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About the Department

DIMIA Annual Report 2001-02

OUTPUT 1.3 ENFORCEMENT OF IMMIGRATION LAW

1.3.1 Regulate entry and departure

Objective

This output component ensures Australia's ability to provide efficient and orderly immigration processing while ensuring an effective screen against those who have no entitlement to enter the country.

Description

The department uses leading edge technology to deliver a secure immigration processing system which is as non-intrusive as possible for genuine travellers. The process also provides accurate and timely records of people movements.

The department works in conjunction with the Australian Customs Service to provide a streamlined immigration clearance process.

To achieve these goals, the department has established cooperative relationships with airlines as well as investing in systems which enable checks of travellers' immigration status before they board planes to Australia.

Key results

  • there were a total of 17,717,894 arrivals and departures in 2001-02 (passengers and crew).

    The 16,667,566 passenger arrivals and departures recorded in 2001-02 represented a decrease of 5.7 per cent compared with the 2000-01 year.

    The decline in passenger numbers could be attributed to several factors including the impact of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA

  • during 2001-02 the Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system was extended to four more airlines - British Airways, China Airlines, Air Canada and Thai International.

    At the end of the 2001-02 year DIMIA and the Australian Customs Service had entered into MOUs for the implementation of APP with a total of nine airlines.

    The other APP airlines are Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Japan Airlines

  • the department contributed to the success of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in March 2002 by facilitating the entry of delegates and contributing to the implementation of security measures for the meeting.

    The department met its aims of ensuring that all persons connected to the event entering Australia were granted visas quickly and efficiently and that their entry was facilitated while maintaining border integrity and a high level of security

  • ETA visas were made available on the Internet in late May 2001 and 2001-02 saw a successful first full year of that service

  • in August 2001 the ETA scheme was extended to Portugal – the 32nd participant in the scheme

  • the ETA system is now accessed by over 300,000 travel agents and over 75 airlines worldwide. Over 12 million ETAs have been issued

  • Australia hosted the 31st meeting of the International Air Transport Association/Control Authorities Working Group in April 2002

  • the department commissioned a new passenger card processing system. Although there have been delays associated with the new system, it is now meeting agreed standards for the provision of data to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

    The new process also supports the enforcement functions of DIMIA and other agencies by providing instant on line access to images of passenger cards for purposes of the Migration Act, law enforcement and other authorised purposes within two weeks of the date of movement.

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