Chapter 1 - Introduction

[1]        Journals of the Senate (Proof), No. 129, 15 November 2018, p. 4147.

[2]        The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, House of Representatives Hansard, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[3]        Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 explanatory memorandum (Explanatory Memorandum), p. 2.

[4]        The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, House of Representatives Hansard, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[5]        The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, House of Representatives Hansard, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[6]        The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, House of Representatives Hansard, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[7]        The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, House of Representatives Hansard, 24 September 2014, p. 10325.

[8]        Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 explanatory memorandum, p. 1.

[9]        Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Bill 2014 explanatory memorandum, p. 1.

[10]      The Hon. Scott Morrison MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, House of Representatives Hansard, 24 September 2014, pp. 10326–10327.

[11]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), s. 501(1).

[12]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), s. 501(2).

[13]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(a).

[14]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(aa).

[15]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(ab).

[16]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(b).

[17]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(ba).

[18]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(c).

[19]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(d).

[20]      Migration Act 1958 (Cth), para. 501(6)(e).

[21]      Direction No. 65 – Visa refusal and cancellation under s501 and revocation of a mandatory cancellation of a visa under s501CA ('Direction No. 65').

[22]      Direction No. 65.

[23]      Direction No. 65.

[24]      Department of Home Affairs, Character requirements for visas, https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/character (accessed 21 November 2018).

[25]      Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 4.

[26]      The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Parliamentary Debates, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[27]      Joint Standing Committee on Migration, No one teaches you to become an Australian, December 2017, p. 154.

[28]      Joint Standing Committee on Migration, No one teaches you to become an Australian, December 2017, p. 174.

[29]      Joint Standing Committee on Migration, No one teaches you to become an Australian, December 2017, p. 174.

[30]      Joint Standing Committee on Migration, No one teaches you to become an Australian, December 2017, p. 175.

[31]      Joint Standing Committee on Migration, No one teaches you to become an Australian, December 2017, p. 175.

[32]      Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 4.

[33]      See: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Migration/Visacancellationprocess.

[34]      Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 (Strengthening the Character Test Bill), Schedule 1, Item 2, proposed paragraph 5C(1)(a).

[35]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 3.

[36]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 4, proposed subparagraphs 5C(3)(a)(i)–(v).

[37]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 4, proposed paragraph 5C(3)(b).

[38]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 4, proposed paragraph 5C(3)(c).

[39]      Migration Act, subsection 501(6).

[40]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 2.

[41]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 4 (original emphasis retained).

[42]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 7(2)(a).

[43]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 7(2)(b).

[44]      Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny Digest 13 of 2018, 14 November 2018, p. 9 ('Scrutiny Digest').

[45]      Scrutiny Digest, p. 9.

[46]      Scrutiny Digest, p. 10.

[47]      Scrutiny Digest, p. 10.

[48]      Scrutiny Digest, pp. 10–11.

[49]      Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Scrutiny Report 12 of 2018, 27 November 2017, p. 2 ('Human Rights Scrutiny Report').

[50]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, p. 5.

[51]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, p. 6.

[52]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, pp. 7–12.

[53]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, pp. 12–15.

[54]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, pp. 16–18.

[55]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, pp. 18–20.

[56]      Human Rights Scrutiny Report, pp. 20–22.

Chapter 2 - The key issues

[1]        The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Parliamentary Debates, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[2]        See, for example, Australian Human Rights Commission, Submission 3, p. 15; Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR), Submission 7, p. 2; Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Submission 11, p. 1; Legal Aid New South Wales (Legal Aid), Submission 14, pp. 4–5; Refugee Legal, Submission 16, pp. 4–5.

[3]        Law Council of Australia (Law Council), Submission 9, p. 9.

[4]        Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), Submission 8, p. 1.

[5]        New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL), Submission 2, p. 4.

[6]        Visa Cancellations Working Group (Working Group), Submission 13, p. 5.

[7]        Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 3.

[8]        Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 3.

[9]        Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 8.

[10]      Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 13.

[11]      Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2018 explanatory memorandum (Explanatory Memorandum), p. 11.

[12]      See, for example, Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), Submission 1, p. 2; ALHR, Submission 7, p. 2; Refugee Council of Australia (Refugee Council), Submission 10, p. 1.

[13]      New Zealand Government, Submission 4, p. 3. The New Zealand Government noted in its submission that 'a New Zealand minor's Australian visa has been cancelled this year under the Act', but that the decision was overturned by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal 'on the basis that due consideration had not been given to their best interests as a child'—see p. 3.

[14]      See, for example, Refugee Council, Submission 10, p. 3; Working Group, Submission 13, p. 13.

[15]      Refugee Council, Submission 10, p. 1.

[16]      Legal Aid, Submission 14, p. 10.

[17]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 12.

[18]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 12.

[19]      Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO), Submission 5, p. 2.

[20]      ACMRO, Submission 5, p. 2.

[21]      ACMRO, Submission 5, p. 2.

[22]      ASRC, Submission 8, pp. 5–6.

[23]      Explanatory Memorandum, pp. 12–13, citing the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

[24]      Oz Kiwi, Submission 6, p. 2.

[25]      Oz Kiwi, Submission 6, p. 1.

[26]      Oz Kiwi, Submission 6, p. 3 (citations omitted).

[27]      Border Crossing Observatory, Monash University, Submission 12, p. 6.

[28]      Oz Kiwi, Submission 6, p. 2.

[29]      New Zealand Government, Submission 4, p. 2.

[30]      New Zealand Government, Submission 4, p. 2.

[31]      New Zealand Government, Submission 4, p. 2.

[32]      New Zealand Government, Submission 4, p. 4.

[33]      Oz Kiwi, Submission 6, p. 2.

[34]      See, for example, ALHR, Submission 7, pp. 4–5; Border Crossing Observatory, Monash University, Submission 12, p. 4.

[35]      ASRC, Submission 8, p. 2.

[36]      Refugee Council, Submission 10, p. 2.

[37]      Refugee Council, Submission 10, p. 3.

[38]      The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group who are not recognised as citizens in Myanmar, despite living there for generations. They are considered by the Burmese government to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

[39]      Refugee Legal, Submission 16, p. 8.

[40]      Commonwealth Ombudsman, The Department of Immigration and Border Protection: The administration of section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, December 2016, p. 6.

[41]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 12.

[42]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 12.

[43]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 12.

[44]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 13; Working Group, Submission 13, p. 14.

[45]      ASRC, Submission 8, p. 7.

[46]      NSWCCL, Submission 2, p. 7.

[47]      Strengthening the Character Test Bill, Schedule 1, Item 4, proposed subparagraph 501(7AA)(a)(v).

[48]      FECCA, Submission 1, p. 2.

[49]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 11.

[50]      NSWCCL, Submission 2, p. 6.

[51]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 6.

[52]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 10.

[53]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 10.

[54]      Legal Aid, Submission 14, p. 6.

[55]      ALHR, Submission 7, p. 3. 

[56]      Working Group, Submission 13, p. 9 (citations omitted).

[57]      Working Group, Submission 13, p. 11.

[58]      Working Group, Submission 13, p. 8 (citations omitted).

[59]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 7.

[60]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 7.

[61]      FECCA, Submission 1, p. 2.

[62]      FECCA, Submission 1, p. 2.

[63]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 9.

[64]      ALHR, Submission 7, p. 4.

[65]      Refugee Council, Submission 10, p. 1.

[66]      Explanatory Memorandum, p. 12. Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights concerns the expulsion of aliens.

[67]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 13.

[68]      Law Council, Submission 9, p. 13.

[69]      ASRC, Submission 8, p. 9.

[70]      Legal Aid, Submission 14, p. 13.

[71]      Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 6.

[72]      Department of Home Affairs, Submission 15, p. 6.

[73]      The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Parliamentary Debates, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

[74]      The Hon. Mr David Coleman MP, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Parliamentary Debates, 25 October 2018, p. 1.

Australian Greens dissenting report

[1]        Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, 4510.0 - Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2017, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 14 December 2018, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4510.0~2017~Main%20Features~Vicitms%20of%20Crime,%20Australia~3

[2]        Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018, 4519.0 - Recorded Crime - Offenders, 2016-17, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 14 December 2018, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4519.0~2016-17~Main%20Features~Victoria~9