EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2007 No. 129

 

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Immigration

and Citizenship

 

 

Migration Act 1958

 

Migration Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 3)

 

Subsection 504(1) of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) provides, in part, that the

Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

In addition, regulations may be made pursuant to:

·         subparagraph 504(1)(a)(i), which provides for the making of regulations making provision for and in relation to the charging and recovery of fees in respect of any matter under the Act or the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Principal Regulations); and

·         subsection 31(3) of the Act, which provides that the regulations may prescribe criteria for a visa or visas of a specified class.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations relating to sponsorship fees for certain temporary visas.

The Regulations ensure that temporary residence sponsorship fees are payable for seeking to be approved as a sponsor, and regardless of who lodges the visa application or when the visa application is lodged. This will reflect the practice whereby applicants lodge their visa applications after their sponsor has been approved. This practice is advantageous to applicants as it ensures they do not pay the visa application charge if the sponsorship is rejected.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.

 

The Regulations include a transitional provision to the effect that the amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Regulations apply to visa applications made on or after commencement of the Regulations.

 

The Regulations commenced on the 24 May 2007.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

For Schedule 1 the Office of Best Practice Regulation’s Business Compliance Cost and Competition Assessment was used to determine that there was no compliance cost to business.

 

No other consultations were conducted in relation to these Regulations as the amendments were considered not to have relevant implications for any external agencies or other bodies.

ATTACHMENT A

 

 

Details of the Migration Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 3)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Migration Amendment Regulations 2007 (No. 3)

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on 24 May 2007.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Migration Regulations 1994

 

This regulation provides that the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Regulation 4 – Transitional

This regulation provides that the amendments made by Schedule 1 apply in relation to an application for a visa made on or after the day on which these regulations commence.

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Item [1] – Subregulation 5.38(2)

Subregulation 5.38(2) sets out the various amounts payable by under regulation 5.38.

The rewording of subregulation 5.38(2) clarifies that the fees specified are payable when the person or organisation is seeking to be approved as a sponsor, regardless of whether or not the person or organisation is ultimately approved as a sponsor, and regardless of who lodges the visa application or when it is lodged.

Item [2] - Subregulation 5.38(3)

This item omits the words “a sponsorship” and inserts the words “seeking to be approved as a sponsor” in subregulation 5.38(3).

Subregulation 5.38(3) provides that the sponsorship fee imposed by regulation 5.38 is payable if the visa application is subject to a visa application charge, or a fee payable under the Principal Regulations.

 

The amendment is consequential to the amendments to subregulation 5.38(2), and clarifies that sponsorship fees imposed by regulation 5.38 are payable when the person or organisation seeks to be approved as a sponsor, regardless of whether or not the sponsorship is ultimately approved.