Embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has issued a new legal guidance to replace his contentious Direction 99 that allowed dozens of serious criminals to stay in Australia.
Under the change, community safety will be the overriding factor when immigration officials and tribunals consider whether to revoke or reinstate an individual’s visa.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Mr Giles said the government had taken steps to strengthen the new order, known as Direction 110.
“The revised direction makes it clear that the safety of the Australian community is the Albanese government’s highest priority and so includes this as a key principle of the decision-making framework,” he said.
The ministerial direction will come into effect on June 21.
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Direction 110 supersedes the controversial Direction 99 that was issued by Mr Giles in early 2023 and required the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to consider an individual’s community ties when reviewing deportation appeals.
The directive has been tied to several cases where non-citizen criminals had their visa cancellations overturned, allowing them to stay in Australia.
Among those who have had their visa cancellations overturned by the AAT are a New Zealand man who was convicted of raping his stepdaughter, a British man who attacked women on 26 occasions, and a Sudanese man who allegedly committed murder.
Under sustained criticism over the directive, Mr Giles and other Labor politicians have been at pains to point out that the decisions were made by the AAT at arm’s length from the government, and the tribunal’s decisions had not been grounded in “common sense”.
More to come