Law Council of Australia

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Migration Amendment Bill 2024

The Law Council of Australia provided a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (Committee) to comment on the Migration Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill).

Introductory comments about the process

At the outset of this submission, the Law Council wishes to express its most serious concern about the lack of opportunity to scrutinise this Bill properly.

The Law Council reiterates that concern in relation to the scrutiny timeframes given to a number of Bills during this term of the Parliament.

The Bill was introduced on 7 November 2024, just one day after the High Court handed down its decision in YBFZ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2024] HCA 40 (YBFZ) – the decision to which this Bill purportedly responds. There was no public consultation or scrutiny prior to introduction.

On 19 November 2024, the Senate referred the provisions of the Bill to the Committee for inquiry and report by 26 November 2024.

As a result of the inquiry being restricted to one week in total, stakeholders, including the Law Council, were asked on 20 November 2024 to prepare a submission by, and appear at a hearing on, 21 November 2024.

This makes proper consultation with the Law Council’s Constituent Bodies and expert advisory committees impossible.

For this reason, the Law Council’s remarks in this submission should be considered preliminary and subject to amendment or clarification.

The Law Council’s key positions

The Law Council emphasises that this Bill is a further example of a misguided approach to dealing with potential removals. As set out in our submission on the Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 in April 2024,1 we acknowledge that having an orderly, well-functioning migration program is a legitimate goal (indeed duty) of Government. However, we regard measures targeting a broad category of Bridging Visa holders (many of whom are vulnerable and have not committed any offences) and facilitating their removal to third countries that have not yet been designated (and without any clear process of designation), rather than exploring less rights-restrictive alternatives, as an approach that is likely to be incompatible with Australia’s international obligations and potentially inconsistent with the decision of the High Court in YBFZ.

Read the full submission below.

1 Law Council, Migration Amendment (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024 – submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, 12 April 2024: <https://lawcouncil.au/resources/submissions/migration-amendment-removal-and-other-measures-bill-2024> [1]-[6].

Last Updated on 22/11/2024

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