Sydney Compliance Activity Results in Detention Of 88 Unlawfuls
Media Release - DPS 11/2003
Ongoing compliance activity in Sydney has resulted in the detention of 88 people in the past week who were either in Australia unlawfully or found working in breach of visa conditions.
Of the 59 men and 29 women detained since Friday 31 January, 74 were in Australia unlawfully. The remaining 14 were found to have breached visa conditions and subsequently had their visas cancelled. Many were also believed to be working illegally.
Those detained included 24 Indonesians, 24 Chinese nationals, nine South Koreans, seven Thai nationals, four from Malaysia, three each from India and the Philippines, two people each from Nepal, Fiji, Ireland and the United Kingdom and one person each from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Mongolia, Singapore, Iran and the United States.
Of the group, 38 were located during four larger compliance operations:
- On Friday 31 January, compliance officers visited seven restaurants in Eastwood and Carlingford locating illegal workers at each establishment. Four people (two Koreans, one Malaysian, one Chinese national) were found working in breach of their visa conditions and 12 (six Koreans, five Chinese and one Indonesian) were in Australia unlawfully.
- On Saturday 1 February, nine people in Australia unlawfully were located during compliance visits to a number of nightclubs in the inner city. The nine comprised three Malaysians, two Chinese, one Singapore national and one Nepalese.
- On Tuesday 4 February six unlawful non-citizens, all Chinese nationals, were found working illegally in a furniture factory in Villawood.
- In addition seven cleaners (five Indonesians, one Thai and one Chinese national) working illegally in a city building were located and detained on Tuesday evening.
All 88 people have been detained at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre where they will remain while arrangements are made for their departure from Australia, as soon as practicable, as required by law.
Warning notices have been issued to all the employers or labour suppliers found to have engaged illegal workers.
Acting on community information, DIMIA compliance officers, often with the assistance of NSW Police, regularly visit restaurants, nightclubs, brothels, factories and private residences to detect and locate people who are in the country illegally or who are working illegally.
In the 2001-02 financial year, 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions were located nationally - a significant increase on the 14,238 found in 2000-01.
9 February 2003
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