Home Affairs legislation – Removals and notifications

A new composite Bill was introduced in the Lower House today, the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2018.
The Bill will allow the Department of Home Affairs (the Home Affairs) to use an online account such as ImmiAccount to provide clients with certain legally required communications.
The Bill proposes other amendments to the Customs Act and the Passenger Movement Charge Act.
The Bill was introduced and read for the first and second times on 28 March 2018 in the House of Representatives.
The Bill is designed to amend the law relating to migration, customs and passenger movement charge, and for related purposes.
The Bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to insert the following provisions:

• to ensure that when an unlawful non-citizen is in the process of being removed to another country under section 198 and the removal is aborted, or if the removal is completed but the person is not permitted entry into the receiving country, and as a direct result the person is returned to Australia, that the person has a lawful basis to return to Australia without a visa.
• to ensure that when that person returns to Australia without a visa, the person will be taken to have been continuously in the migration zone and will be subject to sections 48 and 48A of the Act, which will prevent them from making a valid application for certain visas.