In January this year, Christine Nixon, AO, APM, was appointed to undertake a that found “abuses of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and other organised crime” in Australia’s immigration system.
The Review identified significant gaps and weaknesses in Australia’s visa system – a system Peter Dutton personally oversaw for six years.
“It is clear that gaps and weaknesses in Australia’s visa system are allowing this to happen,” Ms Nixon said.
The Albanese Labor Government inherited a broken immigration system where abuse of Australia’s visa system ran rampant.
Peter Dutton presented himself as a tough guy who secured our border and kept Australia safe.
But as the findings in the Review show, the reality is that under his watch criminals were abusing Australia’s visa system – and Peter Dutton turned a blind eye.
This is clearly demonstrated by a near 50 per cent reduction in the number of compliance officers in the nine years to 2022/23.
The Albanese Labor Government will not turn a blind eye to the exploitation of Australia’s visa system.
These problems are systemic and will take time to fix, but today’s announcement demonstrates clear action to clean up Peter Dutton’s mess.
With increased resourcing of $50 million, the Albanese Labor Government will establish a new Division within the Department of ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs to re-prioritise immigration compliance and protect the integrity of the visa and migration system.
This Division will target the organised abuse of immigration programs, work to resolve the immigration status of those people whose onshore visa options have been exhausted and improve protections for vulnerable migrants.
The Albanese Labour Government will also strengthen fit and proper person assessments for registered migration agents (RMAs), improve the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA)’s ability to sanction unscrupulous RMAs, provide a stronger framework for the OMARA to address criminality in the migration advice industry and increase financial penalties for providing unlawful immigration assistance.
Operation INGLENOOK, an ABF-led multi-agency operation to identify individuals including licensed migration agents and other professional facilitators who are complicit in exploitation of the visa program, will be integrated into the new Immigration Compliance Division as an enduring operational capability.
It will focus on addressing systematic migrant worker exploitation across all industries and the misuse of the visa and migration system.
For more information:
ATTRIBUTABLE TO MINISTER O’NEIL:
“One of the great frauds that’s been perpetrated in Australian politics is Peter Dutton presenting himself as the big tough guy who kept our border secure and our nation safe.”
“Christine Nixon’s Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System reveals the extent of that fraud.”
“The truth is that Peter Dutton, first as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and later as Minister for ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs, presided over a migration system that was used to facilitate some of the worst crimes in our society.”
“The issues raised in the Nixon report are not new. The warning signs were there. Now, we are getting on with the job of cleaning up Peter Dutton’s mess.”
ATTRIBUTABLE TO MINISTER GILES:
“The Nixon Review has identified significant abuse and misuse of Australia’s visa system- a system Peter Dutton oversaw personally for over six years.
“Through a reinvigorated immigration compliance function and increased regulation of Registered Migration Agents, we’re taking action to undo a decade of Dutton’s mismanagement.
“By once again prioritising integrity in immigration, we’re able to protect vulnerable communities from exploitation, and make our visa system fairer for everyone.”
