The Morrison Government has tabled new legislation to strengthen its powers to quickly deport non-citizens who commit violent or sexual offences with the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill 2021.
The Government says that it takes very seriously its responsibility to protect Australians from non-citizens who engage in criminal conduct.
In September 2019 and October 2021, Labor and the Greens voted against an earlier version of this Bill in the Senate. Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally warned that a person could be deported over “trivial” offences under the proposal.
The Government will return the Bill with some minor changes on Wednesday 16 February 2022.
The Bill introduces amendments to allow for discretionary visa refusal or cancellation where a non-citizen has a conviction for a designated offence punishable by at least two years’ imprisonment.
Designated offences include violent and sexual crimes, breaching personal protection orders like AVOs, using or possessing a weapon, or assisting with any of these crimes.
The bill has the support of the Police Federation of Australia, but the October 2021 tabled amendment was described by the Law Council of Australia as “disproportionate and unnecessary”.
Labor and the Greens have opposed both previous proposed amendments.
“An Australian visa is a privilege that should be denied to those who pose a threat to the safety of Australians. It should not be easier to deport an international sports star than a convicted criminal. That’s why this Bill broadens existing discretionary powers to cancel and refuse visas under the ‘character test’,” Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs Alex Hawke, said.
The Bill addresses gaps in the character test to apply to non-citizens who:
- Have been convicted of a serious criminal offence, punishable by at least two years’ imprisonment
- Have received less than 12 months’ imprisonment for their crimes; and
- Pose a risk to the Australian community.
By moving the character test onto more objective grounds, the Bill aims to broaden the circumstances in which visas may be cancelled and refused, and reduce the likelihood of such decisions being overturned on appeal.
By focusing on the sentence available rather than the sentence imposed, the Bill also captures offenders given sentencing discounts by judges due to plea bargains and guilty pleas, as well as decisions to give sentences falling below the mandatory visa cancellation threshold.
Since the power will be discretionary, the Government will have flexibility to focus on serious crimes perpetrated by criminals who pose a risk to the Australian community.
The amendments also facilitate the use of data matching and biometric information to help the Government identify people who are of character concern.
