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Sponsors' obligations and liabilities are a serious matter and practitioners should ensure that clients are made aware of them. For instance, sponsors are required to notify Immigration (not via email) when certain events occur, such as a change to any information provided in the sponsorship application. Lack of notification can result in the following sanctions against the sponsor: a bar; sponsorship cancellation; civil penalty order; and others. Further, the visa's expiry date is brought forward if the sponsorship is cancelled.

It is very common for clients to ask us questions such as: "would visa X give me access to Medicare and if so, would I have full benefits, or would there be some limitation?"; "would visa X allow my children to study in public schools?"; "would visa X give me access to welfare benefits?". And the list goes on. We discuss some of the implications of giving advice on matters in which we do not have the required knowledge and/or licence/registration.

The new instrument is made under paragraphs 5.36(1)(a) and (b), and 5.36(1A)(a) of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). "Paragraph 5.36(1)(a) of the Regulations states that the payment of a fee, other than a visa application charge mentioned in regulation 5.36(3A) of the Regulations must be made in a place, being Australia or a foreign country, that is specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument". Another instrument also published today amends the above new instrument.

"The purpose of the [new] instrument is to undertake a biannual update of the places and corresponding currencies in which payment of a fee may be made".

ABF: "Investigations revealed that although neither of the women were registered migration agents they had advertised migration assistance and charged a fee whilst not being registered, and provided immigration assistance to at least three travellers who were found to be in possession of fraudulently obtained identity documents".

OMARA has just announced high-level overview plan on how the public will be educated about obtaining immigration assistance once the "Deregulation" Bill is passed.

The new Regulations make important changes to the conditions imposed on visa subclasses 600 (visitor) and 870 (parent) and to the eligibility for merits review for subclass 870 applicants. Some of the changes commence on 19 December 2019 and some on 29 February 2020.

The temporary graduate skills assessment pathway offered by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) requires that applicants have completed an Australian Bachelor Degree or higher. We explain how it is possible, in some circumstances, for a person who obtained an AQF Diploma and Advanced Diploma in IT to apply for a subclass 485 visa, despite the above rule.

It is commonly said that a BVE holder cannot apply for, and obtain, a BVA. With respect, we explain why that is not necessarily true.

In order to avoid situations where applicants, sponsors or visa holders can claim they have never in fact received a document from the Department, the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) contains provisions that deem receipt of that document. The time when the person is deemed to have received a document will depend on whether the document was given by hand, by handing it to a person at the recipient's last residential or business address, dispatched by post or email.