Kwazii Cat

Can't agree more with Bungo. Some people just don't know how to let go. The 30000 odd people who were effected by the cap and cease are not and will not be on any list of government agedas. A desicion has been made by the coalition govt they won't change their mind. It is very sad but true. The public in Australia doesn't give a **** about this matter so for the govt it is a non event.

Mate, why would you compare yourself to an asylum seeker? They tried to come to Australia to seek refuge from wars and persecutions in their home countries. I know for some asylum seekers, fleeing wars is just a pretext in order to come to a wealthy country like Australia and Germany, but under the UN Charters which Australia is a part of, it has an obligation to consider their claims whether they will ever be able to settle in Australia or not we don't know yet. Plenty of them are stuck on Manus and Nauru for many years now. Your application for skilled migration is totally different. For those who are determined to launch class action, please go ahead and I wish you luck. But for those who are at this stage unsure, but able and willing to research, think clearly and neutrally before making an informed, well balanced decisions, please read on, I have done further research for you as this cap and cease isn't the first and you are certainly not the first lot to try to challenge it. Challenging “Cap and Cease” Letters The contents of this article are correct as at 23 July 2010. Recently, some applicants for certain skilled migration visas (for example, subclasses 136, 138 and 139) have received “cap and cease” letters from DIAC, stating that their particular visa category has been capped and that consideration of their applications will cease. If legally correct, the consequence of this practice is that the visa application is taken to have never been lodged. While the applicant is entitled to a refund of their visa application fee, the “termination” of their application means that it cannot be challenged before the Migration Review Tribunal. There has been some suggestion that the legality of the “cap and cease” letters could be challenged, based on the legal principles of legitimate expectation or estoppel. Some argue that section 65 of the Migration Act creates a legitimate expectation regarding how DIAC will exercise their powers. That is, visa applicants are led to expect that once they have lodged a valid visa application, the Minister or DIAC will consider and determine their application. Since the “cap and cease” practice precludes this from happening, there may the possibility of legally challenging this decision. However, it is not clear that such a challenge would be successful. This is because the High Court of Australia has previously said that a validly changed law will not give rise to a legal claim, even for a person disadvantaged by that change (Peverill’s case). A possible alternative challenge could be based on the principle of estoppel which sets out that if legislation (such as the Migration Act) provides that a particular circumstance has a particular consequence, nothing a public servant does can override the legislation. If argued successfully, the Minister may be stopped from ceasing to process the applications. However, this challenge is also likely to be a difficult and drawn-out process. In our view, any challenge against the legality of “cap and cease” letters will be extremely difficult and is likely to be quite expensive. If you have any questions concerning “cap and cease” letters, please click this link to contact Visa Lawyers Australia. I hope it helps.

Hi Insizer. Sorry, I don't know why it isn't working. Anyway, if you google Swinburne Cap and Cease, it will come up on top of the page. The article is called Immigration's Disappearing Visa Applicants by Alyx Williams. I hope it helps give you a balance view on the matter.

You are spot on mate. There has to be a clear objective which is to get DIBP to process all affected applications within a certain time frame, say between one to two years. Otherwise you will only end up wasting time and money. The last thing you want is a drawn out legal battle with DIBP. May I also remind members that Senator Cash didn't just go to sleep one night and decided to apply Cap and Cease the next morning. She ought to have consulted her legal team and advisers to ensure she would be acting within the law of Australia. There is no questions that you guys are hard done by in this case. However, it doesn't guarantee you will get the result you seek in court. Ask yourself this question, could the money needed for the class action be better spent on finding other avenues to migrate to Australia or perhaps to another country?

Are you for real mate? Do you really think DIBP is scared of your potential class action to a point that they have their officials logged in to discourage you? You are emotionally charged and not even thinking straight, not an ideal state of mind you would like to be when you are about to spend big money embarking on a complicated legal process. I was merely trying to alert you to a possible outcome which may not be satisfactory even if you manage to have the cap and cease squashed, providing that you win of course. I'm not against taking legal action, just advocating for my fellow applicants to keep cool heads, research and study the topic well before jumping on the band wagon and putting themselves through another six years of uncertainty as well as the higher financial burden this time round. Please respect that not all of us have the same financial capability nor our life circumstances. Start doing some research, read well and make informed decisions, pro or against taking legal action. You can start with this neutral article below from Swinburne University. http://www.swinburne.edu.au/media-centre/news/2015/09/immigrations-disappearing-visa-applicants.htm Westwoodwizard and I are trying to add to the knowledge base constructively to the benefit of other members. Please read more and think clearly before you start blasting away and dragging other grief stricken applicants down the barrel.

Hi Guys. I admire your determination to succeed and challenging DIBP's decision. I can totally understand your disappointment in relation to the Cap n Cease. It was a shocking decision and I feel your pain. However, as someone who also has a genuine interest and have done some research on the topic, I would like you guys to consider this, saying you spent $10k each on legal cost and 12 months later you win. DIBP then put you back in the processing queue again that might take another 10 or 20 years to process. I understand that there are up to 18000 applicants affected by the Cap and Cease so we are talking about a large number here. So would you want to live your life with such uncertainty or it is better to move on with life or find a different visa classes. Not to mention the cost involved and the toll on your family.