A Bill for an Act to amend the Migration Act 1958, and for related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Migration Amendment (Evacuation to Safety) 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.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted.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 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Amendments
Migration Act 1958
1 Subsection 5(1)
Insert:
transferred person determination has the meaning given by paragraph 199C(1)(b).
2 Paragraph 42(2A)(ca)
After “section 198B”, insert “or 199C”.
3 At the end of Division 8 of Part 2
Add:
Subdivision D—Transfers of certain persons from Nauru or Papua New Guinea to Australia
199A Persons to whom Subdivision applies
This Subdivision applies to a person if:
(a) the person is:
(i) a person who was taken to The Republic of Nauru or the Independent State of Papua New Guinea under section 198AD; or
(ii) a child of a person mentioned in subparagraph (i), who was born in that country and was not an Australian citizen at the time of birth; and
(b) on the commencement of this Subdivision, the person is in that country.
199B Making of transfer offer
(1) Within the period of one month after this Subdivision commences, the Minister must make an offer, in writing, to each person to whom this Subdivision applies, to transfer the person to Australia so that the person can, from Australia, seek a durable solution for the person’s permanent settlement in a third country that is a party to the Refugees Convention or Refugees Protocol.
(2) However, if an adverse security assessment in respect of a person to whom this Subdivision applies is in force under the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979:
(a) the Minister must not make an offer to the person under subsection (1); and
(b) within 7 days after the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1), the Minister must give the person notice, in writing, that an offer to transfer the person has not been made under that subsection because of the assessment.
199C Transfer to Australia
(1) If a person accepts an offer made to the person under subsection 199B(1):
(a) an officer must, as soon as practicable, bring the person to Australia, and in doing so may exercise the same powers as an officer bringing a transitory person to Australia under section 198B; and
(b) the Minister must make a determination (a transferred person determination) to the effect that the person is to reside at a specified place in Australia, instead of being detained at a place covered by the definition of immigration detention in subsection 5(1); and
(c) the Minister must arrange for any appropriate medical or psychiatric assessment or treatment of the person to be made available to the person as soon as practicable after the person’s arrival in Australia.
(2) A transferred person determination must:
(a) specify the person covered by the determination by name, not by description of a class of persons; and
(b) specify the conditions to be complied with by the person covered by the determination.
(3) A transferred person determination must be made by notice in writing to the person covered by the determination.
(4) Subject to this Subdivision, while a transferred person determination is in force, this Act and the regulations apply as if:
(a) the transferred person determination were a residence determination; and
(b) the person covered by the transferred person determination were a person covered by a residence determination.
(5) The Minister’s power to make a transferred person determination may only be exercised by the Minister personally.
(6) To avoid doubt, section 198AD does not apply to a person who has been brought to Australia under this section.
199D Withdrawal of person’s acceptance of offer
If a person accepts an offer made to the person under subsection 199B(1):
(a) the person may withdraw the acceptance at any time before the person is brought to Australia under paragraph 199C(1)(a); and
(b) where the person withdraws the acceptance—the acceptance is taken never to have been given.
199E Tabling of information relating to the making of transferred person determinations
(1) If the Minister makes a transferred person determination, the Minister must cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament a statement that (subject to subsection (2)) states that the Minister has made the determination.
(2) A statement under subsection (1) in relation to a transferred person determination is not to include:
(a) the name of the person covered by the determination; or
(b) any information that may identify the person covered by the determination; or
(c) the address, name or location of the place specified in the determination; or
(d) any information that may identify the address, name or location of the place specified in the determination; or
(e) if the Minister thinks that it would not be in the public interest to publish the name of another person connected in any way with the determination—the name of that other person or any information that may identify that other person.
(3) A statement under subsection (1) is to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the determination is made.
199F Tabling of information if offer not made to a person
(1) This section applies if, in accordance with subsection 199B(2), the Minister does not make an offer to transfer a person to Australia under subsection (1) of that section because an adverse security assessment in respect of the person is in force under the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979.
(2) The Minister must cause a statement, to the effect that an offer was not made to a person for that reason, to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 3 sitting days of that House after the end of the period mentioned in subsection 199B(1).
(3) A statement laid before each House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (2) of this section must not include:
(a) the name of the person concerned; or
(b) any information that may identify the person; or
(c) the name of any other person connected in any way with any person covered by paragraph (a); or
(d) any information that may identify that other person.
199G Tabling of information relating to delays in transfers of persons to Australia
(1) This section applies if:
(a) a person accepts an offer made to the person under subsection 199B(1); and
(b) the person has not been brought to Australia under paragraph 199C(1)(a) at the end of:
(i) the period of 7 days after that acceptance was given; or
(ii) if one or more transfer delay statements have previously been laid before a House of the Parliament in respect of the person—the period of 7 days after the most recent of those statements was first laid before a House of the Parliament.
(2) The Minister must cause a transfer delay statement to be laid before each House of the Parliament on the next sitting day of that House after the end of the period mentioned in subparagraph (1)(b)(i) or (ii) (as the case requires) of this section.
(3) In this section:
transfer delay statement means a statement:
(a) setting out the reasons as to why the person was not brought to Australia under paragraph 199C(1)(a) before the end of the period mentioned in subparagraph (1)(b)(i) or (ii) (as the case requires) of this section; and
(b) setting out the timeframe within which the person was subsequently, or is expected to be, brought to Australia.
(4) A transfer delay statement laid before each House of the Parliament in accordance with subsection (2) must not include:
(a) the name of the person concerned; or
(b) any information that may identify the person; or
(c) the name of any other person connected in any way with any person covered by paragraph (a); or
(d) any information that may identify that other person.
4 Subsection 474(4) (before table item 1)
Insert:
| 1A | Subdivision D of Division 8 of Part 2 | Transfers of certain persons from Nauru or Papua New Guinea to Australia |