Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
1998 – 1999
– 2000
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
MIGRATION (VISA APPLICATION)
CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL 2000
EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority
of the
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs,
The Hon. Philip
Ruddock MP)
ISBN: 0642 437009
MIGRATION (VISA APPLICATION) CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL
2000
OUTLINE
Overview
1 The Migration
(Visa Application) Charge Amendment Bill 2000 (“the Bill”) amends
the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 (“the VAC
Act”) to provide:
• that the visa application charge limit in
relation to a visa application made during the financial year beginning on 1
July 2000 is $30,000; and
• a mechanism for indexing the new visa
application charge limit in accordance with annual movements in the Consumer
Price Index (“CPI”).
2 These amendments will only apply to
visa applications made on or after 1 November 2000.
3 This Bill
complements the Migration Legislation Amendment (Parents and Other Measures)
Bill 2000 which introduces two new visa classes for supported aged parents.
4 The amendments in the Bill will ensure that the visa application
charge for the proposed new visa classes does not go beyond the visa application
charge limit specified in the VAC Act.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
STATEMENT
5 The amendments contained in the Bill will have no direct
financial impact.
6 This Bill merely amends the formula for calculating
the maximum amount of visa application charge, the actual amounts of which are
set out in the Migration Regulations 1994 (“the
Regulations”). The explanatory memorandum to the Migration Legislation
Amendment (Parents and Other Measures) Bill 2000 addresses the financial impact
of the actual proposed increases in the amount of charge.
MIGRATION (VISA APPLICATION) CHARGE AMENDMENT BILL
2000
NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL CLAUSES
Clause
1 Short title
1 The short title by which this Act may be cited
is the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Amendment Act
2000.
Clause 2 Commencement
2 This clause
provides that this Act commences on the day after the day on which it receives
the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 Schedule(s)
3 This clause
provides that each Act specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or
repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned. In
addition, any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its
terms.
1 This item inserts new subsection 5(1A) into the VAC Act as a
consequence of the amendments made by item 2 of this Schedule.
2 New
subsection 5(1A) provides that the visa application charge limit specified in
section 5 of the VAC Act only applies to visa applications made before 1
November 2000.
3 This item inserts new section 6 at the end of the VAC Act to establish
a maximum for the amount of visa application charge that may be prescribed under
the Migration Regulations 1994 (“the Regulations”).
4 New subsection 6(2) fixes the visa application charge limit for visa
applications made during the financial year beginning on 1 July 2000 at $30,000.
However, new subsection 6(1) provides that new section 6 only applies to visa
applications made on or after 1 November 2000.
5 A visa application
charge limit of $30,000 is necessary because of the amount of visa application
charge prescribed in the Regulations in relation to applications for the
proposed new supported aged parent visa classes. The Migration Legislation
Amendment (Parents and Other Measures) Bill 2000 inserts provisions relating to
these two new visa classes into the Regulations.
6 In certain
circumstances, the visa application charge in relation to an application for
such a visa will be over $25,000 if the applicant does not have satisfactory
private health insurance for a minimum period of 10 years.
7 New
subsections 6(3) to 6(6) reproduce existing subsections 5(2) to 5(5) of the VAC
Act.
8 New subsection 6(3) provides a mechanism for indexing the visa
application charge limit in new subsection 6(2) in accordance with annual
movements in the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”).
9 New
subsection 6(4) controls the rounding of the indexation factor to 3 decimal
places.
10 New subsection 6(5) ensures that consistent CPI figures are
used to index the visa application charge limit from one year to the next.
11 New subsection 6(6) provides that the visa application charge limit
is to be rounded to the nearest $5 when it is indexed each financial year.