Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Bill 2025

The majority voted in favour of a motion that the remaining stages of the bill be agreed to and the bill be now passed. In other words, they voted to pass the bill in the Senate. Because the bill was already passed in the House of Representatives, it will now become law.

What does this bill do?

According to the preliminary bills digest, which is a document prepared by the parliamentary library:

The Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Bill 2025 (the Bill) amends the Migration Act 1958 with regard to provisions introduced by two Acts passed in late 2024 principally concerning the removal of certain non-citizens from Australia under ‘third country reception arrangements’.

‘Natural justice’, often used synonymously with ‘procedural fairness’, affords a person certain procedural rights in relation to decisions made, or actions taken, that affect that person’s rights or interests.

Currently under the Migration Act, rules of natural justice do not apply to a range of actions including certain visa cancellations. The Bill specifies additional provisions where the rules of natural justice will not apply. These are:

• in relation to third country reception arrangements

• certain decisions made regarding the collection, use and disclosure of information, including criminal history information and

• ministerial directions given to removal pathway non-citizens.

Additionally, the Bill validates relevant visa decisions made prior to NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs [2023] HCA 37.

Noting responses to the previous legislation, stakeholders are likely to raise significant objections to the present Bill on the grounds of human rights concerns.

At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees.