One of the bizarre aspects of Australia's official attitude to foreigners wanting to come here to live, work or study is that while one subset (asylum seekers) is regarded with intense suspicion and hostility, the remainder is considered pure of motive, and given every help and encouragement. They may appear more presentable than some of the more desperate asylum seekers, but many of these individuals are far from virtuous. Permanent residency is their goal, and they're prepared to rort the many official visa or migration schemes to get it, with the connivance if needs be of shonky agents, employers, education providers or corrupt bureaucrats.
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Successive governments have had this chicanery brought to their attention (usually by the media) over many years. Few, if any, have resolved to stop the cheating, however. There's been hardly any extra funding allocated to the Australian Federal Police, or to federal crime or anti-corruption bodies to investigate visa-related fraud in the public service or to pursue and prosecute known swindlers and cheats. Moreover, the various schemes aimed at enticing prospective visitors and migrants – flawed and open-to-abuse as they are – continue to operate with nary a note of concern from either of the major parties.
A joint Fairfax Media/ABC investigation has provided new detail on how some of the immigration scams works – as well as the disturbing news that crime syndicates and people smugglers have become big parties to the corruption rackets. And the rorting frequently goes unpunished. A former immigration department investigations officer, Joseph Petyanszki, claims that thousands of fraudulent visa applications were uncovered from 2007-13, but that in most cases charges were never brought. A major corruption case inside the department collapsed when the officer involved fled overseas.
According to Mr Petyanszki, "fearmongering [over asylum-seeker boat arrivals] has totally ignored where the vast bulk of real fraud is [occurring, and this is] significantly undermining our immigration programs". And the investigation has also revealed that the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity is struggling to cope with the 132 alleged immigration corruption cases referred to it by the Department of Immigration and Border Force over the past 12 months.
Departmental secretary Michael Pezzullo implemented new staff probity and integrity policies last year, and its likely these referrals to the ACLEI are a consequence of that crackdown. That it took immigration until 2015 to address years of mismanagement (and mistreatment of vulnerable people like Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon), is deplorable. It's welcome, nonetheless.
A more honest and upright immigration department will not of itself clear up immigration fraud, however. A federal anti-corruption body, with inquisitorial powers and a brief to cast a wide net, is also needed. And given that it is the immigration system, with its profound and systemic weaknesses, which is feeding all this corrupt activity, the next federal government must act to fix the mess.
