Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) 2021

## What it does
This law changes how the government handles protection visa applications (refugee and humanitarian visas) by requiring the Minister to check specific international obligations *before* making a decision on whether to grant or refuse the visa. It forces the government to document whether applicants meet certain protection criteria, even if they wouldn't normally qualify under Australian law.

## Why it matters
The change affects how quickly people can be removed from Australia — the government now has to formally consider international protection obligations first, which could delay removals and give applicants another avenue to argue their case. For people seeking asylum, it creates a documented record that the government has considered their international protection status.

## Key details
- **When it starts**: The day after the bill receives Royal Assent (essentially immediately)
- **What the Minister must do**: Before rejecting a protection visa, the Minister must check and record whether the person qualifies under international protection standards — specifically checking three criteria related to persecution and complementary protection
- **The catch**: This only applies to people with valid protection visa applications; the full bill excerpt doesn't show what happens for other non-citizens or the complete removal process

Official Description

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: clarify that the Act does not require or authorise the removal of an unlawful non-citizen who has been found to engage protection obligations through the protection visa process unless the decision finding that the non-citizen engages protection obligations has been set aside, the minister is satisfied that the non-citizen no longer engages protection obligations or the non-citizen requests voluntary removal; and ensure that, in assessing a protection visa application, protection obligations are always assessed, including in circumstances where the applicant is ineligible for a visa due to criminal conduct or risks to security.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

25 Mar 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

24 May 2021

Last checked by Crossbench

2 days ago

Full text indexed

2 days ago

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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