Will Labor restore immigration compliance activity?

May 3, 2023
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One of the many appalling consequences of establishing the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), and transfer of immigration compliance functions to Australian Border Force (ABF), was an extraordinary cut back in immigration compliance activity.

While many will celebrate the reduction in immigration compliance activity, this fails to recognise the purpose of immigration compliance is to minimise the risk of unscrupulous operators rorting the visa system. Poor enforcement of immigration laws undermines public confidence in immigration and limits Australia’s ability to use immigration in the national interest.

The Albanese Government will need to increase immigration compliance activity significantly if its migration strategy is to be effective.

The decline in immigration compliance activity started around the same time as the start of the biggest labour trafficking scam abusing the asylum system in Australian history. That scam has resulted in over 100,000 asylum seekers currently in Australia, the vast majority of whom are being refused and gradually becoming unlawful non-citizens with no work rights. The obsession with boat arrivals had completely overtaken the new DHA and ABF.

How much was immigration compliance activity reduced?

The location of illegal workers by ABF has fallen steadily since 2014-15 (see Table 1).

Source: DHA Annual Reports

Many unlawful non-citizens are counted as having been ‘located’ when they depart Australia. Their ‘location’ is not actually the result of any compliance activity by ABF. That explains why the number of unlawful non-citizens ‘located’ has remained relatively stable.

The extraordinary decline in the number of illegal workers located is a more accurate reflection of compliance activity. This is at a time the number of illegal workers in Australia has likely increased very significantly given the massive labour trafficking scam and rise in the number of unsuccessful asylum seekers in the country.

This is also reflected in Chart 1 which highlights the decline in immigration compliance work targeting illegal workers and the employers who use and often exploit them. The extraordinary decline in warning notices to employers who use illegal workers is not due to any fall in the number of employers involved in such activity. It is a function of reduced immigration compliance activity. The message this sends to employers is that employing (and exploiting) illegal workers can be done with impunity. Such exploitation also means wages for low skill Australian workers are held down illegally.

Source: DHA Annual Reports

While the number of asylum seekers in Australia who have been refused at the primary stage is now over 74,000 and the number also refused at the AAT is over 35,000, the number being located and removed averages around 10 per month, most of whom are voluntary removals. That can only mean the number of refused asylum seekers working illegally is steadily rising as they have no other means to survive.It is highly likely that the review of visa integrity undertaken by former Police Commissioner Christine Nixon will have recommended that immigration compliance activity is beefed up. This will be even more important when student visa work rights are again restricted from July 2023.But will the Albanese Government do so and can ABF be trusted to give immigration compliance the priority required given its history of de-prioritising this function? Does the immigration compliance function need to again operate hand in hand with all other immigration functions?

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