Australia Targets Rogue Migration Agents and Lawyers in Visa System Crackdown
Australia's Labor government is intensifying its crackdown on migration lawyers and agents accused of exploiting vulnerable migrants by lodging "futile" visa applications and making false claims for profit, Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill announced. This initiative is part of a broader migration overhaul aimed at restoring integrity to the system and reducing net overseas migration.
The Australian federal government has launched a significant crackdown on migration lawyers and agents accused of exploiting vulnerable migrants by promoting or lodging visa applications and protection claims with little prospect of success. Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill outlined the new measures, emphasizing the government's commitment to restoring integrity to Australia's migration system and preventing the exploitation of individuals seeking to live in the country.
As part of this initiative, the government plans to introduce changes to the code of conduct for registered migration agents, prohibiting them from assisting with applications they know, or reasonably ought to know, lack a factual or legal basis. This change will replace a previous provision that allowed agents to proceed with futile cases if the client acknowledged the risks in writing. Additionally, a dedicated taskforce has been formed by Home Affairs to investigate and target "rogue" operators, including those unlawfully providing migration assistance for profit.
Minister Hill specifically highlighted concerns about "outrageous online advertising" that appears to coach potential clients on how to fabricate protection claims, such as falsely claiming to be bisexual or persecuted, purely to game the system. He stated that such practices are a misuse of the migration framework and declared a lack of confidence in the current state and territory-operated regime governing lawyers' involvement in migration cases, tasking Home Affairs to close regulatory gaps.
This crackdown is part of a broader overhaul of Australia's migration settings, which seeks to reduce net overseas migration to 225,000 by the next financial year. The government points to the tripling of bridging visa holders since 2017 to 413,000 and the high refusal rate of protection claims, where about 90% are rejected at both initial and appeal stages, as evidence of system abuse. New restrictions for international students, including limits on onshore visa hopping and family dependents, also took effect recently, alongside revised processing directions for skilled visas, further indicating a tightening of Australia's migration landscape.
Key facts
- The Australian government is targeting migration lawyers and agents who lodge visa applications and protection claims with little to no chance of success.
- Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill announced new measures, including a dedicated taskforce to pursue "rogue" operators and changes to the migration agents' code of conduct.
- Proposed rules will ban agents from assisting with applications they know or reasonably ought to know lack a factual or legal basis, replacing a protocol allowing futile cases with client acknowledgment.
- The crackdown also addresses concerns about "outrageous online advertising" that allegedly coaches individuals on making false protection claims to misuse the migration system, as stated by Minister Hill.
- The government aims to reduce Australia's net overseas migration to 225,000 by the next financial year, from 292,100 in the year to March, with about 90% of protection applications currently refused at both primary and appeal stages.
Official sources
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