Migration Amendment (Australia’s Engagement in the Pacific and Other Measures) Act 2023 enables the Minister to implement a visa pre-application process, involving random selection of eligible persons who will then be permitted to apply for a relevant visa.
In order to engage Pacific nations and to strengthen ties among Australia and Pacific nations, the Australian Government has committed to the creation of a new class of visa, to be called the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV), to provide access to permanent residence in Australia for an annual quota of citizens of certain Pacific countries and Timor-Leste. The creation of the PEV, and its application requirements and criteria for grant, requires to amend the Migration Act, as the Migration Act does not currently provide a framework for the Minister to conduct a visa pre-application process.
The Act amends the Migration Act 1958 by inserting new subsection 46(4A) which prescribes that a pre-application process may be a requirement for a valid visa application. New subsection 46(4B) prescribes the visas that a pre-application process cannot be applied to
- protection visas
- temporary safe haven visas
- visas classified by the regulations as Refugee and Humanitarian (Class XB) visas, Temporary (Humanitarian Concern) (Class UO) visas or Resolution of Status (Class CD) visas.
The Act inserts new section 46C in the Migration Act, which establishes the legislative power for the Minister to arrange a visa pre-application process to be conducted in relation to one or more visas. New subsection 46C provides the detail for the visa pre-application process including the characteristics of the process, use of a computer program, associated Ministerial determination, eligibility requirements, visa pre-application charge and extra territorial application of this amendment.
The Act is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation on 27 October 2023 and received the Royal Assent on 26 October 2023.
To access the act, click here.
