The Australian Government has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a 12-month long public inquiry into the use of charges to determine the intake of migrants.

According to a media release from the Treasury, in undertaking this inquiry, the Commission will report and make recommendations about the following:

1. The benefits and costs that the intake of permanent entrants can generate with respect to:

1. the budgets and balance sheets of Australian governments, including from:

• entry charges
• government services used (including public health, education, housing, social and employment services) now and in the future;
• the dilution of existing, government-held assets and liabilities across a larger population; and
• taxes paid now and in the future;

  b. the income, wealth and living standards of Australian citizens, including with respect to:

  ...

Links to evidence and copies of documents, letters and briefings to MPs that relate to this story can be located at the bottom of this page.

Recently Migration Alliance has been approached by a retired pilot (14,000 hours+) who is now working as a Registered Migration Agent.  Let's call him Agent X.

Most of Agent X's flying was involved with maritime airborne surveillance, the majority of which was involved with customs interdiction.

To cut a long story short, Agent X has had a pretty frustrating time attempting to get the current contractors (let's call them Contractor C) and Border Protection (Michael Crawford), to even listen to some more advanced, more effective, more cost effective radar search techniques.

In so doing Agent X has also identified a serious lack of core surveillance knowledge by Contractor C.

Agent X says:

A case officer who just could not see the wood for the trees in a decision to refuse a young Indian cricket fan a tourist visa, will have that decision internally reviewed by the department’s office in India.

Jignesh Sanghrajka of Mumbai reportedly won an all-expenses paid trip to the MCG for the World Cup final this weekend had his visa application refused because he apparently doesn’t have enough money in the bank, according to a report in The Australian.

For correctly predicting the winner of the February 15 match between India and Pakistan, he won two economy-class return flights, two of the best seats at the MCG and three nights’ twin-share accommodation in a five-star hotel in an Emirates competition. The rough estimate of the package would cost around R3 to 4 lakh per person (which is about AU$12,000 to AU$16,000).

“I was just so taken aback,” he told The Australian. “How could I receive this over 1.2 billion people? I was, like, ‘Wow!’ I immed­iately informed my family and friends (and) decided to take along my brother.”

They submitted their visa ­applications in February, with confirmation of return flights and a supporting letter from the International Cricket Council.

But an Immigration official based in India has denied Mr Sanghrajka a visa, noting in a letter last Wednesday that his ­income is “not significantly high and therefore I am not satisfied such an income/­occupation would constitute an incentive for you to return. Considering this, I am not satisfied that a genuine visit is intended.”

A frightening email message from a Registered Migration Agent and member of Migration Alliance today:

"I apologise for sending this email to your email address; I was hoping to reach Liana but I cannot find her email address in my inbox.

I have had a strange visa grant come in last night. Here are the details:

A new reciprocal Work and Holiday arrangement with Vietnam will enable up to 200 young Australians and 200 young Vietnamese to experience each other's culture through a new exchange programme.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton and Vietnam's Minister and Head of the Government Office Mr Nguyen Van Nen today signed a work and holiday Memorandum of Understanding between Australia and Vietnam.

Mr Dutton said the agreement is just one of several that the Governments will sign this week.

'The new arrangement will increase opportunities for young adults between 18 and 30 to experience a new culture whilst being able to work and study for a year.'

Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Senator Michaelia Cash said over the coming months, both countries will be working closely to implement the necessary legal and administrative processes to bring the new visa into effect.