Immigration Law News – 12 June 2018

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed during a press conference on 16 August that processing of Work and Holiday Maker visas has slowed. But updates to the Department of Home Affairs website suggest the impact may be more significant, with Subclass 462 Work and Holiday Maker visa applications being temporarily paused for passport holders from 24 countries.

On 18 September 2026, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke signed Ministerial Direction 123 (MD 123), which commences on 31 October 2026 and replaces Ministerial Direction 110 (MD 110), itself only in force since June 2024. Importantly, MD 123 will govern any decision made on or after 31 October 2026, regardless of when the underlying application was lodged. This means non-citizens with pending matters are immediately affected.

Yesterday evening, the Minister for Home Affairs announced an Arrival Control Determination will commence from today, 26 March 2026, banning Iranian visitor visa holders from travelling to Australia for six months.

The below timeframes reflect general processing times published on the government’s Global Visa Processing Times page on 4 September 2026.

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The subclass 888 visa lets a subclass 188 visa holder continue their business or investment activity and live in Australia permanently.

Sponsoring overseas workers through the Subclass 482 visa creates ongoing legal obligations that extend far beyond the initial visa approval. For Australian HR leaders and in-house legal teams managing sponsored workers, compliance failures can expose the business to civil penalties up to $436,800 per breach, cancellation of sponsorship approval, and reputational damage that affects future recruitment.

Understanding current government processing times allows businesses to plan recruitment and onboarding with greater certainty. With clearer expectations around timelines, organisations can better coordinate start dates, allocate resources, and maintain continuity in their workforce planning.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs has introduced new skilled visa processing priorities under Ministerial Directions 121 and 122, fundamentally restructuring how applications are prioritized. Unlike the previous system that prioritized by location, the new framework prioritizes by sector first, placing specified industries at the highest priority regardless of whether applicants are onshore or offshore.

The government has acted swiftly to realign skilled visa processing priorities with migration reforms announced by the Home Affairs Minister on 17 September 2026.

The Australian Government has released exposure draft legislation for a proposed 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, effective from 1 July 2028. Trustees now face three strategic pathways: remain within the minimum tax regime, restructure using transitional rollover relief, or elect into the new excluded election trust (EET) regime with restricted distribution flexibility.

Australia's 2026-27 Budget introduces sweeping changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, and discretionary trust taxation, fundamentally reshaping decades of established tax policy. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Act 2026 has now received Royal Assent, but significant controversy surrounds key provisions including the new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts and restrictions on corporate beneficiaries. How will these reforms affect existing trust structures, investment strategies, a

The Australian Government's proposed digital duty of care reforms would extend online safety obligations far beyond social media platforms to encompass any business operating websites, digital platforms, or AI-enabled tools. Rather than simply responding to complaints, businesses would need to proactively identify foreseeable risks and implement safeguards, with substantial penalties for non-compliance reaching up to $109.2 million for companies. The exposure draft introduces a fundamental shift from reacti

The Fair Work Commission has introduced new guidance requiring parties to disclose their use of generative AI in proceedings, following a 70% surge in workload attributed to AI-generated applications. A recent case demonstrates the consequences of blind reliance on AI tools, with one applicant ordered to pay costs after continuing a jurisdictionally flawed claim despite repeated warnings from the Commission.

Victoria's new Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan introduces comprehensive planning, renewable energy, and community benefit requirements for data centre developments. The regulations establish location restrictions, noise limits, renewable energy mandates, and water supply requirements while creating new referral authorities to oversee compliance. These changes will significantly impact how developers and operators plan and execute data centre projects in Victoria's rapidly expanding market.

Recent cases demonstrate the importance of ensuring that businesses do not mislead consumers. Tips on how to comply with the ACL.

Australia's 2026-27 Federal Budget introduces sweeping tax reforms that fundamentally reshape investment planning, trust structures, and business operations. The replacement of the 50% CGT discount with indexed gains and a 30% minimum tax, restrictions on negative gearing to new builds only, and a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts create unprecedented challenges for property investors, professional services firms, and family businesses. Understanding how these three interconnected measures work togeth

The State of Western Australia and the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation have both filed appeals against a landmark Federal Court decision awarding $150 million in compensation for cultural loss caused by mining operations in the Pilbara region. This unprecedented case marks the first judicial determination of native title compensation for future acts and the largest cultural loss award in Australian history, establishing critical precedents for how compensation is assessed when native title rights

The Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 represents a comprehensive overhaul of New South Wales' building approvals regime, introducing significant reforms to streamline processes and support housing targets.

The collapse of the Bathla Group has sent ripples through Australia's construction sector, raising critical questions about financial distress management in major projects. With Queensland delivering an unprecedented infrastructure pipeline amid margin pressures and market uncertainty, are project participants adequately prepared to identify and respond to insolvency warning signs before external administrators arrive?