DIMIA Annual Report 2001-02
1.3.2 Prevent unlawful entry
Objective
This output component delivers on Australia's commitment to
border protection.
The department has established offshore and border operations to
identify and detect people who have no entitlement to enter
Australia and to prevent their entry.
Description
The department employs strategies to detect and prevent unlawful entry through deterrence, disruption and the enforcement of law as well as engaging other countries in efforts to deal effectively with irregular flows of people.
The department's operations are concentrated on:
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disrupting people smuggling activities
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combating unauthorised boat arrivals through prevention and deterrence strategies
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assisting in the prevention of fraud against the department's visa programs
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preventing unlawful entry by people who are either improperly documented, constitute a threat to the community on national security or character grounds or otherwise fail to meet the requirements for entry.
Key results
The effectiveness of efforts to deal with prospective unlawful entrants before they arrive in Australia was highlighted by the following factors:
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the virtual cessation of arrivals of unauthorised boats in the latter part of the 2001-02 year, after peaking earlier in the year.
The number of unauthorised boat arrivals for 2001-02 stood at 1,212 people on six boats. This figure excludes 1,834 people on 13 boats who are or were being accommodated in processing centres offshore and 600 people on four boats who were returned to Indonesia.
Even collectively, these outcomes are well below both the expected number of unauthorised boat arrivals published in the 2001-02 Portfolio Budget Statements (5,500), and the actual number of unauthorised boat arrivals recorded in 2000-01 (4,137) and 1999-2000 (4,175) -
a continuing downward trend in the number of people who are refused entry at the border (1,193 in 2001-02 which continues a decline from 1,695 in 1999-2000, to 1,508 in 2000-01 a fall of almost 30 per cent over two years).
Notably, the number of people arriving at Australian airports who prima facie engaged Australia's protection obligations declined from 201 in 2000-01 to only 85 in 2001-02 (a fall of 57.7 per cent over one year).
Key factors contributing to the fall in these numbers include Australia's expanded Airline Liaison Officer network and the more widespread adoption of Advance Passenger Processing by airlines -
of the 1,193 people refused entry at Australian airports, 1,108 people (or 93 per cent) were turned around within approximately 72 hours because they had no basis to remain in Australia.
This compares with 1,307 people turned around in 2000-01 (87 per cent of the total 1,508 people refused entry in that year) -
the considerable contribution of the airline industry to the maintenance of Australia's entry arrangements.
The industry's adoption of technology and effective training of staff contributed to a continuing reduction in the number of improperly documented people arriving at Australian airports.
Infringement notices imposed on carriers for bringing improperly documented people to Australia fell from 5,051 in 1999-2000 to 4,523 in 2000-01 and again to 3,211 in 2001-02 – a drop of over 36 per cent over two years -
the Four Countries Conference (FCC) hosted by Australia in Sydney in April 2002 which focussed on the theme enhancing border security post 11 September
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amendments to the Migration Act in September 2001 to remove the ability for unauthorised arrivals who land on Australian excised offshore places to access Australia's comprehensive visa application and review processes
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the establishment of offshore processing centres in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, to facilitate the assessment of offshore asylum seekers by the Australian Government and the UNHCR
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106 cases were finalised by prosecution for offences against section 232A (Organising bringing groups of non-citizens into Australia) and section 233(1)(a) (Persons concerned in bringing non-citizens into Australia in contravention of this Act or harbouring illegal entrants) of the Migration Act
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an improved, immigration specific, intelligence capability which supported whole-of-government decision making during a number of high profile events through 2001-02, including the early unprecedented number of unauthorised boats from Indonesia and the detection and disruption of an attempt to launch a major people smuggling operation from Cambodia
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on 17 April 2002 airside access was reinstated to Australian Airline Liaison Officers at Singapore Changi International Airport – this provides an improved basis for the detection of improperly documented travellers from one of the key transit hubs for flights to Australia
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DIMIA's onshore and offshore compliance networks worked in close cooperation with their counterparts and police in various countries to achieve the arrest of major people smugglers in Cambodia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Australia.
Similar cooperation has also resulted in the disruption of scams involving irregular migration from China via Australia to North America -
the details of 270 visa applicants were referred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (227 in 2000-01) for screening.