EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Migration Regulations 1994
CLASS OF PASSPORTS
(Schedule 4, Part 1, Public Interest Criterion 4021)
- This Instrument is made under Schedule 4, Part 1, Public Interest Criterion 4021 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (‘the Regulations’).
2. Schedule 4, Part 1, Public Interest Criterion 4021 of the Regulations provides that for public interest criterion 4021, either the applicant holds a valid passport that was issued to the applicant by an official source and is in the form issued by the official source and that is not in a class of passports specified by the Minister in an instrument in writing; or it would be unreasonable to require the applicant to hold a passport.
3. The purpose of the Instrument is to prevent non citizens, holding unacceptable travel documents, being granted a visa.
4. The instrument operates to identify certain characteristics of travel documents that are unacceptable and specified passports that Australia does not recognise for foreign policy and integrity reasons. The effect of this is to prevent non-citizens being granted a visa if they hold unacceptable travel documents.
5. Consultation was undertaken before the instrument was made with relevant country desks of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) through a workshop held 2 February 2012.
6. The Office of Best Practice Regulation has advised that a Regulation Impact Statement is/is not required (OBPR Reference 13992).
7. Under section 44 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 the Instrument is exempt from disallowance and therefore a Human Rights Statement of Compatibility is not required.
8. The instrument commences on 24 November 2012, immediately after the commencement of the Migration Legislation Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 5)