Migration (Visa Pre‑application Process) Charge Act 2023

No. 85, 2023

An Act to impose a charge on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process, and for related purposes

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Act to extend to external Territories

4 Extra‑territorial application

5 Definitions

Part 2—Imposition and amount of charge

6 Imposition of charge

7 By whom charge payable

8 Amount of charge

9 Charge cap amount

10 Indexation of charge cap amount

Part 3—Regulations

11 Regulations

Migration (Visa Pre-application Process) Charge Act 2023

No. 85, 2023

An Act to impose a charge on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process, and for related purposes

[Assented to 26 October 2023]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

Part 1—Preliminary

1  Short title

  This Act is the Migration (Visa Pre‑application Process) Charge Act 2023.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Act to extend to external Territories

  Section 7 of the Migration Act 1958 applies to this Act in a corresponding way to the way in which it applies to that Act.

4  Extra‑territorial application

  This Act extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia.

5  Definitions

  In this Act:

charge means charge imposed by this Act.

Part 2—Imposition and amount of charge

6  Imposition of charge

  Charge is imposed on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process under subsection 46C(1) of the Migration Act 1958.

7  By whom charge payable

  Charge imposed on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process is payable by the person.

8  Amount of charge

 (1) The amount of charge imposed on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process is the amount prescribed by the regulations.

 (2) The regulations may prescribe different amounts in relation to:

 (a) different visa pre‑application processes; or

 (b) different classes of visa pre‑application processes.

 (3) The regulations may prescribe different amounts in relation to different classes of persons.

 (4) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section do not limit subsection 33(3A) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

 (5) The amount prescribed by the regulations in relation to a visa pre‑application process may be nil.

9  Charge cap amount

  The amount of charge imposed on the registration of a person as a registered participant in a visa pre‑application process must not exceed $100 (subject to indexation under section 10).

10  Indexation of charge cap amount

 (1)  The dollar amount specified in section 9 is a charge cap amount.

 (2) On each 1 July after the financial year in which this Act commences (an indexation day), the charge cap amount is replaced by an amount worked out using the following formula:

 (3) The indexation factor for an indexation day is the number 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.

 (4) An indexation factor is to be calculated to 3 decimal places (rounding up if the fourth decimal place is 5 or more).

 (5) An indexation factor that is less than 1 is to be increased to 1.

 (6) Amounts worked out under subsection (2) are to be rounded to the nearest whole dollar (rounding 50 cents upwards).

 (7) Calculations under subsection (3):

 (a) are to be made using only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published index reference period; and

 (b) are to be made disregarding 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 index reference period).

Part 3—Regulations

11  Regulations

  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:

 (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or

 (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 16 February 2023

Senate on 9 March 2023]