Migration Amendment 2024

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Migration Amendment Bill 2024 — Plain English Breakdown

## What it does
This bill allows the government to cancel bridging visas for people waiting to be removed from Australia, but only if another country has agreed to take them in. The person must already have permission from that country to enter and live there. The government will give them notice before cancelling the visa.

## Why it matters
This could speed up the removal process for some people in immigration limbo, reducing the time they spend on temporary bridging visas. However, it shifts responsibility to other countries rather than processing cases in Australia, and it's part of a broader policy around offshore arrangements.

## Key details
- **Who's affected:** Only people on a Subclass 070 (Bridging Removal Pending) visa who already have permission to enter another country that's signed up to Australia's "third country reception arrangements"
- **Exceptions:** Children under 18, anyone with a pending protection visa application, and people who legally can't be sent to that country are protected from visa cancellation
- **When it starts:** The day after the bill gets Royal Assent (immediate effect)

Official Description

Amends the Migration Act 1958 to: provide for the cessation of certain bridging visas where the holder of the visa has been granted permission by a foreign country to enter and remain in that country; enable the minister to make a decision that a protection finding would no longer be made in relation to a non-citizen who holds a visa as a removal pathway non-citizen; create an immunity from civil liability in relation to certain acts or omissions; provide for the collection, use and disclosure of criminal history information or information to foreign countries; provide for spending authority for third country reception arrangements; and make technical amendments.

Committee Referrals

Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

7 Nov 2024

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

4 Dec 2024

Last checked by Crossbench

today

Full text indexed

today

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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