NCJ Number
188576
Date Published
1999
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This report discusses immigration compliance issues under the jurisdiction of Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) for fiscal year 1999-2000.
Abstract
The report noted that the influx of unauthorized boat arrivals of immigrants had continued throughout the year. The Government had responded by developing even closer cooperation among its various agencies to combat the threat to the integrity of national borders. This report reflects this interagency cooperation by providing reports from the various agencies involved in the effort. An external Reference Group on People Smuggling was created in November 1999 to assess Australia's effectiveness in combating people-smuggling. The Group published its report in December, strongly supporting the Government's initiatives to overcome the practice. Onshore, compliance issues had also remained a focus. When people were caught entering Australia illegally or overstaying their visa, they were required to be detained. To relieve the pressure on onshore detention operations, the Government pledged substantial funds to implement a long-term detention strategy, upgrading existing detention facilities and developing new facilities. In 1999-2000, 14,369 people were discovered overstaying their visas or acting in breach of their visa conditions, including working illegally. The Government has accepted recommendations from the Review of Illegal Workers in Australia; the recommendations would make it easier for employers to identify people without work rights and provide for sanctions against employers and labor suppliers who repeatedly used illegal workers. Extensive tables and figures