EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 237

 

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

 

Subject - Migration Act 1958

 

Migration Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 11)

 

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 subsection 31(3) provides that the Regulations may prescribe criteria for a visa of a specified class.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Principal Regulations to amend the definition of ‘migration occupation in demand’ to allow a migration occupation in demand to be described in the migration occupation in demand list (the MODL) for a particular Class or Subclass of visa and by reference to specified characteristics to enable a more targeted approach to the awarding of MODL points to visa applicants.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the proposed Regulations may be exercised.

 

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

 

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.

 

The Office of Best Practice Regulation’s Best Practice Regulation Preliminary Assessment was used to determine that there would be no compliance cost to business for the proposed amendments.

 

 

 

 

 

Authority: Subsection 504(1) of the

Migration Act 1958

 

 

 

ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the proposed Migration Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 11)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Migration Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 11)

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

This regulation provides for the Regulations to commence on the day after registration.

 

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Migration Regulations 1994

 

Subregulation 3(1) provides that the Migration Regulations 1994 (the Principal Regulations) are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Subregulation 3(2) provides that the amendments made by Schedule 1 apply in relation to a visa application made on or after the day the Regulations commence.

 

 

Schedule 1 – Amendments

Item [1] substitutes the definition of migration occupation in demand in regulation 1.03 of Part 1 to the Principal Regulations.

The substituted definition provides that a migration occupation in demand in relation to one or more Classes or Subclasses of visa means a skilled occupation that is specified by the Minister in an instrument in writing for this definition as a migration occupation in demand, including an occupation that may be described by reference to specified characteristics in the instrument.

The purpose of this amendment is to specify that a migration occupation in demand may be specified in relation to a particular Class or Subclass of visa. The instrument may specify that a skilled occupation is a migration occupation in demand for one Subclass or Class of visa but not specify that same skilled occupation as a migration occupation in demand for a different Subclass or Class of visa.

The amendment allows a migration occupation in demand to be described by reference to specified characteristics, such as an occupation with a certain level of English language proficiency. This would enable a more targeted approach to the awarding of MODL points to visa applicants.