13th Nov 2018, 6:33 PM – Senate Regulations and Determinations - Migration (Immi 18/019: Fast Track Applicant Class) Instrument 2018 - Disallow

The majority voted in favour of a motion to disallow Migration (Immi 18/019: Fast Track Applicant Class) Instrument 2018, which was introduced by Greens Senator Nick McKim (Tas). This means that instrument will no longer have legal effect.

What does the instrument do?

Senator McKim explained that:

This motion seeks to disallow an instrument that the government is attempting to make which would expand the group of people who are subject to the fast-track application process for protection as refugees ... [T]he group of people that are currently classed as fast-track applicants had to arrive by boat without a valid visa between 13 August 2012 and 1 January 2014 and were not exiled to Manus Island or Nauru, provided that the minister has allowed them to apply for a protection visa and the person has made a valid application.

...

The instrument that we're seeking to disallow would, if it were not disallowed, apply the category of 'fast-track applicant' to people seeking asylum who arrived in Australia by boat before 2012, were assessed by the department as not engaging Australia's protection obligations and then challenged the department's assessments in the courts. Now what the government is seeking to do is to deny them the opportunity to fully explore challenges to the department's decision in the legal system. This is a significant denial of natural justice.

Read more about the instrument in its explanatory memorandum.