The Department has issued a revised version of the Ministerial Instructions relating to the exercise of the Minister’s intervention powers under sections 351 and 501J of the Migration Act 1958. This new version was published on 17 September 2025. The update removes Clause 12.1.14 from the list of inappropriate requests to refer.
The update is minimal, with the sole change being the removal of Clause 12.1.14 from Section 12, which addresses requests deemed unsuitable for referral (Requests that are inappropriate to refer).
Previously, Clause 12.1.14 provided that:
the individual can make a valid application for a visa listed in regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 while in Australia.
This clause was accompanied by the explanatory note:
Section 48 of the Act imposes a bar on a non-citizen making an application for a visa, other than for a prescribed class of visa, if the non-citizen is in the migration zone, does not hold a substantive visa and, after last entering Australia, was refused a visa or held a visa that was cancelled. Regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 prescribes the visas that may be applied for while in Australia.