DIBP report shows it's been 'a busy year of activity' for migration

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Created on Monday, 04 November 2013 15:54

Written by Editorial staff

The Department of Immigration and Border Patrol (DIBP) has published its 2012-13 annual report, which may be of some interest to migration agents in Australia.

It's been "a busy year of activity" for migration agents and the DIBP alike, with the latter undergoing a number of important alterations.

In addition to changing its name from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the DIBP added 5,000 places to its migration program. This took the total number of places to 190,000 in 2012-13.

According to Martin Bowles, DIBP secretary, the growth of the migration program was largely facilitated by the introduction of SkillSelect, which came into play in July last year.

SkillSelect, the DIBP's "innovative skilled migration selection system", ensures the migration program continues to function in a way that meets the economic needs of Australia.

It's also designed to help alleviate skills shortages across the country - for example, by asking those applying for migration visas whether they would be willing to work in rural or remote areas.

In addition to SkillSelect, the 2012-13 report discusses the wide array of programs the DIBP introduced over the period it covers. Mr Bowles drew attention to the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program, which was developed to attract foreign entrepreneurs to our shores, provided they are willing to invest a minimum of $5 million in our country's economy.

Australian migration agents will be pleased to learn that all of these changes have seen results. The report demonstrates that 4.7 million permanent and temporary migration visas were granted during 2012-13, and 33 million border movements were recorded.

The number of people who submitted a citizenship application and officially became Australians during this 12-month period increased for the second year in a row.

More than 120,000 people became citizens in 2012-13, with an unprecedented amount - 17,059 in all - taking this important step in one of the many ceremonies held on Australia Day.

This has always been a popular date for people to be awarded citizenship, according to Former Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Chris Bowen. A whopping 430 ceremonies took place on Australia Day this year, representing over 145 countries represented.

Finally, the report shows that "compliance with Australia's migration system also remained high" throughout the year. Mr Bowles explained that over 99 per cent of the approximately 5.1 million temporary entrants who came to Australia complied with their visa conditions while here.