal of illegal foreign fishers or environmental offenders who are granted a criminal justice visa whilst serving a custodial sentence
Schedule 5 to the Amendment Act amends the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and the Australian Citizenship (Transitionals and Consequentials) Act 2007 to clarify the meaning of certain provisions in these Acts and removes inconsistencies. The amendments will also ensure that the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 is consistent with Australia’s obligations in the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness 1961 and the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 1954.
Item 2, item 6 and item 7 of the table in subsection 2(1) of the Amendment Act provide respectively that Schedule 1, Schedule 4 and Schedule 5 to the Amendment Act commence on a day or days to be fixed by Proclamation. If any of the provision(s) in these Schedules do not commence within the period of six months beginning on the day on which the Amendment Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the first day after the end of that six month period. The Amendment Act received the Royal Assent on 15 September 2008.
The Proclamation fixes 7 October 2008 as the day on which items 3, 4, 5 and 14 of Schedule 5 to the Amendment Act commence. The Proclamation also fixes 27 October 2008 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act and items 1, 2, 3, 4 and subitems 6(1) and 6(2) of Schedule 4 to the Amendment Act commence.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.