DIMIA Annual Report 2001-02
1.2.2 Protection visas
Objective
To ensure that Australia efficiently and effectively fulfils its international obligation not to return, directly or indirectly, refugees to their place of persecution.
Description
Protection visas allow for the stay in Australia of people to whom Australia owes protection obligations under the UN Convention.
Key results
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the total number of protection visas granted in 2001-02 was 3,885 comprising 2,834 primary grants, 1,026 grants following Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) remittal and 25 grants following the Minister's use of his public intervention powers under s417 of the Migration Act.
There was a decline in numbers from 5,577 in the previous year. Of the 3,885 protection visas granted in 2001-02, 748 were permanent visas and 3,137 temporary -
attention continued to be given to streamlining onshore protection processing, strengthening arrangements for decision-maker training, country information and fraud checking to ensure speedy and robust decision making
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against the service standard target of 60 per cent of applications from detainees being decided within 42 days (where there are not factors outside the department's control which prevent finalisation), the department finalised 47 per cent of such applications within the service standard.
The outcome reflects the cessation of boat arrivals to mainland Australia in the first half of 2001-02, which reduced the proportion of decisions attributable to new straightforward applications that could be finalised quickly -
at the end of June 2002 there were 67 trained and operational case managers working on refugee assessment with a further 61 officers in other areas of the department trained and available to undertake protection visa work to meet workload fluctuations
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the majority of cases reviewed by the RRT resulted in the primary decision being upheld by the Tribunal. The decisions set aside included cases in which there were changes in the information and/or claims presented by the applicant, or changes in country information after the primary decision
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the review of the interpretation and application in Australia of the Refugees Convention (the Convention Review) continued.
Its scope includes articulation of the intended principles and objectives of the Convention; identification of areas where domestic and international interpretation of the Convention has departed from those principles; and recommendations for remedial action where necessary -
drawing on the Convention Review as it progressed, legislative changes commencing on
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1 October 2001 provide guidance on the proper interpretation of the Refugees Convention, and introduce further measures to reduce misuse of Australia's protection visa processes
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in September 2001 legislation was introduced that prevents asylum seekers who arrive unauthorised at excised offshore places from making a valid visa application while in Australia unless the Minister decides that such an application would be in the public interest.
This legislation sets the framework for Australia to move asylum seekers from an Australian territory to another country declared by the Minister, with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the arrangements are consistent with Australia's international protection obligations and that any refugees are identified and can access appropriate protection -
the department developed and implemented new refugee assessment processes closely modelled on UNHCR processes to identify persons in need of protection in excised offshore places or declared countries established under the new legislation
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regulations taking effect from 19 September 2001 ensure that, where the holder of a temporary protection visa granted after that date applies for a further protection visa, the temporary protection visa will not expire before the application is decided.