The Coalition Government has committed to increased engagement in the There is a huge problem in the Asia Pacific area with transnational drug crime.  There has been a commitment from the Coalition government to raise engagement in the area.  Customs and Border Protection representatives were in attendance at a meeting / seminar in Hong Kong recently.  

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Scott Morrison said today:

'The CEO of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS), Michael Pezzullo, yesterday chaired a session of the World Customs Organization Asia-Pacific Anti-Drugs Seminar, co-hosted by ACBPS and Hong Kong Customs, where he highlighted the shared challenges faced by countries across our region to fight drug crime,'

'This was a valued opportunity to further understand the complexity and scale of illegal drug production and movements across the Asia-Pacific and recognise the important relationships Australia shares with our neighbours to combat it.'

Initiatives include drug-coutering, future co-operation on dogs for detection programmes, trade data sharing and even the potential for SmartGate trials for PRC nationals coming through immigration clearance into Australia

The Australian Government is committed to engaging with China on border protection, trade between the two countries and countering the drug trade.

For more information on this story please visit Scott Morrison MP's media release.

For any breach of sponsorship obligations, Business Sponsors are likely to face swift and severe sanctions with little chance of leniency for past good conduct.

19/12/2013

The Migration Review Tribunal recently affirmed a decision by DIBP to bar an employer from sponsoring overseas workers for 12 months because the sponsor failed to give notice to DIBP of the resignation of a nominated employee within 10 days of the employee ceasing employment.

The fake travel documents let the asylum seekers enter Australia on commercial flights instead of fishing boats. 

Travelers into Australia with passports issued from the Gulf States, namely Bahrain and Oman, may well come under greater scrutiny after media reports that fake Australian passports and travel documents are being sold in Malaysia.

Lebanese nationals have been targeted by a syndicate offering travel documents for up to $16,000, an investigation and report by the ABC Four Corners program has revealed.

“In a series of meetings in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur [in November 2013], an Iraqi national known as Abu Tarek was secretly filmed offering the travel documents to potential customers”, the ABC reported.

I received these amazing tips from Stacey Martin, Expat Community Network Founder, and I could not resist sharing these tips with members of Migration Alliance.  Be sure to look for Migration Alliance on LinkedIn and thanks to Stacey Martin.  This is something I think could be of great use to Migration Agents and their colleagues.  Keep your migration agencies connected in the digital era and join LinkedIn. Look Stacey up on LinkedIn to find out more:

Creating Opportunities with LinkedIn

LinkedIn, with more than 100 million members and an average income of more than $100,000, is the social networking’s equivalent of the Cocktail Party, while Facebook is the backyard barbecue! It provides a platform for professionals and executives to network with peers and people of similar interests globally with leverage and efficiency. Create new connections, strengthen existing relationships and position yourself as an Expert and Thought Leader which can lead to business opportunities.

Instances of alleged criminal activity relating to the immigration portfolio can result in criminal and/or administrative penalties, including imprisonment, warns Scott Morrison, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP)

 16/12/2013: 

An unregistered Melbourne migration agency was raided by federal police on Friday.

 “The business is suspected to have been making false promises of permanent residence as well as providing migration assistance while not being registered to do so,” a statement from DIBP revealed.