Australia’s “broken” protection visa system will be overhauled, following bad actors and people traffickers having “clogged” the system with “false” or “misleading” asylum claims, the federal government says.
Key points:
- The government says some people making “false” asylum claims have been able to stay in Australia for up to 11 years
- It has announced it will spend $160 million to “restore integrity” in the visa system
- The immigration minister has blamed the former government for the current system’s problems
According to the government, about 90 per cent of people who lodge protection visa applications are found not to be owed protection, and the congested system has meant people owed protection have been stuck waiting longer for their asylum applications to be assessed.
The announcement follows a review by former Victoria Police chief commissioner Christine Nixon which found the system was being exploited by bad actors who would make adverse asylum claims knowing the process would take roughly a decade to resolve, allowing them more time in the country.
The government says some people making “false” asylum claims have been able to stay in Australia for up to 11 years before their cases were complete, a scenario the government wants to fix.
As part of the overhaul, the government has announced it will spend $160 million to “restore integrity” in the system. Included in the funding is:
- $58 million towards 10 extra Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) members and 10 extra Federal Circuit and Family Court judges
- $54 million for the Department of Home Affairs to more quickly process new applications
- $48 million in funding for legal assistance services
In a statement to ABC News, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles blamed the former government for the visa system’s problems.
“After years of Liberals turning a blind eye to exploitation of the visa system, the Albanese Labor Government is taking action to fix the mess we inherited, and reform the migration system to prevent future exploitation,” he said.
(ABC)
