Just days after signing off on changes to its controversial 501 deportation law, Australia’s politicians are looking to make the policy even tougher.
In an amendment to the legislation introduced and read yesterday, the federal government’s looking to ensure that people who are sentenced for multiple offences that total a term of 12 months or more will have their visa cancellation triggered.
It comes after the Albanese government brought in changes to the law that mean the length of stay in Australia and family ties would be taken into account before people have their visas torn up.
However, a recent court case has ruled that aggregate sentences shouldn't trigger automatic visa cancellation, meaning the federal government's looking to tighten the legislation once more.
It was started by New Zealand citizen Kate Pearson, who had her visa cancelled in 2019 because she’d been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more.
It was her court case against Australian Home Affairs which opened the issue up, with the ruling saying “Ms Pearson was not sentenced (for an offence) to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more."
"Consequently, her visa was not amenable to mandatory cancellation under s 501(3A)."
Despite the ruling, the minister would still be able to use their discretionary power to cancel visas.
The Guardian reports that decision resulted in around 100 people being released from onshore immigration detention.
However, the Immigration Minister Andrew Giles is now looking to cover that off, with new amendments he's looking to pass through Parliament.
The wording of the Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023 says it will “make clear that the provisions of the Migration Act and Regulations apply in relation to a single sentence imposed by a court in the same way, regardless whether the sentence is in respect of a single offence or for two or more offences.”
“The amendments provide a clear basis for aggregate sentences to be taken into account in a consistent manner for all relevant purposes under the Migration Act and Regulations.”
The legislation’s due to have its second reading today.
It comes as the Australian opposition looks to reintroduce legislation that’d make the 501 policy tougher too.
In a statement earlier this year, Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan said it would “allow the Government to consider visa cancellation or refusal where a non-citizen has been convicted of offences involving violence against a person, weapons, breaching of an apprehended violence order or non-consensual sexual acts.”
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