On 26 May 2010 the Migration Amendment (Visa Capping) Bill 2010 (the 'Bill') was introduced into the Parliament. The legislation seeks to fine tune existing laws to provide the Government with a tool for the targeted management of all aspects of the migration program.
The Migration Act 1958 currently provides the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship with the power to cap and terminate all applications for a certain class or subclass of visa. The new Bill proposes to allow the Minister to cap and terminate applications based on certain objective characteristics, rather than having to cap an entire subclass or class of visas.
Example: The Minister could limit the number of General Skilled Migration visas that may be granted in a financial year to applicants who have nominated particular occupations, to ensure the General Skilled Migration program is able to deliver the broad range of skills the Australian economy will need in the medium to long-term.
The Bill is not currently operative and no actual cap is being considered at present. This Bill seeks only to give the Minister the power to implement a cap in future if necessary.
Please note: Under the Bill it is proposed that if a student visa holder lodges an application for a General Skilled Migration visa and their General Skilled Migration visa application is subsequently subject to a decision to cap and terminate, this will not affect their student visa.
