Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has demanded an urgent report from his department about allegations of widespread visa fraud and migration crime uncovered by a Fairfax Media investigation.
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Mr Morrison said on Thursday he was as serious about stopping visa fraud as he was about stopping the boats and conceded that fraud in Australia's visa program could be costing Australians jobs.
The allegations, based on hundreds of pages of leaked documents, show widespread visa-rorting and migration rackets are operating in Australia, with some having links to terrorism and organised crime.
The Immigration Minister pointed out the "serious allegations" raised in the reports had occurred under the previous Labor government and stressed that the integrity of Australia's visa and migration programs was "incredibly important".
Mr Morrison said he had asked for an initial report from the Immigration Department on Thursday on the allegations detailed in Fairfax Media and would then consider what to do next.
"I think it's important that we don't go and leap to a whole bunch of conclusions, particularly about 90 per cent of the program being invalid, I think that's a pretty significant claim," he told Fairfax Media's 3AW radio.
"The skilled migration program is two thirds of our permanent migration program...it's an important program for Australia too, to have a proper skilled migration to Australia which has a process with integrity and that people don't rort it."
"I am as serious about that as I am about stopping the boats, you have to have confidence in your immigration program for people to support it."
Mr Morrison said that since wining power, the Abbott government had already increased by about 20 per cent the number of field visits by immigration department officials to crack down on fraud in areas such as the 457 visa program for temporary skilled migrants.
The establishment of an Australian Border Force from July 1 next year would also put a greater focus and more resources into integrity issues in the immigration program.
Asked if fraud could be costing Australian jobs, Mr Morrison said "that is really what we have to get to the bottom of''.
"The 457 program or working holiday visas or any other programs, the intention is there to supplement the workforce not to replace the workforce, that's the reason why those programs are there,'' he said.
"What I'm concerned about by these reports are the issues about integrity, there is no tolerance for that anywhere, whether it is on the borders with people smuggling or in the workforce with 457 visas or in the student visa program."
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen, who previously served as immigration minister, said the former Labor government had not reduced departmental resources to combat fraud.
“We weren’t the first government to deal with immigration fraud and we won’t be the last. There will always be people engaging in fraud in the immigration space,’’ he said.
“If there are ongoing issues of course Scott Morrison should deal with them just as the previous government proactively dealt with this issue.”
Mr Bowen said the former government had done everything possible to deal with immigration fraud.
Current Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles said Mr Morrison need to provide assurances that the launch of the Border Force did not compromise the immigration system by diverting resources or leading to job cuts elsewhere.
