Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I present the following reports: a report, incorporating a dissenting report, of the inquiry into the review processes associated with visa cancellations made on criminal grounds; and a report, incorporating a dissenting report, of the inquiry into advocacy of the current regulation of Australian migration education agents. I seek leave to make a statement on the first report.

Leave granted.

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, I am pleased to present the committee's report for its inquiry into the review processes associated with visa cancellations made on character grounds.

Before continuing, I would like to thank the secretariat, which did a fantastic job: Pauline Cullen, committee secretary; Paul Zinkel, inquiry secretary; Emma Banyer, inquiry secretary; and Tanya Pratt, office manager. They did an incredible job putting the report together and giving the committee fantastic assistance.

The inquiry was referred to the committee by the Minister for Home Affairs on 14 March 2018. It provided an opportunity to look at the role of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in conducting reviews of character cancellations made by the Department of Home Affairs.

Sections 501 and 116 of the Migration Act allow the minister, or his delegate, to cancel the visas of noncitizens who pose a threat to our community, allowing for them to be deported.

These provisions are working well to remove dangerous criminals.

In 2018 alone, according to the minister, 13 murderers, 34 rapists, 53 domestic abusers, 56 armed robbers, and 100 paedophiles had their visas cancelled under these provisions.

But sometimes the AAT steps in and overturns the government's decision. The committee heard that the AAT generally overturns about 20 per cent of the visa cancellation decisions made by delegates in the Department of Home Affairs.

Some of these noncitizens the AAT has saved from deportation have committed serious crimes. I strongly believe these decisions are not aligned with community expectations.

Australians expect that visitors to our country will obey the law. When noncitizens break the law, especially if they commit serious violent crimes, Australians expect that they will lose the right to stay here.

To improve the quality of decision-making in the AAT, this report recommends a change to the guidelines that it uses to assess appeals—the ministerial directions.

Ministerial direction 65 and ministerial direction 63 need to be revised to ensure there's a greater focus on removing violent offenders and also to provide a greater role for the victims in the appeals process.

Under the current process, an offender gets to argue his case at the AAT, but the victims of his crimes are not invited. Decision-makers in the AAT can overturn the cancellation without having any understanding of the impact this will have on victims or their families. This can lead to further trauma for victims.

The best way to ensure decision-makers take into account the impact on victims is to give them a voice. The views of victims are critical and should be one of the primary considerations in deciding if a person is allowed to remain in Australia. This is particularly true in cases where the offender may pose a risk to the victim or their family, especially in family violence matters.

I have personally heard from victims and their families how these decisions can impact on them, and I feel their frustration at being left out of the appeals process.

Recommendation 6 in this report aims to ensure that victims have a voice at the AAT.

The committee also considered the efficacy of the merits review process and found that, on the whole, merits review is efficient. We do have some concerns, however, about the amount of time taken for the department to process revocation requests. As such, the committee has made a recommendation designed to speed up this process.

Another issue that arose during the inquiry was the impact of visa cancellations on New Zealanders in Australia. The committee heard that around 50 per cent of people who've had their visa cancelled on character grounds have been New Zealand citizens.

Most New Zealand citizens have been in Australia for many years and have never taken up Australian citizenship, because there was no incentive to do so in the past.

The committee agreed that decision-makers should be able to take this into account. However, it should be a secondary consideration, and New Zealand citizens who've committed violent crimes in Australia should not expect any leniency.

The provisions contained in sections 501 and 116 of the Migration Act are vital for protecting the Australian community from noncitizens who pose a threat to Australia's safety and the security of the Australian people.

The recommendations in this report look to strengthen the visa cancellations merits review process to ensure that its outcomes meet the expectations of Australians.

Can I make a very vital point here: I've noticed the Labor members have put a dissenting report in. My view is that the victim must be heard at the AAT's appeals process. It is absolutely unfair that, for a person who has a visa and who, for instance, could have violently assaulted an Australian citizen, sexually assaulted them or breached a family violence order and caused them great grief and pain, their victim's voice is never heard at the AAT. This needs to change, and I believe it's an absolute shame and disgrace for Labor Party members not to support the victims and simply allow them to have their voice heard at the AAT.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank all those who participated in the inquiry, by providing submissions and attending the public hearings.

I would also like to thank the deputy chair for her contribution to this inquiry and my committee colleagues for their efforts through this inquiry.

I commend the report to the House.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

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