Australian Immigration Law

Taylor Rose can assist with a range of immigration law matters. We are available to help with:

• Offshore and onshore visa applications
• Advice on obtaining Australian citizenship and making an application for an Australian passport
• Sponsorship for a family member’s visit to Australia
• Appealing an immigration decision such as a visa refusal
• Judicial review of decisions by the Department of Immigration

Immigration is a highly technical area of law that is constantly developing and changing. Taylor Rose can assist clients with all types of immigration law matters from simple visa applications to complex judicial review proceedings.

Our immigration law expertise includes visa applications, Administrative Appeals Tribunal matters, requests for ministerial intervention, breaches of visa conditions and judicial review of migration decisions.

Family visas

There is a range of family visas that allow overseas family members of Australian residents to come to Australia. These include parent visas, child visas, partner visas and relative visas. Whether you can bring a family member over to join you in Australia will depend on what class of visa you have.

Student visas

A student visa may be granted to a person who is enrolled in full-time study in Australia. However, a person will only be granted a student visa if they:

• have enough funds to cover their stay in Australia;
• have Overseas Student Health Cover; and
• meet the character and health requirements.

Protection visas

A protection visa is granted to a person who is found to be a refugee.

A refugee is defined as a person who has a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin from which the government cannot or will not protect them. Persecution may be based on race, religion, political opinion, membership of a particular social group, or nationality.

Refugee law in Australia includes applying for a protection visa, appealing to the Refugee and Migration Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) after a visa refusal, and representing clients in judicial review of decisions by the AAT.

Employer-sponsored migration

Australian employers can sponsor workers to come to Australia on a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa (Visa 482). This is a short-term work visa that allows overseas workers to fill positions in areas where there is a critical skills shortage.

To be eligible to apply for a Temporary Skills Shortage Visa, an applicant must:

• have at least two years of experience in the occupation
• been successfully nominated by an approved sponsor
• have the requisite skills and qualifications
• meet the health and character requirements
• meet the English language requirements
• have complied with the conditions of any previous Australian visas they have held.

Character test

All applicants for Australian visas must pass the character test. If a person’s visa is cancelled on character grounds, they will be permanently barred from applying for or being granted an Australian visa. A decision to cancel a visa on character grounds can be appealed within 28 days of the decision.

The character test is contained in section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. There is a range of reasons that a person may not pass the character test, including that they have a substantial criminal record, that they have been a member of a criminal organisation or that they are likely to engage in criminal conduct in Australia.

Health requirement

Most visa applicants are required to fulfil the Migration Health Requirement. A person who is required to meet this requirement will not be granted a visa if they are considered a threat to Australia’s health.

Visa refusals

If you have applied for an Australian visa and been refused, you may be able to appeal that decision at the Refugee and Migration Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The AAT has the power to review some, but not all, decisions about visas.

Breaches of visa conditions

When a person comes to Australia on a visa, they are agreeing to abide by the conditions of the visa. If you become aware that you are in breach of your visa conditions, you should seek legal advice immediately. There may be serious consequences of breaching the conditions of a visa including being detained in immigration detention and deported or removed from the country.

Judicial review

Judicial review of migration decisions occurs in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and in the Federal Court of Australia. The migration decision may have been made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or by an inferior court.

Judicial review can be sought when there is doubt as to whether a migration decision was lawful.

A migration decision may be found to have been unlawful because:

• the applicant was not accorded procedural fairness;
• the decision-maker did not apply the right legal principles or visa criteria;
• the decision was irrational or illogical;
• there was no evidence to support the decision.

If a court finds that a migration decision-maker made an error of law, it will return the matter to the decision-maker to reconsider.

If you require legal advice or representation in any legal matter, please contact Taylor Rose.

Do you need immigration law assistance?

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