Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997
Act No. 26 of 1997 as amended 
Consolidated as in force on 14 July 1999
(includes amendments up to Act No. 37 of 1999)
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra

Contents
1	Short title	1
2	Commencement	1
3	Act to extend to certain territories	1
4	Imposition of visa application charge	1
5	The visa application charge limit	1
Notes 		3

An Act to impose a charge in respect of applications for visas
1  Short title
		This Act may be cited as the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997.
2  Commencement
	(1)	This Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
	(2)	If this Act does not commence under subsection (1) within 6 months beginning on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.
3  Act to extend to certain territories
	(1)	This Act extends to the territories to which the Migration Act 1958 extends.
	(2)	Visa application charge is payable in relation to a visa application whether the application is made inside Australia or outside Australia.
4  Imposition of visa application charge
		Visa application charge payable under section 45A of the Migration Act 1958 is imposed.
5  The visa application charge limit
	(1)	The charge limit in relation to a visa application made during the financial year beginning on 1 July 1996 is $12,500.
	(2)	The charge limit for a later financial year is calculated by multiplying the charge limit for the financial year before the later year by the greater of 1.0 or the indexation factor worked out using the following formula:

where:
CPI quarter means a period of 3 months ending on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September or 31 December.
index number means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number (being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities) published by the Australian Statistician.
	(3)	The indexation factor is to be calculated to 3 decimal places, but increased by .001 if the 4th decimal place is more than 4.
	(4)	Calculations under subsection (2):
	(a)	are to be made using only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published reference base for the Consumer Price Index; and
	(b)	are to disregard index numbers that are published in substitution for previously published index numbers (except where the substituted numbers are published to take account of changes in the reference base).
	(5)	If an amount worked out under the formula in subsection (2) is not a multiple of $5, the amount is to be rounded as follows:
	(a)	if the amount exceeds the nearest lower multiple of $5 by $2.50 or more—round the amount up to the nearest higher multiple of $5;
	(b)	in any other case—round the amount down to the nearest lower multiple of $5.

Notes to the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997
Note 1
The Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 as shown in this consolidation comprises Act No. 26 of 1997 amended as indicated in the Tables below.
Table of Acts
Act	Number 
and year	Date 
of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions	
Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997	26, 1997	10 Apr 1997	1 May 1997 (see Gazette 1997, S168)		
Migration (Visa Application) Charge Amendment Act 1999	37, 1999	31 May 1999	1 May 1997 (a)	—	

(a)	The Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997 was amended by Schedule 1 only of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Amendment Act 1999, section 2 of which provides as follows:
		This Act is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the Migration (Visa Application) Charge Act 1997.

Table of Amendments
ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended      rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted	
Provision affected	How affected	
S. 5		am. No. 37, 1999