Australian Immigration Daily News

Section 12 - Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946

The Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 (the Act) provides for the Minister (or Ministers) administering the Act to be the legal guardian of a non-citizen child under 18 who enters Australia with the intention of becoming a permanent resident but who is not under the care of a parent, an intending adoptive parent, or other adult relative.

In addition, the Minister may direct that a non-citizen child entering Australia in the charge of, or under the care of, a relative other than a parent is to be a ward of the Minister, if the relative consents and the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary in the child’s interests.

With 27 years of positive economic growth, Australia has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to sustain steady increases in material living standards and absorb economic shocks. During the global financial crisis, comparatively limited exposure, but also good economic management, saw output growth hold up well.

Also, the economy's adjustment in the wake of the commodity super-cycle has been reasonably smooth. This good macroeconomic performance has strengthened the country's standing in terms of GDP per capita.

Furthermore, scores are favourable on many other indicators of well-being. Australia scores particularly well in health status, ranking first among OECD countries with life expectancy of 82.5 years compared with an OECD average of 80.1 years and a high score in self-reported health.

Australia is often referred to as the ‘most successful multicultural country on earth’1 . But what does this really mean? How is this success measured?

Over the past century, one of the most defining trends has been globalization and the increasing migration associated with it.

Multiculturalism has become a defining feature in many of the world’s economies with Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa examples of nations that have embraced a strong immigrant receiving tradition. 

Similarly, Australia has a robust tradition as a country built upon migration that continues to this day.

The Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act) is an Act relating to the entry into, and presence in, Australia of aliens, and the departure or deportation from Australia of aliens and certain other persons.

The Migration Amendment (Enhanced Integrity) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) will amend the Migrations Regulations 1994 (the Migration Regulations) to support the integrity of the temporary and permanent employer sponsored skilled visa programs, set to start from 13 December 2018.

In particular, the Regulations amend the Migration Regulations to:

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers have detained eight individuals as part of a national operation targeting unscrupulous labour hire intermediaries and foreign worker exploitation.

Five Malaysian nationals were located and detained for either being in Australia illegally or working in breach of their visa conditions.

Two of those detained are suspected of higher level involvement in worker exploitation. All five are being held in immigration detention ahead of their removal from Australia.