Peter Dutton says "people fleeing Gaza should not be given visas., page-43

Having worked in Immigration for 20 years. I know first hand that proper checks cant be done. They get false papers false passports with no way of checking them. Lots of documents will have been destroyed and Immigration offices cant go into a war zone to do checks. Lots of terrorists will come in on fake documents. The character test cant be done when we cant go into Palestine to confirm the checks. Checks can take years to be confirmed. As far as protection visas are concerned applicants must apply to the first country they enter. Which is the countries nearest to them bar Lebanon which is part of the problem. Below are some of the requirements of the Character test.

Meeting our requirements
Character requirements for visas


You must be of good character to visit or live in Australia. This means you must meet the character requirements, and remain of good character.
The character requirements are set out under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. They help us decide if you are of good character.
You must meet the character requirements if you are applying for:

• a visa
• Australian citizenship

Meeting the requirements
After you apply
Refusal or cancellation
Appeal a refusal or cancellation
Military certificates
Police certificates
Requirements for ship workers
Meeting the requirements

You may not meet the character requirements if:

• you have a substantial criminal record
• have been convicted of, had a charge proven for or have been found guilty of a sexually based crime involving a child
• you have been convicted of escaping from immigration detention, or convicted for an offence that you committed:
  • while you were in immigration detention
  • during an escape from immigration detention
  • after an escape, but before you were taken into immigration detention again
• you are or have been a member of a group or organisation, or had or have an association with a person, group or organisation that the Minister (or delegate) reasonably suspects of being involved in criminal conduct
• the Minister (or delegate) reasonably suspects that you have been involved in people smuggling, people trafficking, genocide, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a crime involving torture or slavery, or a crime that is of serious international concern, whether or not you have been convicted of such an offence
• your past and present criminal or general conduct shows that you are not of good character
• there is a risk that while you are in Australia you would:
  • engage in criminal conduct
  • harass, molest, intimidate or stalk another person
  • vilify a segment of the Australian community
  • incite ** in the Australian community or in a part of it
  • be a danger to the Australian community or a part of it
• you are subject to an adverse security assessment by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
• you are subject to an Interpol notice, from which it is reasonable to infer that you are a direct or indirect risk to the Australian community, or a segment of the Australian community
• you are or have been convicted of a domestic violence offence or have ever been subject to a domestic violence order

When applying:

• declare all criminal conduct you have engaged in
• truthfully answer all questions
• provide all requested information

We consider all circumstances of a case. Even if you do not meet the character requirements, we, or the Minister for Home Affairs can choose to grant your visa.
If you are not completely honest about your criminal history, we may refuse your application.
After you apply

We may ask you to:

• provide a police certificate
• complete Form 80 Personal particulars for character assessment (596KB PDF)
• complete a Form 1563 – Statement of Character (184KB PDF)
• provide a military certificate
• provide a letter of good conduct from an employer

Where a third party, such as a foreign government or law enforcement authority gives us details about you, we treat your details in accordance with privacy laws (168KB PDF).
Refusal or cancellation

If you do not meet character requirements, the Minister or a delegate can refuse your application or cancel your visa.
Character decisions require consideration of a range of factors. When making a decision, departmental delegates refer to a Ministerial Direction (889KB PDF). This sets out the considerations that must be balanced when deciding whether to refuse or cancel someone’s visa on character grounds.
When deciding whether to refuse or cancel a visa, we consider a variety of matters, including:

• the protection of the Australian community
• the best interests of any children in Australia
• Australia's international legal responsibilities
• the impact of visa refusal or cancellation on your family in Australia
• any impact on Australian business and community interests.

If you have had a visa refused or cancelled on character grounds since you last arrived in Australia the only visa you can apply for is a Protection visa.

If we remove you from Australia on character grounds, you may have difficulty satisfying the character requirements when applying for another visa to re-enter Australia.
Mandatory cancellation

By law, we must cancel your visa if you are serving a sentence of imprisonment, on a full-time basis in a custodial institution, for an offence against an Australian law because you have:

• been sentenced to death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for longer than a year.
• been convicted of a sexually based crime involving a child by an Australian or foreign court.
• had a charge proven for a sexually based crime involving a child, even if you were discharged without conviction.
• been found guilty of a sexually based crime involving a child, even if you were discharged without conviction.

If we must cancel your visa, you have 28 days to request revocation of the cancellation. If the Minister (or delegate) revokes the decision to cancel, your visa will be reinstated.
Refused Protection visa

You can't apply for a Protection visa again if, since you last entered Australia, we refused you a Protection visa.
You can only apply for another Protection visa if the Minister decides it is in the public interest to let you do so.
Appeal a refusal or cancellation

If we refuse or cancel your visa, you may be able to apply for a review of our decision. You cannot appeal a decision if it was made by the Minister personally.
The independent Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is responsible for reviewing departmental decisions including visa cancellation decisions.
Appeals have strict time limits. You must apply in writing within the time specified by the Department in our decision notification letter.
It is available to you to seek judicial review if you believe the refusal or cancellation decision was not lawfully made.
You may wish to seek assistance with your immigration status from a registered migration agent, or engage independent legal advice.
Military certificates

You may need to provide a military certificate with your visa application. If we ask you for one, it will usually be when you served for more than 12 months in any country's military force.
A military certificate can be a letter from your commanding officer. It should say you have not been convicted of any criminal offence while in the military.
You may also need to provide a police certificate for every country you served in for over 12 months. This includes where you were stationed at a military base.
Police certificates

We may ask you to provide a police certificate (also called a penal clearance certificate) from every country you lived in. If we ask you for one, it will usually be if you are over 17 and lived in any of the listed countries, including Australia, for at least 12 months in the past 10 years.
Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. They must cover:

• the time you turned 16 up to the issue date
  or
• the whole time you were in the country

We may ask you to provide a new police certificate if you have returned to the country after your previous certificate has expired.
Apply for a police certificate

See how to apply for an overseas police certificate in the relevant countries.
Contact your nearest Australian immigration overseas office if a country you lived in is not listed or you cannot get a certificate.
To apply for an Australian police certificate you must submit an Australian Federal Police National Police Check application form.
You MUST select Code 33 - Immigration/Citizenship – for Supply to the Department of Home Affairs which includes all Commonwealth offences, and other state/territory offences as legislation permits.
You must include details of all names you have been known by.
We do not accept state- or territory-issued Australian police certificates.
Fingerprints are not needed for Australian police checks.
Requirements for ship workers

You must provide a police certificate if you have spent more than 12 months in the last 10 years working on one or more merchant ships, cruise ships, private yachts or oil rigs.
The flag of the country that the vessel sails under is the country you should request the police certificate from. Use our location finder to see how to apply for a police certificate in the relevant country.
You should also provide a letter of good conduct from the captain or company of each vessel. The letter should include:

• the name of the vessel
• the job you had while on the vessel
• the start and end employment dates
• a statement about your character

If you have worked less than 12 months on a vessel for one particular country, the letter of good conduct may be accepted instead of the police certificate