Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, , 7:50:56 to 8:05:32
Senator Roberts and officials discuss enforcement actions against unlawful non-citizens, including new funding for detention beds. The segment also covers deportation laws for hate preachers and reforms to student and maritime visas.
Topics: National security, Public safety, Law reform
Speakers: Senator Malcolm Roberts, Clare Sharp, Michael Willard, Hon Murray Watt, Stephanie Foster, Senator Jana Stewart, Speaker 21
Thank you, Chair. Just continuing on. Uh what measures are being taken to send the illegals out of Australia?
Uh Senator Mr. Thomas, no doubt will come up and join me. Um the government has announced that uh it's funding an additional two additional 250 uh beds in immigration detention. Um that is going to assist us to much more actively target people who have no right to remain visa overstayers predominantly. Um we have also received additional funding that will um fund around a hundred additional officers, predominantly in our field removals and detention capability that will allow us to kind of have the additional people to go out and do the work to identify individuals who are overstaying their visas. Um we will also be um doing much more proactive um communications with people whose visas who you are approaching the end of their visa period and immediately after to ensure they understand that when your visa expires, you either need a new visa or you need to leave. And if you don't leave, then the immigration detention system is there and and it will be used. Do you want to add?
Yeah, that's right. So as uh as Ms. Sharp said, it's really maximising the engagement with this cohort to encourage self-departure as much as possible, and where people do not self-depart, then we look at detention and removal, but to maximise the number of unlawful non-citizens here leaving the country at the end of their migration pathway.
Would it be fair to say thank you for your answer? Would it be fair to say that there are two problems here? One is you're addressing 80,000 people who are here legally with 250 beds. Okay, so there are two aspects. One is stopping the future illegals, and one is getting rid of the current illegals. Is that fair?
So that's right, Senator, and I think there are a number of um amplifying factors. So depending on how quickly we can turn people over from detention to removal, obviously those beds can produce a lot more than it's not 250 a year, for example, it's rotating. So if if on average, for example, it took us a month to prepare all the papers and get someone involuntarily out, then that's still 250 by 12. And what we're finding is that some people are leaving more quickly than that. So that's one factor. The second is that our historical data shows us that for every person we remove, there is a flow on effect of people who understand what might happen to them. It's not advantageous to be removed. Um it affects your future um visa prospects. And so there's a factor of somewhere around six or seven per cent of people who leave voluntarily in relation to the number of people that we remove.
Sorry, six or seven times. Six rather than sorry.
Yeah, we've covered that.
And so um and then there is just the impact of the communications activity, the knowledge that we'll get round in communities about what's happening to people that we think will also add to that number. This has been a sticky problem for many many years. Um we believe that this combination of measures will allow us to start to make a real impact on that number.
Could contact Senator Hanson's office because we our policy comprehensively addresses this, but we'll move on. What measures are being taken to stop breaches of hate within the Islamic community?
I'm very glad you asked, Senator Roberts. You might remember me mentioning at a previous estimates hearing that earlier this year when we introduced legislation to make it easier to deport hate preachers. You, Senator Hanson, and every other one nation Senator voted against that legislation.
Because of your poison pills in your legislation, you've got to get out of this habit.
The other major part of that legislation was also cracking down on neo-Nazis. So I'm I'm still waiting to hear what it was about that legislation you didn't like. Was it taking on neo-Nazis or was it deporting hate preachers?
I think this is the third or fourth time I've So when do you expect Islamic breaches to be sent out of the country?
Well, it would help to have your support for the legislation that we passed. We actually got support from the coalition, I'll acknowledge that. But you voted against the legislation because of the poison pills in the bill.
You can't get honest legislation through without blackmail. And we're not going to feel it.
It couldn't be more clear than that.
We voted against against the poison pill in your poison pill. There are many poison pills in your put in industrial relations, you've put it in immigration.
So what was one? Can you give me one example?
How many persons on skilled worker visas in Australia are working in their identified skilled professional or field?
Senator, in terms of temporary skilled visa holders, it's a requirement of their visa that they work in the role for which they were recruited. So most of those temporary visa holders are uh working in their field. Um in terms of permanent visas, uh there's a recent release from the Bureau of Statistics, which is migrant settlement outcomes, which talks about uh permanent skilled entrants, and it has some figures in comparison to the Australian population around how those permanent skilled entrants are tracking. Uh and in terms of uh employment rate, and this is the employment to population ratio. The figure for permanent skilled entrance is 82 per cent. The figure for the Australian population is 74 percent. Uh there's a couple of other key figures there. English proficiency is 91 per cent for permanent skilled entrance and 92 per cent for the Australian population, and a non-school qualification is 80 per cent for permanent skilled residents and uh 36 per cent for the Australian population. This is a Bureau of Statistics publication that was uh released in September.
Thank you. What is the extent of people entering Australia as skilled workers who hold worthless or forged qualifications? And do you check qualifications on their application?
We do check qualifications, Senator. Um we any instance where there's a fraudulent qualification submitted in an application would result in in visa refusal. Uh the um vast majority of of skilled migrants are uh highly skilled people who hold um high-level qualifications.
When do you ex when do you envisage the backlog on visa appeals to be resolved by the administrative review tribunal?
Senator Um the there's there was some very useful legislation passed by the Parliament earlier this year that will assist the Administrative Reviews Tribunal to get through the student backlog. That was that was a um large group of student visa applications that had built up there. Um they are in the process of now rolling out that change, um, which is allowing them to dismiss matters on the papers without holding a hearing. Um you would need to directly ask them about how many months they think it will take to clear that backlog, but they are making some positive progress.
So you wouldn't be able to give me an idea of how long it'll take.
No, I really think that's a matter for the administrative.
What are the numbers in the ART appeals process?
Uh Senator, I mean I've I've got the ART report, this is their figures, but but the the figure I have here um this is a caseload report for one July to 31st of August 2026, uh, and I'm reading the on-hand at period end figure. Uh there's there's 54,000 student visas or just under that figure.
And then there are other categories as well.
There are other categories.
Uh what's the total backlog that the ART is Facing at the moment.
Again, I I'm reading their figure to you. I haven't been able to verify all of this, but the figure is 83,847 under a heading migration.
Thank you. Are you aware of the massive current rot of the maritime crew visa, subclass 988 for domestic trade and the active abuse of the subclass 400 short stage specialist and subclass 482 temporary skill shortage visas to flood domestic waters with cheap foreign mariners doing the work that hundreds of highly skilled Australian mariners are qualified and willing to do?
Senator, there's a range of safeguards and measures in respect of all of those visas that are designed to present uh prevent um misuse of the visa. There are always some instances of non-compliance in respect of visas, uh, but for the large part, it's very high levels of compliance that we record.
Thank you. Multinational companies are falsely claiming we've been advised they cannot find local employees. And then hire low-cost foreign mariners under subclass 400 and 482 visas. There is no skills shortage in this field in Australia. There are many captains, mates and engineers seeking work in Australia.
Senator, if if you have specific examples, you're very welcome to send them through to us and we can have a look at at you know if there are businesses that that are that should be on our radar, we'd be welcome you sending that through.
Thank you, Ms. Sharp. Is this route currently being investigated? Are you aware of it?
Senator, where there's instances of of um concern raised, uh then we do look into them and we do engage with employers where there's uh concerns raised about their practices.
Well that's encouraging because um the foreign workers' wages go straight out of our country.
You're on your 10-minute block.
Yeah, this would be my last question.
Great, thank you.
Minister, what are you doing to target the huge number of students currently here in Australia? Way in excess of the numbers of beds at universities for international students. And they're taking out they and their families and dependents are taking out beds and houses that could be filled with Australians. What are you doing about their dependents, their families? What are you doing about people who are here with no real skills? What are you doing about graduates?
Well, and you'll have a chance to put your answers to the to the public.
The We look forward to that.
Where um we have already taken action to reduce international student numbers since over the last couple of years. Uh but the recent announcements by Minister Burke involve further action around student visas, to give you a couple of examples. Um cracking down on what's referred to as visa hopping. So student visa holders will not be able to apply for another student visa on shore unless they fit a small number of categories. Um be prevented from applying for a student visa on shore. Most international students and temporary graduates will be prevented from bringing family members with them to Australia. Um there's a range of new measures that we're taking in addition to ones that we've already taken.
And in addition to that, um, from one July 2026, the visa application charge for new student visas and temporary graduate visas was increased by 25 per cent. The government allocated um 19.8 million dollars to extend the student visa cancellation team to ensure that we can identify and cancel visas of students who are not doing the right thing. Um finally um the government is also uh applying a higher degree of scrutiny over particular providers that are offering courses that are um not uh, if you like, doing what they're saying they should be doing. Um so recently Minister Hill issued three notices of intention to suspend particular courses and providers.
Well, Minister, I must say it's very, very pleasing and gratifying to see that the uh current government is taking tiny steps to catch up with one nation. But can I ask you, when are you going to start acknowledging that you're the government, you've been the government for almost half a decade instead of blaming the previous call off?
Well, the fact is that when we came to office, we had a broken migration system.
Half a decade ago.
Yeah. Let me finish. The fact is when we came to office, we had a broken migration system that was full of roots. Uh that led to what you've described as the highest migration numbers that we've seen. Since that time, we've taken a whole range of measures that have almost halved net overseas migration.
You've come down to the second highest and the third highest. Well done.
It's well it's well below that now. It's well below that now because of the action that we've taken.
They were the same. Yours were the highest by far.
I am now going to take the opportunity to share the call that you've concluded, Minister. Will you finish? Sure. Yep. Thank you very much. Senator Duniam.