Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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MIGRATION (REVIEW) (1993) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 37

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 37

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs

Subject - Migration Act 1958

Migration (Review) (1993) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 181 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. In addition sections 115 and 116 of the Act enable regulations to be made providing for, inter alia, the manner and form of applications for review of decisions made by the Minister or by delegates of the Minister.

The purpose of the Regulations is to amend paragraph 10(1)(aa) of the Migration (Review) (1993) Regulations by omitting the words "review officer" and substituting the words "review authority". When paragraph 10(1)(aa) was inserted on 3 June 1993 the policy intent was to provide for a mechanism for the refund of fees paid on an application for internal review where a review authority - a term encompassing both a departmental review officer and the Immigration Review Tribunal - remitted a decision for reconsideration pursuant to paragraph 118(4)(ba) of the Act.

By oversight the mechanism for the refund of fees paid on an application for internal review contained in paragraph 10(1)(aa) was restricted to circumstances where a review officer remitted a decision for reconsideration. No mechanism was provided to enable such fees to be refunded in circumstances where the Immigration Review Tribunal remitted a decision for reconsideration. The amendment would overcome the effect of that oversight.

The Regulations would be taken to have commenced on 3 June 1993, the date paragraph 10(1)(aa) was inserted. The operation of these regulations is entirely beneficial to the applicants concerned and is not prejudicial to any person. Retrospective commencement of the regulations does not, therefore, contravene subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.