Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010
Information about the Inquiry
On 26 May 2010 the Senate referred the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 for inquiry and report.
Due to the prorogation of the 42nd Parliament and the dissolution of the House of Representatives on 19 July 2010, the Committee has determined not to continue this inquiry. If the Bill is reintroduced in the new parliament, the Senate can again refer it to the Committee for inquiry and report.
The Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 (the Bill) seeks to amend the Migration Act 1958 to enable the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (the Minister) to cap visa grants and terminate visa applications based on the class or classes of applicant applying for the visa. In particular, the Bill would enable the Minister to make a legislative instrument to determine the maximum number of visas of a specified class or classes that may be granted in a financial year to visa applicants with specified characteristics, and treat outstanding applications for the capped visa as never having been made. The proposed amendments are intended to address issues relating to the General Skilled Migration (GSM) visa program.
Submissions should be received by 18 June 2010.
The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form submitted online or sent by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au as an attached Adobe PDF or MS Word format document. The email must include full postal address and contact details.
Alternatively, written submissions may be sent to:
Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Notes to help you prepare your submission are available from the website at https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm. Alternatively, the Committee Secretariat will be able to help you with your inquiries and can be contacted on telephone +61 2 6277 3560 or facsimile +61 2 6277 5794 or by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to Parliament House TTY number 02 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools at http://access.adobe.com/ for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. If you require any special arrangements to enable you to participate in the Committee's inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretariat.
Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential Committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee's permission. If you do, it will not be protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public and places them on its website. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.
For further information, contact: Committee Secretary
Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia