Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991

Act No. 197 of 1991 as amended

This compilation was prepared on 16 June 1999
taking into account amendments up to Act No. 27 of 1997

The text of any of those amendments not in force
on that date is appended in the Notes section

The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be
affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney‑General’s Department, Canberra

Contents

1 Short title [see Note 1]

2 Commencement [see Note 1]

3 Interpretation

4 Act to extend to certain Territories

5 Imposition of charge

6 Amount of charge

7 Exemptions from charge

Notes

An Act to impose on persons a charge on the granting of certain visas and entry permits

1  Short title [see Note 1]

  This Act may be cited as the Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991.

2  Commencement [see Note 1]

  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3  Interpretation

 (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

charge means an amount payable under section 6.

entry permit has the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958 as in force immediately before 1 September 1994.

index number means, in relation to a quarter, the All Group Consumer Price Index number, being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities, published by the Australian Statistician in respect of that quarter.

relevant year means the period of 12 months commencing on 21 August 1992, and each subsequent period of 12 months.

 (2) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, an expression defined for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958 has the same meaning as in that Act.

4  Act to extend to certain Territories

  This Act extends to:

 (a) the Coral Sea Islands Territory; and

 (b) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and

 (c) the Territory of Christmas Island;

and, for the purposes of this Act, those Territories are taken to be part of Australia.

5  Imposition of charge

 (1) Charge is payable if a person has applied on or after 21 August 1991 and before the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 for a visa or entry permit, and:

 (a) if the visa or entry permit has been granted before the commencement of this Act—regulations made under paragraph 181(1)(h) of the Migration Act 1958 required that an assurance of support be given in relation to the applicant in respect of the applicant seeking to enter, or remain in, Australia; or

 (b) if the visa or entry permit has been, or is, granted before 1 September 1994:

 (i) regulations made under paragraph 181(1)(h) of the Migration Act 1958 require that an assurance of support be given in relation to the applicant in respect of the applicant seeking to enter, or remain in, Australia; and

 (ii) the Minister has given the applicant a notice including a statement of a kind mentioned in paragraph 24(3)(aa) of that Act or a notice under paragraph 34(3)(a) of that Act; and

 (iii) the applicant would, apart from subsection 24(3B) or 34(3B) of that Act, be granted the visa or entry permit; or

 (c) in any other case:

 (i) regulations made under paragraph 181(1)(h) of the Migration Act 1958 require that an assurance of support be given in relation to the applicant in respect of the applicant seeking to enter, or remain in, Australia; and

 (ii) the Minister has given the applicant a notice
including a statement of the kind mentioned in subsection 26ZEA(2) of that Act; and

 (iii) the applicant would, apart from subparagraph 26ZF(1)(iv) of that Act, be granted a visa.

 (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), regulations are not taken to have required, or to require, that an assurance of support be given if they only require an assurance to be given in cases where the Minister so decides.

 (3) The charge is payable by:

 (a) the applicant; or

 (b) any person who gives an assurance of support of the kind mentioned in subsection (1).

6  Amount of charge

 (1) Subject to this section, the amount of the charge payable is $822.

 (2) If the factor ascertained under subsection (3) in relation to a relevant year is greater than one, this Act has effect as if for the amount of the charge there were substituted, on the first day of that relevant year, an amount calculated by:

 (a) multiplying by that factor:

 (i) if subparagraph (ii) does not apply—$822; or

 (ii) if, because of any other application of this section, this Act has effect as if another amount were substituted for the amount of the charge—the substituted amount; and

 (b) if the product of that multiplication is an amount of dollars and cents—rounding the product to the nearest dollar (rounding 50 cents upwards).

 (3) The factor for a relevant year is the number (calculated to 3 decimal places) worked out by dividing the index number for the March quarter immediately preceding that relevant year by the index number for the March quarter immediately preceding that first‑mentioned March quarter.

 (4) If the factor worked out under subsection (3) in relation to a relevant year would, if it were calculated to 4 decimal places, end with a number greater than 4, the factor worked out under that subsection in relation to that relevant year is taken to be the factor calculated to 3 decimal places under that subsection and increased by 0.001.

 (5) Subject to subsection (6), if at any time, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, the Australian Statistician has published or publishes an index number in respect of a quarter in substitution for an index number previously published by the Australian Statistician in respect of that quarter, the publication of the later index number is to be disregarded for the purposes of this section.

 (6) If at any time, whether before or after the commencement of this section, the Australian Statistician has changed or changes the reference base for the Consumer Price Index, then, for the purposes of the application of this section after the change, regard is to be had only to the index numbers published in terms of the new reference base.

7  Exemptions from charge

 (1) A person is exempt from payment of the charge in relation to an entry permit if:

 (a) the person has been granted a visa under section 24 of the Migration Act 1958; and

 (b) the entry permit is of the same class as the visa and is granted on the basis of the person holding the visa.

 (2) A person who has applied for a visa or an entry permit is exempt from payment of the charge if the person withdraws the application or the Minister refuses to grant the entry permit or visa.

Notes to the Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991

Note 1

The Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 197, 1991 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

For all relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions see Table A.

Table of Acts

(a) The Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991 was amended by section 85 only of the Migration Legislation Amendment Act 1994, subsection 2(3) of which provides as follows:

 (3) The remaining provisions of this Act commence immediately after the commencement of section 3 of the Migration Reform Act 1992.

 Section 3 commenced on 1 September 1994.

(b) The Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991 was amended by Schedule 1 (item 28) only of the Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:

 (1) Schedule 1 commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.

Table of Amendments

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Migration Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 1997 (No. 27, 1997)

29  Application

(1) The amendment made by item 13 of this Schedule applies in relation to applications whether made before, at or after the commencement of this item.

(2) The remaining amendments of the Immigration (Education) Act 1971 and the Migration Act 1958 made by this Schedule apply in relation to applications for visas made at or after the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997.

Note: Under item 30, some applications that are made before the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 are taken to be made immediately after that time.

30  Transitional

If:

 (a) an application for a visa is made before the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997; and

 (b) a visa application fee, or part of a visa application fee, payable under the Migration Act 1958  in respect of the application has not been paid at that time;

then, for the purposes of the Immigration (Education) Act 1971, the Migration (Health Services) Charge Act 1991 and sections 45A, 45B and 45C of the Migration Act 1958, the application is taken to have been made immediately after the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997.