Fact Sheet 72 – DIAC's role in the Torres Strait

The Australian Government is firmly committed to ensuring the integrity of Australia's borders and to the effective control and management of the movement of people to and from Australia.

In this context the Torres Strait posses a unique challenge. The Torres Strait lies off the far north-eastern tip of Australia and is a 150 kilometre wide passage between Cape York Peninsula and the southwest coast of Papua New Guinea. It comprises a series of 100 islands, reefs and cays approximately 22 inhabited by about 8000 people. Thirteen of these inhabited islands are located within the Protected Zone. Thursday Island, which is about 25 kilometres from the Australian mainland, is the government administrative centre for the Torres Strait.
See: Australia's Maritime Zones in the Torres Strait (406KB PDF file)

The treaty

The Torres Strait Treaty (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1984 gave effect to the Torres Strait Treaty (the treaty) in Australian domestic law. The treaty sets out the agreed position of Australia and Papua New Guinea in relation to sovereignty and maritime boundaries in the Torres Strait. The islands over which Australia has sovereignty continue to be regarded as part of Queensland.

The treaty is administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and recognises that Australia is obliged to allow certain persons movement into and around the Torres Strait area (passport and visa free). Specifically, Article 16 of the treaty seeks to ensure that both signatories in the administration of their respective immigration, customs, quarantine and health laws, do not ‘prevent or hinder free movement or performance of traditional activities in and in the vicinity of the Protected Zone by the traditional inhabitants of the other party’.

In this context, Article 10 of the treaty established an area of the Torres Strait known as the Protected Zone (PZ) to acknowledge and protect the traditional way of life and livelihood of the traditional inhabitants. The PZ covers the majority of the islands in the Torres Strait; however it excludes the Thursday Island group of islands.

Traditional movements

'Traditional inhabitants' as defined in the treaty are people who live in the protected zone or 13 prescribed villages in the adjacent coastal areas of PNG and are citizens of either Australia or Papua New Guinea. These people maintain traditional customary associations with the areas or features in and around the protected zone, in relation to their subsistance and or livelihood or social, cultural or religious activities. Traditional activities, as defined by the treaty, include activities on the land (such as gardening, collecting food and hunting), activities on water (such as fishing), ceremonies or social gatherings (such as marriage and funerals) and traditional trade and are consistently reviewed to allow for the changes that naturally occur in cultural activities. The DFAT Treaty Liaison Officer based on Thursday Island provides advice on what is or is not considered traditional activities. Commercial activities and employment for money are not recognised as traditional activities under the treaty.

The treaty's provisions aim to preserve the fragile Torres Strait environment.

Immigration presence

The department has six full-time officers based on Thursday Island as part of the department's North Queensland region who provide a limited range of immigration services including citizenship and information and advice about visa applications.

These officers also manage movement monitoring issues arising from the treaty and monitor the traditional flow of people in the Torres Strait. They manage the network of Movement Monitoring Officers (MMO) and they make regular visits to the islands and participate in treaty discussions and awareness visits.

Currently there are 27 MMOs based on the 13 inhabited islands. The MMO network is a dispersed group, integrated into local communities, providing considerable coverage throughout the Torres Strait. Not only are they experts in their local communities but they act as a conduit for wider community information. The MMOs work closely with island councillors and their community to manage the traditional flow of people and report on any other movement in the region. MMOs play an important role in border protection.

Other Australian Government activities

Managing the free movement provisions of the treaty as well as DIAC's broader border security responsibilities requires close work and collaboration with the following agencies.

They include:

• Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC)
• Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACS)
• Australian Federal Police (AFP)
• Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
• Department of Defence (DoD)
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
• Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA)
• AusAid.

Most of these agencies have an established presence in the region and more information concerning their activities is available from their websites.

 

Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.

Fact Sheet 72. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Reviewed 25 August 2009.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009.