The Australian Government has announced stronger guidence notes for protection Australian Visas.
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03 November 2010
Stronger protection Australian Visa decision-making announced
New guidance notes released by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship will assist protection visa decision making, the government has said.
The guidance notes are designed to enhance consistency, rigour and integrity in the use of country information for the individual assessment of each case for a protection Australian Visa.
“Assessing country conditions is complex,” a departmental spokesman said.
“The department has developed new country guidance notes as part of a range of measures to assist in protection decision-making.”
Guidance notes for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have been finalised following consultation with key stakeholders and notes for other key asylum seeker source countries will follow.
Following a similar model used by the United Kingdom, the guidance notes draw on a wide range of sources of current, relevant, publicly available country information to assist decision-makers to identify relevant and credible country information when investigating the key claims raised by clients.
“The guidance notes form part of a suite of decision-making tools used in conjunction with applicant interviews, the refugee law guidelines, credibility assessment guidelines, the protection visa procedures manual and the refugee status assessment manual,” the spokesman said.
The issues for consideration identified are relevant to real claims, rely on a balanced and transparent reading of reliable country information and make reference to existing case law, where applicable.
The notes will be updated regularly to ensure they contain current information on the human rights situation in relevant countries.
The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australian Visa application with the Australian High Commission.
