Category Archives: Andrew Giles

Non-citizen Andrew Giles wanted to be ‘rid of’ cannot be deported, court rules

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Exclusive: Safwat Abdel-Hady may now be able to pursue damages for false imprisonment after court found his detention was not authorised by Migration Act

A non-citizen convicted of offences related to alleged drink-spiking who Andrew Giles said he wanted to be “rid of” has had a major win in court, with the commonwealth conceding he cannot be deported.

On Tuesday the federal circuit court made declarations that “there was no real prospect of removal” of businessman Safwat Abdel-Hady currently or in the period 28 July 2022 to 13 February 2024 and his detention was not authorised by the Migration Act for those 18 months.

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Andrew Giles issues new rules for visa cancellations that make community safety ‘highest priority’

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Immigration minister announces direction 110 after previous rules used to overturn visa cancellations for non-citizens who committed serious offences

New rules on visa cancellation that emphasise the importance of community protection and impact on victims of crime will still allow decision-makers to favour factors other than safety as their paramount consideration.

On Friday the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, revealed he had made ministerial direction 110 “strengthening our cancellation system to better reflect community expectations” after a spate of cases of visa cancellations of non-citizens who had committed serious offences being overturned by an independent tribunal. The new rules will be in force from 21 June.

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Two murderers and 26 sex offenders released under NZYQ ruling not electronically monitored

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ABF commissioner tells Senate there is a ‘big difference between some murders and other murders’

At least two murderers or attempted murderers and 26 sex offenders released from immigration detention are not required to wear an electronic ankle monitor or observe a curfew.

Australian Border Force officials revealed at Senate estimates on Wednesday that half of the 153 non-citizens released as a result of the high court’s ruling on indefinite detention are not subject to electronic monitoring, including some convicted of serious offences.

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Change in visa rules was to apply in absence of ‘serious offending or family violence’, Andrew Giles was told

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Labor is standing by ‘ministerial direction 99’ despite cases that appear at odds with advice given in early 2023

A rule change that meant a non-citizen’s ties to Australia would be considered before their visa was cancelled was intended to target people without “serious offending or family violence”, the immigration minister was told in early 2023.

But reports detailing the criminal history of some non-citizens who have had their visas restored appear at odds with the intention of that advice to Andrew Giles – leading the Coalition to pledge it would tear up the new rules if elected.

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Refugees risk being stripped of protection under ‘draconian’ Labor deportation bill, opponents say

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Greens immigration spokesperson says bill expands ministerial power to reverse protection findings and deport people previously granted asylum

Labor’s “draconian” deportation bill expands ministerial powers to reverse protection findings, meaning refugees could be stripped of their status and deported, the Greens and lawyers have warned.

The controversial provision in the legislation delayed by the Senate this week could see a grandmother who fled Chile under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s bloody dictatorship forced to cooperate with deportation, Human Rights for All director Alison Battisson said.

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Labor’s deportation bill could be used to blacklist entire countries’ citizens from obtaining visas to Australia

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Greens attack the legislation, now the subject of a Senate inquiry, as a ‘Trump-style travel ban’

Entire countries could be blacklisted from obtaining visas to Australia under proposed legislation that has been described by migrant groups as “appalling” and by the Greens as a “Trump-style travel ban”.

The legislation – that will now be subject to a six-week Senate inquiry – could affect applicants from Russia, Iran, Iraq and South Sudan, as well as other countries unnamed by the government, that refuse to accept the forcible return of their nationals.

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