Another Salvo Across the Bow: Migration Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2000

Susan Harris Rimmer, The Australia Institute

Abstract

To those involved in advocacy on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, it seems that all aspects of the sector, whether susbstantive or procedural, are under siege from the current Government. Many Non-Government Organisations have expressed their concern over the general trend of limiting refugees' access to legal aid, legal advice and judicial review in a series of submissions to Parliamentary Committees in 1999, notably regarding the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme, the Migration Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) 1998 (Cth), the Migration Legislation Amendment (Judicial Review) Bill 1998 (Cth) and the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Amendment Bill 1998 (Cth). This raft of restrictions aimed at reducing asylum seekers' access to judicial review necessitates a return to first principles and an examination of the practical implications of the changes imposed upon the refugee sector.