2016] The Protection of Stateless Persons in Australian Law 445 order to enable the release of detainees ‘who have been cooperating with efforts to remove them from Australia, but whose removal is not reasonably practicable at that time.’233 It can be granted by the Minister pursuant to s 195A of the Migration Act.234 A detainee cannot initiate an application, but must be invited to do so by the Minister.235 All applicants must meet the relevant character and security requirements before it can be granted. Key concerns with the RPBV are that an applicant cannot initiate the application, the grant is discretionary (and practice has been inconsistent), the benefits available are less extensive than those available to holders of protection visas,236 and conditions are onerous.237 In short, this visa does not provide a secure legal status as required by the 1954 Convention and hence does not provide a mechanism through which Australia’s international obligations to stateless persons can be fulfilled. V I T H E N E E D F O R A S TAT E L E S S N E S S S TAT U S D E T E R M I NAT I O N P R O C E D U R E I N A U S T R A L IA The analysis above of the inadequacy of domestic legal protection for stateless persons in Australia suggests that the introduction of a specific status determination procedure — supported by a legislative framework — is necessary.238 This would improve Australia’s ability to respect its obligations under the 1954 Convention. In particular, it would meet two core objectives, namely, to provide a dedicated procedure to accurately and effectively identify stateless persons, and to confer an established status which accords basic 233 Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Cth), Fact Sheet — Removal Pending Bridging Visa (RPBV) <https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/factsheets/85removalpending>. 234 Migration Act s 195A empowers the Minister with the discretion to grant a visa to a person in immigration detention. 235 Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) reg 2.20A. 236 For example, ‘[t]he RPBV does not allow for sponsorship of family members or provide any right of re-entry if the visa holder departs Australia’: Department of Immigration and Border Protection (Cth), Fact Sheet, above n 233. 237 For details, see Sarah Joseph and Azadeh Dastyari, Submission No 12 to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Inquiry into the Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test and Other Provisions) Bill 2011 [Provisions], 31 May 2011. 238 This Part draws heavily on Jane McAdam, ‘Position Paper on a Statelessness Determination Procedure for Australia’ (Position Paper, Refugee Council of Australia, 29 September 2011) <https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/r/s&l/120600-SSD.pdf.pdf>.