Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was warned that new regulations introduced by him had not been thoroughly tested for sex offenders and other offenders with work and family links to Australia, documents released under Freedom of Information laws have shown. .
Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan said Giles, who has been under intense fire since late last year following a series of immigration disasters, should resign following the latest revelation.
More than 150 detainees, including murderers and sex offenders, have been released after the High Court ruled it was illegal to detain someone indefinitely if there was no real prospect of removing them from Australia.
Before introducing what is called Direction 99, Mr Giles was told the effect of the change on sex offenders and violent offenders with family ties and work history in Australia had not been thoroughly tested.
An August 2022 briefing note written by immigration officials informed Giles that the immigration department had tested the effect of the change in 10 previous cases, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has been warned that new regulations introduced by him could help sex offenders avoid being deported from Australia.
In what is known as a “desk exercise”, Mr Giles was told that in the three cases involving serious crimes, including murder and sexual offenses against children, the criminal would still have been deported.
The Immigration Minister was advised that it was “important to note that none of those three cases had family links and only one had any work history”.
Mr. Giles was therefore informed that the proposed change would not affect the total number of serious and violent sex offenders being deported.
“It is clear from this Government document that Andrew Giles put the safety of the Australian community at risk based on a flawed document review of which he was informed,” Mr Tehan said.
“It’s just another reason why I should resign,” Mr Tehan said.
But a spokeswoman for Giles said “advice provided to the Minister indicated that the order was not expected to affect serious and violent sexual offenders.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mr Giles said Address 99 will be changed.
Labor blamed the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for misinterpreting the order made by Giles in January 2023, resulting in up to 60 foreign-born offenders receiving leniency.
‘The Albanian government has always said that visa decisions should be guided by two clear principles. Firstly, the protection of the Australian community. Secondly, common sense,” said Mr Giles.
“Several recent decisions by the AAT have not shown common sense.”
Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan (pictured) said Giles, who has been under intense fire since late last year following a series of immigration disasters, should resign over the latest revelation.
Giles revealed during question time that, in response to the crisis, the Government is “introducing new and revised ministerial direction to ensure clear principles”.
He said the revised direction will ensure that “all (AAT) members adopt a common sense approach to visa decisions, in line with the intention of Ministerial Direction 99”.
He also confirmed that he and his department are in the process of “reviewing recent AAT decisions”.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Giles and Tehan for further comment.
