Overview

Contributing to Australia's society and its economic advancement through the lawful and orderly entry and stay of people.

There are eight outputs under Outcome 1:

Activities under this outcome include:

  • facilitating the permanent entry or stay of skilled migrants and close family members; and managing the temporary entry or stay of people with identified skills or for the purposes of study, tourism, working holidays or to take part in other specialised activities
  • managing the government's Humanitarian Program offshore and onshore by providing protection in, and resettlement to, Australia to those in humanitarian need
  • providing a temporary safe haven in Australia for people displaced by upheaval in their home country
  • delivering on Australia's commitment to border protection by screening those who are not entitled to enter Australia and detecting and detaining and/or removing those who do not have lawful authority to be in Australia
  • delivering major IT enabled business transformation through the Systems for People program.

Table 3: Outcome 1—performance information
Measure Result
The extent to which Australia is economically, socially and culturally enriched by migration and temporary entry
The extent to which entry of migrants results in a positive impact on living standards as measured by models of the economic impact of immigration Modelling by the Productivity Commission and Econotech confirms the positive impact on living standards of additional skilled migration. The Treasurer’s 2007 intergenerational report also noted that ‘because the proportion of migrants of prime working age is higher than for the resident population, an increase to migrant numbers leads to a rise in gross domestic product per person.’
The extent of positive impact on the Federal Budget from immigration including long term entry as measured by models of the impact of immigration on the Federal Budget Recent modelling confirms that migrants contribute significantly to the Federal Budget. Continuation of the Migration Program at the 2007–08 level is estimated to contribute to about $856 million in the first year of their arrival. This contribution increases to about $1.4 billion in the 10 years after arrival1.

Additionally, continuation of 2007–08 Temporary Business Entry migrants intake is estimated to contribute about $1.4 billion in the first year of their arrival and a cumulative benefit of about $7.5 billion in the 10 years after arrival1.
The Migration Program is delivered in line with government planning levels In 2007–08, the migration program outcome was 158 630 places which is 0.1 per cent less than government planning levels.
The proportion of skill stream principal applicants with either an occupation tested against the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) or who are employer sponsored In 2007–08, 65.95 per cent of skill stream principal applicants either had occupations tested against the MODL or were employer sponsored. This is an increase from 60 per cent in 2006–07 and 51 per cent in 2005–06.
The extent to which visiting overseas students and tourists contribute to growth in education and tourism service industries Tourism and international education remain the two largest service export industries in Australia. The international education industry contributed $12.5 billion in export income to the Australian economy in 2007, up 17 per cent from the previous calendar year.

Student visa holders are the largest group of temporary residents in Australia. During 2007–08 there was a 21.69 per cent increase in student visa grants compared to the previous program year.

Initiatives implemented by the department are aimed at supporting these industries by exploring and instigating client service improvements, especially eVisa, which allows clients to apply online. The overall volume of the student program presents an ongoing challenge to the department to maintain an appropriate balance between facilitating access for genuine students and preventing abuse of the provisions.
The extent to which visiting overseas students and tourists contribute to growth in education and tourism service industries During 2007–08, the department continued to support the tourism industry by facilitating the entry of genuine visitors to Australia. There were 3 609 928 visitor visas granted offshore in 2007–08, a slight decrease on 2006–07. Another important milestone was reached by the Approved Destination Status scheme with more than 97 113 Chinese citizens granted visas.

The approval rate for offshore tourist visas remained high at 98.07 per cent, with a non-return rate of only 1.31 per cent. The department continued to support growth in both industries by developing new modes of service delivery, such as enhanced electronic lodgement processes, and engaging service delivery partners to increase the number of locations for lodgement of visa applications. The department works closely with other government agencies and the bodies that represent both the tourism and international education industries in developing and enhancing client services.
Diversity of nationalities as measured by the number of countries with more than 100 visas under the Migration and Humanitarian programs Through the 2007–08 Migration Program, the department issued 100 or more visas to people from 76 different nationalities while through the Humanitarian Program, the department issued 100 or more visas to people from 17 different nationalities.
The extent to which there is adherence to Australian entry and stay requirements
Decrease in unauthorised arrivals over time as a proportion of total passenger and crew arrivals In 2007–08, there was a 14 per cent decrease in air arrivals refused immigration clearance at airports despite a five per cent increase in air passenger and crew arrivals. The decrease indicates the success of Australia’s layered approach to border processing, particularly the Airline Liaison Officer network and the Advance Passenger Processing System.
Proportion of overstayers against temporary visa grants decreases over time The proportion of overstayers against temporary visa grants remained less than 1 per cent in 2007–08.
Number of cancellations for breaches of visa conditions In 2007–08, the department cancelled visas for a variety of reasons, the majority under section 128 of the Migration Act 1958, cancellation of visas of people outside Australia.2
Median period of overstay of those located is reduced over time During 2007–08, about 50 per cent of people self-resolved their immigration status by voluntarily leaving Australia within three to four months of becoming overstayers. This reflects the department’s focus on the promotion of voluntary compliance, early intervention and resolution of cases.3
The extent to which public health and safety are protected through immigration screening
The incidence of tuberculosis relative to the percentage of overseas born in the Australian population compared to the same ratio for other major developed countries The table below demonstrates Australia’s low rate of incidence of tuberculosis (TB) compared to the size of the overseas-born (o/s) population. This indicates the success of Australia’s health screening procedures for prospective migrants.
Country Population1 (000s) 2006 o/s2 population percentage TB cases3 reported TB rate4 (cases per 100 000) TB cases as a percentage of (o/s) population
Australia 20 605 23.8 1 329 6 0.027
Canada 32 623 19.1 1 678 5 0.027
France 61 353 8.1 8 630 14 0.174
Germany 82 368 12.9 5 370 6 0.051
New Zealand 4 141 19.4 352 9 0.044
Sweden 9 081 12.4 549 6 0.049
UK 60 587 9.7 9 358 15 0.159
USA 299 398 12.9 13 148 4 0.034

Sources:

  1. OECD, statistical data: www.oecd.org/topicstatsportal
  2. Numbers of foreign born population in selected OECD Countries in International Migration Outlook 2007 edition. OECD: www.oecd.org
  3. Global tuberculosis control, 2008 Surveillance Planning and Financing: World Health Organisation
  4. WHO Global Tuberculosis Database (TB figures for 2006) available at www.who.int.
Number of persons removed whose visas are cancelled or refused under s. 501 The total number of persons removed whose visas are cancelled or refused under section 501 of the Migration Act was 65.
The extent to which Australia contributes to international efforts to address the plight of refugees and other people of concern and meets its international protection obligations
Levels of support for the international protection framework as measured by the level of Australia’s contribution to international resettlement, Australia’s representation in key international fora and effectiveness of implementation of domestic protection legislation Australia continued to play a major role in key international fora in promoting practical solutions to international protection problems, and in seeking solutions for refugees that support managed humanitarian movement where possible. Australia was represented at senior official level at the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in bilateral dialogue on these issues with like-minded countries and with the European Commission. Australia was also represented at senior official level in a range of other UNHCR fora and at meetings of bodies such as the Inter-Governmental Consultations on Asylum, Refugee and Migration Policies and the Asia Pacific Consultations on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Migrants. Australia continues to administer one of the three largest humanitarian resettlement programs in the world and maintains an effective onshore protection system.
The Humanitarian Program is delivered in line with government planning levels A total of 13 014 visas were granted against a planned program of 13 000 new places and 11 399 nominally available places4. In the refugee category, 6004 visas were granted against 6085 available places. In the Special Humanitarian Program category, 7010 visas, including 2215 visas under the onshore component, were granted against 5314 places.
The extent to which the detention of unlawful-non citizens is lawful, appropriate and humane
No children detained in immigration detention centres No children are held in immigration detention centres. Should children come into immigration detention, they are initially placed with their families in immigration residential housing or alternative detention arrangements are made while their case is referred to the minister who decides on placement in community detention (residence determination).
Appropriate placement of people in the immigration detention services network People were appropriately placed in the immigration detention network following assessment and regular review.
Individual health management strategies available for all people in immigration detention The management of the health and wellbeing of those in immigration detention requires a person-centred approach which recognises that each individual has unique health and wellbeing requirements. Each person has a health assessment when they enter immigration detention and their health needs are individually managed according to the clinical recommendations of the health care provider.
People detained for shortest possible time On 31 July 2007, the average time spent in detention was 418 days. This had decreased to 308 days by 30 June 2008. There was a reduction of 26 per cent over this period.
Average time spent in detention is reduced over time
The extent to which persons in offshore processing centres are provided with appropriate care and accommodation and the opportunity for any asylum claims to be considered
Maintain government agreed capacity at Offshore Processing Centres (OPCs) The requirement to sustain a total capacity of 1500 places in OPCs in Nauru and Manus Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG) was maintained until the government’s decision to end the ‘Pacific Strategy’ and close the OPCs.
Operational readiness (including facilities) is maintained in accordance with the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Nauru and PNG Operational readiness was maintained in accordance with MOUs with the governments of Nauru and PNG until the government’s decision to end the ‘Pacific Strategy’ and close the OPCs. After the closure of the OPCs on 31 March 2008, the MOU with Nauru, which governs Australia’s development assistance program, was amended to remove any reference to the OPC and the MOU with PNG was allowed to lapse.
  1. Estimates based on ‘Migrants Fiscal Impact Model: 2008 Update’ report dated 11 April 2008 by Access Economics.
  2. A breakdown of visa cancellations by breaches and other reasons is not available at the time of publication.
  3. The median period of overstay for those located by the department is not available at the time of publication.
  4. Humanitarian Program places can be managed flexibly across program years with places able to be carried over to, or brought forward from, the next program year. The 11 399 places available for use in 2007–08 were made up of 13 000 new places minus 1703 places brought forward for use in 2006–07, plus 94 places for offshore visas granted in 2005–06 but not taken up, plus eight places re-credited to the program due to holders of temporary protection and humanitarian visas departing Australia during 2006–07.