New legislation affecting all prospective future visa applicants - the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 (the ‘Bill’) - was recently put before the Australian Parliament on May 26th, 2010. The content of this new legislation heralds a significant change to the powers granted to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, with regard to ‘capping’ the number of visas allowed to be granted in a particular class and terminating valid visa applications awaiting decision.

Under the Migration Act 1958, the Minister is already able to institute a ‘cap’ on the number of applications considered annually for a visa class or subclass and to terminate all applications exceeding this cap.  This new legislation intends to extend this current power in a crucial way. The adoption of this new Bill will grant the Minister the power to cap and cease visa applications based on certain characteristics inherent in the application, without having to cap or cease the entire visa class or subclass.

For example, under the new powers outlined in the Bill, the Minister might limit or ‘cap’ the number of General Skilled Migration Visas (GSM) which can be granted to those applicants who have nominated a specific type of occupation, without limiting applications nominating other occupations. 

According to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, this new Bill “provides the Government with a tool for the targeted management of all aspects of the migration program.”

At present there are 147,000 pending applications for GSM visas for both primary and secondary applicants. With the introduction of this new Bill, it is likely that the Minister will use this new power to cap and terminate some of these pending applications where they do not align with current Australian migration ideology.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship website assures the public that this new Bill remains presently inoperative and that no actual ‘cap’ on individual visa characteristics is being considered. 

Despite these assurances, it is important to note that once this Bill is passed, the Minister will be able to limit the number of visas granted in a specified visa class and terminate pending visas application within a capped class on the basis of certain characteristics.  Characteristics that may be specified by the Minister include the type of occupation nominated by the visa applicant, or the time at which the visa application was made.  This proposed boarding of the Minister’s power does not bode well for the 17, 594 valid applications lodged by persons who have nominated their occupation as a cook or hairdresser awaiting a decision.

It is expected the Visa Capping Bill will not only give the Minister the power to cap and terminate General Skilled Migration visa applications, but will also allow him to cap other types of visa applications.

There are currently already general caps applying to certain visa categories, and more targeted ‘caps’ are likely to follow after this new Bill is passed in Australian Parliament.  With this in mind we are urging both current and prospective clients to prepare and lodge their Australian visa applications before the introduction of this new legislation.

Given the current climate of uncertainty, it is now more important than ever to receive the right migration advice  at the start of the Australian migration process.  Our team of experienced Australian migration lawyers are able to assist you in determining which visa class is most suitable to your particular needs, and explain to you the likely effects of recent changes to Australian immigration policy on your visa application.