VISAS – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Overseas students to cop 25pc visa fee hike

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Original article by Natasha Bita
The Australian – Page: 7 : 29-Apr-25

International students currently pay $1,600 to apply for a visa, but the federal government proposes to increase this to $2,000 from 1 July. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the 25 per cent increase is a "sensible and modest change" that puts an appropriate price on the benefits of studying in Australia. However, Universities Australia CEO Luke Sheehy says the nation already has the world’s highest student visa fees, while the Regional Universities Network has warned that the proposed increase will affect the desirability and competitiveness of Australia in the international education market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, UNIVERSITIES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES NETWORK

Dutton playing Donald Trump anti-migration card in plan to slash international students, higher education peak body says

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Original article by Caitlin Cassidy
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 8-Apr-25

International Education Association of Australia CEO, Phil Honeywood says the Coalition did not consult with the sector on its proposal to cap new international student numbers at 240,000 a year. This is skewed towards TAFE and private vocational education and training providers, rather than the nation’s public universities. Honeywood notes that the Coalition has traditionally been more inclined to support independent providers over their public counterparts. Former immigration bureaucrat Abul Rizvi in turn notes that the private VET sector has a history of "rorts and dodgy qualifications".

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INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Visa plan a golden invitation for crime

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Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 6 : 4-Feb-25

Sir Bill Browder has attacked plans by Opposition leader Peter Dutton to consider reinstating the significant investor visa if the Coalition wins the federal election. Dubbed the ‘golden ticket’ visa, they were given to people who committed to invest $5 million if they were granted entry to Australia, but they were scrapped by the federal government last year after it was revealed they were being used by foreign criminals and corrupt regime officials to secure Australian citizenship. Sir Bill was the main force behind the creation of the Magnitsky laws, which sanction human rights abusers and corrupt officials; he claims that bringing back the significant investor visa would amount to "reopening the door to organised crime".

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I’ll cut more foreign students: Dutton

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Original article by Rhiannon Down
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Nov-24

The Coalition is under scrutiny for joining forces with the Greens to block legislation to cap new international student numbers from 2025. Education Minister Jason Clare says Opposition leader Peter Dutton has no credibility with regard to immigration, given that he stated in his budget reply speech in May that a Coalition government would introduce a cap on international students. Dutton says the Coalition will pursue a more aggressive reduction in international students than Labor. Meanwhile, former bureaucrat Abul Rizvi says the Coalition’s policy of reducing net overseas migration to 160,000 in 2025-26 would not be possible without a big increase in the unemployment rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Labor fails to rein in migration

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Original article by Julie Hare, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 13-Nov-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that net overseas migration totalled 391,850 people in the first nine months of 2024. This is the highest level ever recorded for the first three quarters of a calendar year, eclipsing the record of 390,580 that was set in 2023. Monthly arrivals in the first quarter of 2024-25 averaged 41,823; the Institute of Public Affairs has estimated that this will need to fall to just 21,670 if the federal government’s net migration target of 260,000 for the current financial year is to be achieved. Meanwhile, Department of Home Affairs data shows that Immigration Minister Tony Burke did not cancel any visas on character grounds during his first month in the portfolio.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Burke to sign off on every Gazan refugee granted new humanitarian visa

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Original article by Natassia Chrysanthos
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 15-Oct-24

The federal government’s pathway for Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza does not yet offer the chance of permanent residency, with Gazan refugees to be personally invited by Immigration Minister Tony Burke to apply for a temporary three-year humanitarian visa. The government’s approach to Gazan refugees is not as generous as the one adopted by the former Coalition government to Ukrainian refugees, while there could be the opportunity for Gazan refugees to apply for permanent residency as their temporary humanitarian visa comes to its end.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Axed Direction 63 fuels security fears

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 18-Sep-24

The federal government’s national security credentials are under renewed scrutiny following revelations that it had revoked a controversial ministerial direction in early 2024. Direction 63 had allowed the government to deport people who were in Australia on bridging visas if they had been charged with a criminal offence or were being investigated by police. It had been in place since 2014, but was widely criticised by lawyers because it allowed people to be deported without having been convicted of a crime. It was replaced by Direction 104 in March; this still provides the immigration minister with discretion to cancel the visas of ­people who have been charged with a crime.

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Andrew Giles approved rule change that raised risk serious criminals might keep visas

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 4-Sep-24

Former immigration minister Andrew Giles continues to attract scrutiny over his handling of visas for non-citizens who have been convicted of crimes in Australia. Documents obtained via freedom of information laws show that Giles had increased the threshold for ministerial reconsideration of visa cancellations on character grounds in March 2023. Giles had previously reviewed cases from the Administative Appeals Tribunal if a non-citizen was deemed to be a ‘serious risk’ of offending, but this threshold was raised to a ‘very serious ongoing risk’. This decision was overturned by Tony Burke when he took over the home affairs and immigration portfolio earlier in 2024.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

ASIO chief Mike Burgess clarifies Hamas comments, declares sympathisers pose national security threat

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Original article by Sharri Markson
Sky News Australia – Page: Online : 3-Sep-24

There had been some confusion about whether Hamas activists from Gaza are welcome in Australia, following an appearance by ASIO’s Director-General Mike Burgess on the ABC in August. However, he has used an address to a gathering of business leaders and academics to clarify his views on the issue of people in Gaza who are seeking a visa to come to Australia. Burgess is understood to have said that while those who just support a Palestinian state would not be viewed as a threat to national security, anyone who was a supporter of Hamas or who supported the 7 October terrorist attacks on Israel would be.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

Giles ‘breached ministerial code of conduct’: Coalition

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Aug-24

Former immigration minister Andrew Giles continues to attract scrutiny over his handling of the portfolio. Documents obtained via freedom of information laws show that Giles was aware that at least 83 immigration detainees had been released into the community without bridging visas in the wake of the High Court’s landmark NZYQ ruling. However, Giles had told question time in November that all detainees who were required to be released into the community were on bridging visas. Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson contends that Giles had breached the ministerial code of conduct and should resign for misleading parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA