The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019 and Migration Amendment (Streamlining Visa Processing) Bill 2019 are currently before the House of Reps under the Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs portfolio
The Bills were read on 4 July 2019 and second read on 4 July 2019 in the Parliament. The Bills are looking to:
- For the purposes of character test, to create an additional discretionary, objective ground to grant or refuse to grant a visa under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, where a person has been convicted of a serious violent crime in Australia or on foreign land, regardless of the length of sentence that has been imposed.
- To streamline the visa application process by requiring the provision of personal identifiers (biometrics) at the time of lodgement of the application by a class of visa applicants, rather than after a written request from the Case Officer.
The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2019 has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee on 4 July 2019 and the Report is due on 13/09/2019.
