11 September 2014 the High Court ruled the issuing of TPVs without the appropriate legislative powers invalid. To overcome the High Court objections, on 5 December 2014, legislation was passed to reintroduce TPVs to specifically deal with the backlog of 30,000 asylum seekers yet to be processed left by the former Labor Government. The legislation was passed by the Coalition Government with support of the cross bench in the Senate. See also Special Category Visa Temporary Protection Directive – European Union counterpart Temporary protected status – United States counterpart References External links Human Rights Watch Commentary On Australia's Temporary Protection Visas For Refugees Rudd Government scraps Temporary Protection visas Protection Visa - Refugee Visa Application (Class XA) (Subclass 866) Visa policy of Australia Refugees