Print1.2.2 Protection visas (onshore)
Objective
This component aims to ensure that Australia efficiently and effectively fulfils its international obligation not to return, directly or indirectly, refugees to a place of persecution. Protection visas allow for the stay in Australia of people to whom Australia owes protection obligations under the United Nations Refugees Convention and Protocol.
Description
Protection visas allow for the stay in Australia of people to whom Australia has protection obligations under the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by the Refugees Protocol 1967.
Performance
During the year there were 3987 initial Protection visa applications lodged, which is a 6.5 per cent increase on 3743 in 2006–07. At 30 June 2008, 990 initial Protection visa applicants were awaiting a first instance decision from the department. Of these, 274 (28 per cent) had a bridging visa in effect with no work rights. Assistance under the Asylum Seeker Assistance scheme was provided to 1867 Protection visa applicants at a cost of $4.79 million.
The department finalised 4901 Protection visa applications in 2007–08. These included first instance outcomes, outcomes following review tribunal remittals and certain visa cancellation decisions. These figures represent a decrease from 5067 finalisations in 2006–07, which reflects the large number of further Protection visa applications from Temporary Protection visa (TPV) and offshore Temporary Humanitarian visa (THV) holders finalised in that year. A total of 2431 Protection visas were granted following primary, review, or ministerial intervention decisions. This represents an increase on the 2243 Protection visas granted in 2006–07.
In 2007–08, 1930 of the Protection visas granted resulted from initial applications, while 496 resulted from applications for further protection by TPV and THV holders and five resulted from ministerial intervention. Of the 2431 Protection visas granted, 1900 were part of the Humanitarian Program. The remainder included grants of further protection to TPV and THV holders who had already been counted as part of the Humanitarian Program and grants through operation of law to Australian-born children of Protection visa holders.
Of the 2431 Protection visas granted in 2007–08, 91 per cent were permanent Protection visas. This reflects both the small number of unauthorised boat and air arrivals during 2006–07 and the fact that almost all further Protection visas granted to TPV and THV holders were permanent Protection visas.
The department continued to focus on improving processes to ensure the integrity of Protection visa decision making and further enhanced its biannual quality assurance process. The department continued to show high levels of compliance with policy and procedural requirements overall, and a focus on increasing timely, accurate case progress data entry and improving record keeping processes.
The department continued to work with other agencies to reduce waiting times for character and other checks beyond its control.
In 2007–08, the department finalised 3441 ministerial intervention assessments in relation to former Protection visa applicants. This is a 41 per cent reduction from the 2006–07 total of 5882 assessments finalised.
The Country Information and Protection Support Section continued to maintain and expand its information holdings. At 30 June 2008, the section held over 165 843 documents electronically or in hard copy relating to human rights and refugee issues, in addition to electronic copies of key major human rights reports or country information collections from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The majority of new information, including most reports previously provided to decision makers in hard copy, is now provided in electronic format. As a result, many of the longer, more complex reports are now fully text searchable from within the system and more accessible to decision makers.
Table 45: Protection visas—performance information1| Measures | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | |
| Quantity | |||
| 5350 onshore protection applications (persons) finalised | 8 226 | 5 067 | 4 901 |
| 30 matters relating to complaints to, and assessments for, UN treaty bodies | 9 | 31 | 9 |
| 250 persons in detention assisted under the Immigration Advice and Applications Assistance Scheme | 624 | 343 | 387 |
| Quality | |||
| 100 per cent of applications decided within 90 days in accordance with legislation | 72.39% | 84.14% | 79.58% |
| 60 per cent of applications from applicants in detention decided within 42 days of lodgement | 51.30% | 66.90% | — 2 |
- Legislative changes on 12 December 2005 required 100 per cent of all applications to be decided within 90 days of a specified date. This includes periods where factors beyond the department’s control prevent finalisation. This is measured against initial primary application outcomes.
- Data temporarily unavailable for technical reasons at time of publication.
Table 46: Protection visa grants 2007–08
| Visa type | Temporary Protection visas | Permanent Protection visas | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial | 201 | 1 729 | 1 930 |
| Further Protection visa | 8 | 488 | 496 |
| Ministerial intervention process | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Total | 209 | 2 222 | 2 431 |
Reporting on processing times
The department continued to closely manage the timeliness of Protection visa processing and provide reports on applications not finalised within the specified 90 day timeframe.
In 2007–08, the department met the new decision standard for initial Protection visa applications in more than 79 per cent of cases. In the majority of cases not processed within 90 days, the reasons for not meeting the standard were outside the department’s control. The causes included external delays such as security assessments or client delay in providing information. The department continues to work on strategies to reduce delays, improve adherence to the 90 day timeframe and finalise older cases as quickly as possible.
Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme
Under the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme, selected migration agents are funded to help all asylum seekers in immigration detention and disadvantaged Protection and other visa applicants in the community with professionally qualified application assistance, including interpreters and being accompanied at visa interview. Funding is also provided for more general information sessions, brief face-to-face or telephone advice. There are 23 providers across Australia from commercial practices, legal aid agencies and non-government community bodies providing these services to people in immigration detention and in the community.
Table 47: Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme activity| Measure | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | Percentage variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application assistance to detainees | 343 | 387 | 13% |
| Application assistance in the community | 449 | 628 | 40% |
| Immigration advice | 6 250 | 5 825 | –7% |
| Total IAAAS services | 7 042 | 6 840 | –3% |
| Total IAAAS expenditure | $2 174 690 | $2 234 123 | 3% |
