New AAT president named

Who will manage the Administrative Appeals Tribunal during its reform process and ultimately the new organisation when the AAT is disbanded has been made known by the acting Attorney-General.

Now, Senator Katy Gallagher — currently serving as acting Attorney-General — has announced that the Albanese government is recommending Victorian Judge of Appeal Justice Emilios Kyrou AO as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and as president of the AAT.

Kyrou J was selected, the acting A-G noted, through a “transparent and merit-based process” and has the experience and capacity to lead a trusted federal administrative review body in a fair, efficient, accessible and independent manner.

The appointment is subject to approval from Governor-General David Hurley. Once approved, His Honour will commence as a Federal Court judge on 8 June and then as AAT president the following day.

Dentons’ combination with Link Legal in India commences

The combination between global law firm Dentons and Indian-based firm Link Legal, entered into in October of last year, is now underway.

Dentons Link Legal will be a leading full-service law firm, with more than 19 practice areas and 150 lawyers and professionals.

As reported last week by Lawyers Weekly, the opening up of India will also impact in-house lawyers in Australia.

Also in March, Dentons revealed its intention to combine with Philippine law firm PJS Law, as the firm looks to shore up its position in south-east Asia.

Release of the Outline of the Migration Strategy

The outline will form the basis of the government’s Migration Strategy, which is expected to be considered in late 2023.

The outline considers four critical policy shifts to Australia’s migration system:

• Prioritizing the people we need to enhance our security and economic prosperity.
• Making it simple for migrants and efficient for employers.
• Delivering outcomes for Australia and migrants post-arrival.
• Restoring values of integrity, fairness and inclusion at each stage of the system.​​

NZ Citizens’ Direct Pathway to Australian Citizenship

The Minister declared that certain New Zealand nationals will be entitled to apply for direct Australian citizenship starting on July 1, 2023, with little other notice than the suspension of procedure.

There are also unanswered questions regarding the specifics of the procedure, such as how NZ citizens’ SC 461 VH partners will be handled and whether refunds will be offered to those NZ citizens with pending SC 189 NZ stream applications.

TSMIT will increase from $53,900 to $70,000 on 1 July 2023