1.3.1 Regulate entry and departure
Objective
- Provide efficient and orderly immigration processing while ensuring effective screening against those who have no entitlement to enter the country.
Description
Under this output component, the department ensures effective immigration clearance and screening processes by working closely with other border agencies, especially the Australian Customs Service, and by employing leading-edge technology to deliver a secure immigration processing system that is as non-intrusive as possible for genuine travellers.
Performance
In 2006-07, there were 24.3 million passenger and crew arrivals and departures compared to 23.3 million passengers and crew arrivals and departures in the previous year. This was an increase of 4.3 per cent.
The 2006-07 the figure comprises 22.4 million air passengers, 1.2 million air crew, 111 000 sea passengers and 653 000 sea crew, compared with 21.4 million air passengers, 1.2 million air crew, 93 000 sea passengers and 630 000 sea crew for 2005-06. There was no substantive change in the total number of air crew for 2005-06 and 2006-07.
In 2006-07, more than 39 500 passengers and 21 300 crew were reported by cruise ships through the Advance Passenger Processing system (APP). This represents more than 99 per cent of cruise ship arrivals and only minor administrative errors prevented 100 per cent compliance.
Referrals to the department at airports
The Migration Act requires citizens and non-citizens to identify themselves to a clearance officer and provide certain information in order to enter Australia.
This process is designed to regulate the entry of people to Australia and to ensure that those who enter have authority to do so, that they are who they claim to be and that they provide other information if required to do so.
The Australian Customs Service (ACS) undertakes primary immigration clearance processing on behalf of the department at Australian airports.
In 2006-07, the ACS and departmental electronic systems referred just over 300 000 air passengers to the department for reasons ranging from data amendments, to arrivals without visas, and bona fides checks. Of those referred to the department, the majority were immigration cleared to enter Australia.
Seaports
The department now has more than 20 dedicated seaports officers located in state and territory offices as well as Port Hedland and Cairns. They support the Australian Customs Service in the immigration clearance of vessels arriving at Australia’s seaports. Under an ongoing training programme, the department has delivered immigration clearance training to Customs officers at most major and several regional ports. During 2006-07, departmental immigration officers boarded 1850 vessels to examine crew and passenger documents and resolve cases identified by ACS as being of potential immigration concern.
Infringement notices
Under Australian law, international carriers entering Australia from overseas must comply with certain obligations in relation to their vessels and persons on board their vessels. It is the responsibility of the carrier to ensure that a passenger is properly authorised to travel to Australia.
Where carriers bring inadequately documented passengers or undocumented passengers to Australia, they may be liable, if convicted, to a fine of $10 000. As an alternative to prosecution carriers may elect to pay a prescribed penalty of $5000 for an offence (an infringement notice).
The department maintains this policy to deter carriers from failing to confirm passengers’ immigration status before they board an aircraft to come to Australia.
Any such oversight on the part of a carrier has scope to seriously compromise Australia’s border security.
The effectiveness of Australia’s border security initiatives is illustrated in the significant drop in the number of infringement notices served on airlines in recent years. At their peak in 1999-00, more than 5000 infringement notices were issued.
Since then, there has been a decrease of 80 per cent. In 2006-07, a total of 753 infringement notices were issued to airlines - a decrease of almost 14 per cent on the 871 notices issued in 2005-06. See figure 17.
The net number of infringement notices served on shipping vessels was 31 in 2006-07 compared to 58 in 2005-06.
Automated ePassport Control
The department has been working with the ACS to implement an automated ePassport control system. The system is part of an overall programme owned by ACS spanning four years beginning in July 2005 and ending on 30 June 2009. The impetus for the automated ePassport control programme is the increased demand on international airports in Australia with more people travelling.
In around 10 years it is anticipated that 70 per cent of air travellers entering Australia will have an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)-compliant ePassport. The automated ePassport control system will enable self-processing of eligible passengers who hold ePassports via an automated gate.
This technology, in conjunction with identity verification technology, will not only facilitate passenger processing but also enable the speedy and secure verification of incoming travellers.
The ACS plans to phase in the implementation of the automated ePassport control using ePassports at key Australian international airports. The automated ePassport control system will be voluntary for all eligible passengers.
To enable automated processing at Australia’s borders, the department amended the Migration Act 1958 to allow Australia to capitalise on currently available identification and verification technologies and expedite immigration processing.
Automated ePassport control will supplement the existing passenger facilitation strategies such as joint queuing for citizens of Australia and New Zealand at international airports.
Travel and Immigration Processing System
The department’s Travel and Immigration Processing System (TRIPS) is critical to processing international travellers. In 2006-07, the department continued to maintain the integrity of the TRIPS data and provided training on the system to airport inspectors. The department is also developing online training material so staff can access online, up-to-date training material at all times and in line with their job requirements. This will replace instructor training in a classroom environment.
The department maintained its working relationship with the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, which provides New Zealand passport data for Australian border clearance purposes.This included reviewing the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding on the transfer of New Zealand passport data, delivering enhancements to the TRIPS New Zealand passport database, developing contingency plans for any failure of the transfer and starting a project to upgrade the transfer mechanism.
People trafficking
The department works closely with its whole-of-government partners to combat the crime of trafficking in persons.
As part of this work the department refers any indicators of trafficking to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for assessment. In 2006-07, the department referred 46 matters involving 33 identified suspected victims for assessment and possible investigation.
During the year 14 people were granted Bridging F visas (BVF) and 13 people were granted Criminal Justice Stay visas (CJSV). As at 30 June 2007, one BVF was still in effect and 32 suspected victims of trafficking held CJSVs. A further four people were granted temporary Witness Protection (Trafficking) visas.
The department provides training on combating trafficking in people for compliance officers through the College of Immigration. The department also includes awareness sessions in other departmental training programmes and delivers a session to participants in the transnational sexual exploitation and trafficking training programme run by the Australian Federal Police.
Fraud investigations
The department takes seriously any attempts to commit fraud against its programmes. In 2006-07 the department received 2543 allegations. As a result a number of court matters were initiated, concluded or were ongoing during the year.
A total of 11 new briefs of evidence were submitted to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for consideration, resulting in seven new prosecutions being undertaken. Seven prosecutions were successfully completed in 2006-07.
For example, a migration agent was charged in 2006 with nine counts against section 234(1)(c) of the Migration Act 1958.
The agent had lodged Protection visas for eight clients that contained false and misleading statements. He pleaded guilty to all offences, and on 23 May 2007 was convicted on all nine counts. He was given 100 hours community service for each offence, to be served concurrently.
During the course of the investigation, the Migration Agents Registration Authority also barred him from being registered as a migration agent for a period of five years.
Some changes to personal identifier legislation had unintentionally inhibited the department’s ability to investigate cases of fraud in the preceding financial year which led to a reduction in the number of prosecutions the department was able to undertake. Subsequent changes to the legislation in May 2007 have removed these impediments.
The department revitalised its investigation officer training in 2006-07, arranging certificate and diploma-level investigation courses adapted specifically to the department’s needs. A combination of external providers supported by internal subject matter experts has ensured that the department meets its obligations under the government’s Fraud Control Policy to have properly accredited staff.
Administration of criminal justice visas
The department continues to support law enforcement agencies through the operation of the Criminal Justice visa programme. A Criminal Justice Entry visa may be granted to a foreign national offshore who is required to enter Australia temporarily as a defendant or a witness for criminal justice purposes. A Criminal Justice Stay visa may be granted to a person already in Australia for those purposes.
In 2006-07, a total of 46 Criminal Justice Entry visas were granted. A total of 75 Criminal Justice Stay visas were granted.