Employer Awareness Activity Nets Seven Unlawful Non Citizens
Media Release - DPS 63/2003
Immigration officers have located seven unlawful non-citizens in the Griffith area, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) said today.
The people were located by immigration during a visit to the area as part of the Department's ongoing employment awareness program to help employers and labour suppliers check work rights.
Illegal workers prevent Australian Citizens and lawful residents who are entitled to work in Australia from gaining employment. The business in question was issued an Illegal Worker Warning Notice (IWWN). The Government has been issuing IWWNs to those employers that have been found to be employing people unlawfully, and labour suppliers that have been referring illegal workers for jobs.
These Warning Notices may be taken into account in deciding what action will be taken in the future. At present if a business employs a non Australian citizen with no work rights, that person is an illegal worker and the employer may be committing an offence under the Crimes Act 1914 which attracts a penalty of up to $10,000.
During the visit to Griffith, Immigration located a further 6 unlawful persons, bringing the total to seven. They were from the following countries - two females and one male from Fiji, two males from Pakistan and one male from Malaysia. Six of the people located have been detained at the Villawood Detention Centre while arrangements are made for their removal from Australia. One Fijian woman was granted a bridging visa.
The Department said the visit also highlights the effectiveness of routine DIMIA operations. So far this week, a total of 88 people have been located in NSW, including 61 in Sydney. These routine operations are carried out every day across Australia, and demonstrate the Department's continuing commitment to locating and removing illegal non-citizens.
In the 2002-03 financial year to 31 May the Department located
19,070 people who had either overstayed or breached their visa conditions
- an increase of 10 per cent over the 2001-02 financial year when
the Department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa
conditions around Australia.
12 September 2003