dredg97

Last famous words...as the Romans used to say...'don't say cat until you have it in the bag!' (pi-iate ver inter cul)... I was not affected by the change but since the beginning I had sympathy for those whose life changed after the Government made the announcement on April 20th. Anyway, DIBP website is now updated, including the new proposal that will be introduced in the next coming months (IELTS 5, 4 years PR, etc., from July 2018). http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi/whats-new

This are the recommendations from the Committee led by Liberals. Have a look at the dissenting reports from Labors, Greens and NXT. They all oppose the Bill in its current form. If no amendments will come from the government and the Bill will get voted, it will be rejected (Labors+Greens+NXT have the majority). Dutton doesn't seem to be willing to amend anything. Even few amendments could not be sufficient to get the 3 votes from NXT (their position was made quite clear yesterday in the Senate). We will see what happens in the next 3 sitting dates (16-18/10). Just for your information, I recommend you to follow all Facebook groups created on opposing the Bill. They will be able to recommend what actions you can take for the time being. You will not find much sympathy in this thread unfortunately.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/09/13/greens-labor-crossbench-unite-force-governments-hand-citizenship-bill Could be interesting, let's see what happens in the next 4 sittings, if it is not voted by then, the Bill will be removed from the notice paper.

The Bill wasn't debated yesterday in the Senate, but it is listed as number 3 in the Order of the day for today. There are no amendments from the Government, the only three amendments are coming from One Nation, Liberal Democratics and Conversatives, requesting a further extension of the residency requirements (not 4 years as PR but 8 or 10). Labors, Greens and NXT are opposing the Bill in its current form, last night Lucy Gichuhi for the first time has shown concerns on the English test requirement. The Bill might be voted today, let's see what happens.

Draft legislation programme in the Senate for next week is now available: https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/senate-week4-spring.pdf There are 8 Bills on the table, so it's not guaranteed that the highly contentious on Citizenship will be dealt with on Monday. Dutton in an interview this morning said he is confident the Bill will get through with minor changes. He may ignore the recommendations from the Senate Committee and the dissenting reports by Labors and Greens, but he will have to make more than 'minor' changes to get the three NXT votes.

During a public hearing in late August, DIPB reps said they are clearing all applications made prior to April 20th, and this will take them up to the end of the year (November-December). At that time, they will ask the Minister about how to proceed with the applications lodged after the announcement. The Bill is dead in its current form, after NXT announced its position. Dutton will need to amend it, at least watering down the English requirements and granting a transitional period. The Bill was supposed to be debated yesterday in the Senate, but it wasn't. Let's see how the government will decide to proceed.

This is definitely huge, but as the Romans used to say ('don't say cat until you have it in the bag'), it's better not getting too excited until the Bill is rejected officially in the Senate. It's just a matter of hours until the Senate Committee will issue its reports, after receiving over 10,000 submissions against the Bill VS just 2 (yes, only two) in favour. This could be another big hit to the new proposed legislation.

Absolutely, this won't be kept secret as the DIBP/Government did with the submissions received in May. It's important to include you personal situation and how you are affected by the proposed Bill.

Thank you for that, it will be interesting to see a comparison between the domestic full fee vs international fee.

Good, at least this time you have refrained from talking about terrorism attacks... Agree, it is highly contentious and far from being resolved. Truth is that hundreds of applications are currently not being processed in the interim, and that's unfair, un-Australian, illogical...

LOL...not just here, also the Government seems to be assuming that the PROPOSED changes to the Citizenship Act 2007 are already in place.

You need to get up to date, check the Budget announced in May... We are talking about University fees by the way...

PR students will pay domestic fees? Could you please provide the source of information? As far as I am aware, permanent residents and New Zealand citizens will be stopped from enrolling in Commonwealth-supported places, meaning they will have to pay full fees for degrees. They can access loans, whereas previously they had to pay upfront, but what's they point if the fees increase enormously.

Staying on PR rather than getting citizenship has several disadvantages. Do you want to study at university? From next year, as per new budget announced in May, permanent residents will pay as much as international students (i.e.$35-40K rather than $5-10K per year). Think about those families being here on PR for 1 year with 16-17 yo waiting to go to university. If the Bill will pass, they have to wait up to 3 years before having their children enrolled at university. It's true you can stay indefinitely, but things can change in the future. At the end of the day, you are still on a visa and what you are entitled to today may not be there tomorrow. Do you have to leave the country extensively for work? What if your parents in your country of origin get sick and require you to come back for a certain period of time? You might not be able to qualify for your next RRV.

Lots of speculation and a very poor last remark.... You should have reported that the Senate has referred the Bill for inquiry.