New provisions on falsification of PIC4020 visa application materials, introduced by the Immigration Service on 18 November (for details: Australia's Immigration Act regulations publish "significant" amendments, with an authoritative interpretation of PIC4020), Submitting false information or materials in previous applications would face a 10-year rule that most Australian visas could not be applied. As recently as yesterday (2017-12-04), the related immigration legislation reform was rejected by 31 votes to 29 under the motion of Senate Greens.
This means that PIC 4020 will continue to enforce the old rules, and that applicants facing the Natural of Justice letter of explanation will still not be subject to the 4020 visa clause if they choose to remove the visa application.
Immigration has faced many challenges in parliament in recent legislative reforms, expanding its powers, including previous naturalization reforms. It is hoped that future reforms will give more consideration to the trade-offs of multiple interests, not just the expansion of individual or individual sectors.
