Australian Immigration Policy

Australian immigration law

Since 1958, immigration has been regulated according to the Migration Act 1958, (long title: An Act relating to the entry into, and presence in, Australia of aliens, and the departure or deportation from Australia of aliens and certain other persons). This Act replaced the numerous Acts of immigration legislation that had been enacted since 1901.

The Act is supplemented by an extensive, and frequently amended, body of rules called the Migration Regulations 1994. This contains amongst other things the criteria for each of the 200 or more visa classes and subclasses.

Current Australian immigration policy

The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) executes government policy on immigration under the Migration Act 1958.

There are currently two immigration programs that allow permanent migration to Australia, they are the migration program and the humanitarian program. Foreigners currently living in Australia under one of a number of temporary visas can apply to be granted permanent residence. New Zealanders are a special case and can migrate to Australia without official permission. Illegal migrants typically fall into categories, unauthorised entrants and those who have violated conditions of, or overstayed their visa.

Migration program

To be accepted into Australia under the migration program a person must be a skilled migrant or sponsored by a family member that already lives in Australia, a third class covers special eligibility migrants which includes Australians returning to Australia that had to give up citizenship to live overseas. DIMIA says that the migration program for 2004-05 has 120,000 places available for migrants, with a strong focus on attracting skilled people and people who agree to live in regional areas of Australia.

In April 13, 2005, Australia announced that it will take an extra 20,000 skilled migrants in 2005-06 to help meet labour force needs. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said that between 130,000 and 140,000 non-humanitarian migrants would be taken, with a skilled migrant component of 97,500.


New Zealanders

New Zealand citizens are entitled to live and work in Australia under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement. New rules in 2001 divided New Zealanders living in Australia into two categories: those who were resident in Australia before 2001, and those who arrived in Australia after 2001. Those who were resident before 2001 may claim unemployment benefits after two years' residence, as is the norm for permanent residents of other nationalities. New Zealanders who arrive in Australia after 2001 are not entitled to any unemployment benefits at all, as is the norm for people living in Australia only on work permits.

Humanitarian program

The humanitarian program is designed for refugees and others in special humanitarian need. A major component of the humanitarian program is the offshore resettlement program, which assists people in humanitarian need overseas for whom resettlement in another country is the only option. The onshore protection component is for those people already in Australia who arrived on temporary visas or in an unauthorised manner, and who claim Australia’s protection. The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs says that the size of the 2004-05 humanitarian program is 13,000 places

Types of visas under the humanitarian program:

Protection visa
Temporary protection visa
Temporary humanitarian visa
Return pending visa
Illegal migration
Illegal migrants under Australia's immigration laws are those who enter Australia without authority; or
overstay visas, work without appropriate approval or have their visas cancelled.
Australia's Migration Act 1958 requires that all non Australian citizens who are unlawfully in Australia be detained and, that unless they are given permission to remain in Australia, they must be deported as soon as practical. Australia's immigration detention policy was introduced in 1992, and has been maintained by successive governments.

DIMIA statistics show that the nationalities of detainees since 2000 are: Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian, Chinese, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Palestinian, Korean, Vietnamese and Bangladeshi.


Commonwealth of Australia. Migration Act 1958
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. Fact Sheet 82, Immigration Detention, 2004