Migration Act 1958
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 487X — Receipts for seized things
(1) An authorised officer must provide a receipt for a thing that is seized under this Division. (2) One receipt may cover 2 or more things that are seized.
Section 487Y — Return of seized things
(1) The Secretary or Australian Border Force Commissioner must take reasonable steps to return a thing seized under this Division when the earliest of the following happens: (a) the reason for the…
Section 487Z — Issuing officer may permit a seized thing to be retained
Application to retain seized thing (1) The Secretary or Australian Border Force Commissioner may apply to an issuing officer for an order permitting the retention of a thing seized under this…
Section 488 — Tampering with movements records
(1) A person must not: (a) read; or (b) examine; or (c) reproduce by any means; or (d) use; or (e) disclose by any means; any part of the movement records, otherwise than in accordance with an…
Section 488A — Giving information to other relevant agencies
(1) For the purposes of: (a) assisting with the regulation of providers; or (b) promoting compliance with the conditions of a particular student visa or visas, or of student visas generally; the…
Section 488AA — Things seized under Crimes Act search warrant and information about such things
(1) This section applies to the following: (a) a thing seized (warrant material) under a search warrant issued under Division 2 of Part 1AA of the Crimes Act 1914; (b) information (warrant…
Section 488B — Authorisation to disclose information to an officer
(1) An airline operator, a shipping operator, a travel agent or a prescribed organisation may, for any purpose that is likely to facilitate the administration or enforcement of this Act or the…
Section 489 — Notified data bases
The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare a data base containing information kept for the purposes of this Act in relation to the entry of persons into, and departure of persons from,…
Section 490 — Identification card to be deemed to continue to be in a form approved by the Minister
Where the Minister revokes the approval of a form of identification card in relation to members of the crews of vessels, an identification card in accordance with that form signed by the master of a…
Section 492 — Commencement of prosecutions
(1) Subject to this section, a prosecution for an offence against this Act or the regulations may be instituted at any time within 5 years after the commission of that offence. (2) A prosecution of a…
Section 493 — Conduct of directors, employees and agents
(1) Where, in proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations or for a civil penalty order, it is necessary to establish the state of mind of a body corporate in relation to particular…
Section 494 — Jurisdiction of courts
(1) A provision of the Judiciary Act 1903 by which a court of a State is invested with jurisdiction with respect to offences against the laws of the Commonwealth has effect, in relation to offences…
Section 494A — Giving documents by Minister where no requirement to do so by section 494B method
(1) If: (a) a provision of this Act or the regulations requires or permits the Minister to give a document to a person; and (b) the provision does not state that the document must be given: (i) by…
Section 494AA — Bar on certain legal proceedings relating to unauthorised maritime arrivals
(1) The following proceedings against the Commonwealth may not be instituted or continued in any court: (a) proceedings relating to an unauthorised entry by an unauthorised maritime arrival; (b)…
Section 494AB — Bar on certain legal proceedings relating to transitory persons
(1) The following proceedings against the Commonwealth may not be instituted or continued in any court: (a) proceedings relating to the exercise of powers under section 198B; (b) proceedings relating…
Section 494B — Methods by which Minister gives documents to a person
Coverage of section (1) For the purposes of provisions of this Act or the regulations that: (a) require or permit the Minister to give a document to a person (the recipient); and (b) state that the…
Section 494C — When a person is taken to have received a document from the Minister
(1) This section applies if the Minister gives a document to a person by one of the methods specified in section 494B (including in a case covered by section 494A). Giving by hand (2) If the Minister…
Section 494D — Authorised recipient
(1) If a person (the first person) gives the Minister written notice of the name and address of another person (the authorised recipient) authorised by the first person to receive documents in…
Section 494E — When documents are taken to comply with content requirements
(1) This section applies in relation to a document if: (a) a provision of this Act or the regulations requires or permits the Minister to give the document to a person; and (b) a provision of this…
Section 495 — Minister may approve forms
The Minister may, in writing, approve a form for the purposes of a provision of this Act in which the expression “approved form” is used.
Section 495A — Minister may arrange for use of computer programs to make decisions etc.
(1) The Minister may arrange for the use, under the Minister’s control, of computer programs for any purposes for which the Minister may, or must, under the designated migration law: (a) make a…
Section 495B — Minister may substitute more favourable decisions for certain computer-based decisions
(1) The Minister may substitute a decision (the substituted decision) for a decision (the initial decision) made by the operation of a computer program under an arrangement made under subsection…
Section 496 — Delegation
(1) The Minister may, by writing signed by him or her, delegate to a person any of the Minister’s powers under this Act. (1A) The delegate is, in the exercise of a power delegated under subsection…
Section 497 — Delegate not required to perform certain administrative tasks
(1) If the Minister delegates the power to grant or refuse to grant visas, the delegation does not require the delegate personally to perform any task in connection with the grant or refusal, except…
Section 498 — Exercise of powers under Act
(1) The powers conferred by or under this Act shall be exercised in accordance with any applicable regulations under this Act. (2) Nothing in this section shall be taken to limit the operation of…
Section 499 — Minister may give directions
(1) The Minister may give written directions to a person or body having functions or powers under this Act if the directions are about: (a) the performance of those functions; or (b) the exercise of…
Section 500 — Review of decision
(1) An application may be made to the ART for review of: (a) decisions of the Minister under section 200 because of circumstances specified in section 201, other than decisions to which a certificate…
Section 500A — Refusal or cancellation of temporary safe haven visas
Refusal or cancellation of temporary safe haven visas (1) The Minister may refuse to grant to a person a temporary safe haven visa, or may cancel a person’s temporary safe haven visa if, in the…
Section 500AA — Applications generally cannot be made to the ART guidance and appeals panel
(1) An application cannot be made under section 123 of the ART Act to refer a decision of the ART to the guidance and appeals panel in relation to an application for review of a decision under this…
Section 501 — Refusal or cancellation of visa on character grounds
Decision of Minister or delegate—natural justice applies (1) The Minister may refuse to grant a visa to a person if the person does not satisfy the Minister that the person passes the character test.…
Section 501A — Refusal or cancellation of visa—setting aside and substitution of non-adverse decision under subsection 501(1) or (2)
(1) This section applies if: (a) a delegate of the Minister; or (b) the ART; makes a decision (the original decision): (c) not to exercise the power conferred by subsection 501(1) to refuse to grant…
Section 501BA — Cancellation of visa—setting aside and substitution of non-adverse decision under section 501CA
(1) This section applies if: (a) a delegate of the Minister; or (b) the ART; makes a decision under section 501CA (the original decision) to revoke a decision under subsection 501(3A) to cancel a…
Section 501CA — Cancellation of visa—revocation of decision under subsection 501(3A) (person serving sentence of imprisonment)
(1) This section applies if the Minister makes a decision (the original decision) under subsection 501(3A) (person serving sentence of imprisonment) to cancel a visa that has been granted to a…
Section 501HA — Application of sections 501 to 501H to transitional (permanent) visas and transitional (temporary) visas
If, under the Migration Reform (Transitional Provisions) Regulations, a person: (a) held a permanent return visa, permanent entry permit or permanent visa that continues in effect as a transitional…
Section 501B — Refusal or cancellation of visa—setting aside and substitution of adverse decision under subsection 501(1) or (2)
(1) This section applies if a delegate of the Minister makes a decision (the original decision) under subsection 501(1) or (2) to refuse to grant a visa to a person or to cancel a visa that has been…
Section 501C — Refusal or cancellation of visa—revocation of decision under subsection 501(3) or 501A(3)
(1) This section applies if the Minister makes a decision (the original decision) under subsection 501(3) or 501A(3) to: (a) refuse to grant a visa to a person; or (b) cancel a visa that has been…
Section 501D — Refusal or cancellation of visa—method of satisfying Minister that person passes the character test
The regulations may provide that, in determining for the purposes of section 501, 501A or 501B, whether: (a) a person; or (b) a person included in a specified class of persons; satisfies the Minister…
Section 501E — Refusal or cancellation of visa—prohibition on applying for other visas
(1) A person is not allowed to make an application for a visa, or have an application for a visa made on the person’s behalf, at a particular time (the application time) that occurs during a period…
Section 501F — Refusal or cancellation of visa—refusal of other visa applications and cancellation of other visas
(1) This section applies if the Minister makes a decision under section 501, 501A, 501B or 501BA to refuse to grant a visa to a person or to cancel a visa that has been granted to a person. (2) If:…
Section 501G — Refusal or cancellation of visa—notification of decision
(1) If a decision is made under subsection 501(1) or (2) or 501A(2) or section 501B, 501BA, 501CA or 501F to: (a) refuse to grant a visa to a person; or (b) cancel a visa that has been granted to a…
Section 501H — Refusal or cancellation of visa—miscellaneous provisions
Additional powers (1) A power under section 501, 501A, 501B or 501BA to refuse to grant a visa to a person, or to cancel a visa that has been granted to a person, is in addition to any other power…
Section 501J — Refusal or cancellation of protection visa—Minister may substitute more favourable decision
(1) If the Minister thinks that it is in the public interest to do so, the Minister may set aside an ART protection visa decision and substitute another decision that is more favourable to the…
Section 501K — Identity of applicants for protection visas not to be published by the ART
(1) This section applies to a review by the ART if the review relates to a person in the person’s capacity as: (a) a person who applied for a protection visa; or (b) a person who applied for a…
Section 501L — Disclosure of information to the Minister
(1) The Minister may, by written notice, require the head of an agency of a State or Territory to disclose to the Minister personal information that: (a) is of a kind specified in the notice; and (b)…
Section 501M — Collection, use and disclosure of criminal history information
Collection, use and disclosure (1) The Minister or an officer of the Department may collect, use, or disclose to a person or body, criminal history information for the purpose of informing, directly…
Section 502 — Minister may decide in the national interest that certain persons are to be excluded persons
(1) If: (a) the Minister, acting personally, intends to make a decision: (i) under section 200 because of circumstances specified in section 201; or (ii) to refuse under section 65 to grant a…
Section 503 — Exclusion of certain persons from Australia
(1) A person in relation to whom a decision has been made: (a) under section 200 because of circumstances specified in section 201; or (b) under section 501, 501A, 501B or 501BA; or (c) to refuse…
Section 503A — Protection of information supplied by law enforcement agencies or intelligence agencies
(1) If information is communicated to an authorised migration officer by a gazetted agency on condition that it be treated as confidential information and the information is relevant to the exercise…
Section 503B — Protection of confidential information disclosed to Federal Court or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)—permanent non-disclosure orders
Court may make non-disclosure orders (1) If: (a) either: (i) information is communicated to an authorised migration officer by a gazetted agency on condition that it be treated as confidential…
Section 503C — Protection of confidential information disclosed to Federal Court or Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)—interim non-disclosure orders
Notice of intention to apply for a permanent non-disclosure order (1) At least 7 days before making an application for an order under subsection 503B(1) in relation to particular information, the…