EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Migration Regulations 1994

TRAVEL AGENTS FOR PRC CITIZENS APPLYING FOR TOURIST VISAS
(REGULATION 1218(1)(b)(iii))

1. This Instrument is made under Regulation 1.17 and subparagraph 1218(1)(b)(iii) of Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (‘the Regulations’).
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 purposes of those provisions.
3. Subparagraph 1218(1)(b)(iii) of Schedule 1 of the Regulations provides that where Tourist visa (subclass 676) applicants from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) intend to travel to Australia as a member of tour group, the tour must be organised by a travel agent specified in a Gazette Notice.
4. The purpose of the Instrument is to specify approved travel agents for the purposes of subparagraph 1218(1)(b)(iii) of the Regulations.
5. The instrument lists, at Schedule 1, the travel agents in Australia who are approved to escort PRC tour groups who travel to Australia under the Approved Destination Status (ADS) scheme. Schedule 2 to the instrument lists the travel agents in the PRC who are able to lodge Tourist visa applications under the ADS scheme.
6. The instrument has been amended to remove the names of Australian travel agents who did not apply to renew their status as approved ADS agents in 2006. Trading name information has also been included in Schedule 1 to ensure that approved Australian ADS travel agents are more easily identifiable.
7. Consultation with the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, which manages the ADS scheme in conjunction with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, was undertaken before the instrument was made.
8.  The Instrument, IMMI 06/072, commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.