{"id":"C2007A00110","name":"Migration (Sponsorship Fees) Act 2007","slug":"migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"110 of 2007","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":8002,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2007A00110-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Migration (Sponsorship Fees) Act 2007","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nMigration (Sponsorship Fees) Act 2007\n\n \n\nNo. 110, 2007\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to make payable certain fees paid in relation to sponsorship of applicants for temporary visas, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Fees payable\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\nMigration (Sponsorship Fees) Act 2007\n\nNo. 110, 2007\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to make payable certain fees paid in relation to sponsorship of applicants for temporary visas, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 28 June 2007]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Migration (Sponsorship Fees) Act 2007.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Fees payable\n\n (1) This section applies to a fee paid if:\n\n (a) the fee was paid for the sponsorship of an applicant for a temporary visa; and\n\n (b) the application was made on or after 1 May 1997 and before 24 May 2007; and\n\n (c) the fee was purportedly paid under regulation 5.38 of the Migration Regulations 1994.\n\n (2) The fee is taken to have been payable at the time the fee was paid.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 30 May 2007\n\nSenate on 14 June 2007]\n\n(85/07)\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: validating specific sponsorship fees paid during a defined historical window. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act does exactly what its title and long title describe, with no expansion into unrelated areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 operative sections (short title, commencement, and fees payable)","Single substantive provision with straightforward retrospective validation","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond naming the Migration Regulations 1994","Simple conditional structure: three cumulative criteria in subsection (1), single operative effect in subsection (2)","No exceptions, exemptions, or discretionary powers","Approximately 200 words of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"This short Act cures a technical defect in regulation 5.38 and retrospectively validates sponsorship fees charged for temporary visas between 1 May 1997 and 24 May 2007. It makes those fees legally payable after the fact, protecting government revenue and giving legal certainty to sponsors and visa applicants who were affected by the earlier doubt."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act's text confines its effect to deeming specified past sponsorship fees payable (s3). The instrument itself does not indicate any departure from that narrow declaratory purpose or a broader change of scope beyond validating those historical payments."},"complexity_factors":["Very short, single-purpose statute limited to a narrow retrospective deeming (s3(1)–(2)).","Application depends on a cross-reference to regulation 5.38 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (s3(1)(c)), requiring external look-up.","Temporal limitation creates a clear eligibility window (applications made between 1 May 1997 and before 24 May 2007) (s3(1)(b)).","No procedural rules, remedies or enforcement mechanisms are set out, leaving consequences (refunds, liabilities) to other law or practice.","Low statutory discretion—the Act operates as a deeming provision rather than an administrative scheme (s3(2)).","Commencement is immediate on Royal Assent (s2), so retrospective effect is explicit and immediate."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act retrospectively declares that certain sponsorship fees for temporary-visa applications are to be treated as having been legally payable at the time they were paid. It covers fees paid for sponsorship where the visa application was made on or after 1 May 1997 and before 24 May 2007, and where the charge was said to be under regulation 5.38 of the Migration Regulations 1994. Mechanically, it validates those past payments as payable (s3(1)–(2))."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007","history":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007/history","analysis":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/migration-sponsorship-fees-act-2007/documents"}}