| Department of Immigration and Citizenship | |
|---|---|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2007 |
| Superseding agency | Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) |
| Jurisdiction | Commonwealth of Australia |
| Employees | 8,000[1] |
| Annual budget | A$1.7 billion[2] |
| Agency executives | Chris Bowen, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Andrew Metcalfe, Secretary Bob Correll PSM, Deputy Secretary Kate Pope, A/g Deputy Secretary Peter Hughes, Deputy Secretary |
| Website | |
| http://www.immi.gov.au | |
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is an Australian Government department. It is responsible for immigration arrangements, border control, citizenship, ethnic affairs, multicultural affairs. For the 2008-09 financial year, DIAC had an annual operating budget of A$1.7 billion.
Contents |
After World War II, Australia launched a massive immigration program. The Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell promoted mass immigration with the slogan "populate or perish" and established the Department of Immigration in 1945.[3]
"Machinery of Government" changes following government reshuffles in the 21st century:
DIMA and its successors were the centre of controversy from 2001 because it was primarily these departments that implemented the Australian government's policies of mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals and the Pacific Solution. The Department was also accused of mistreating asylum seekers at Australian immigration detention facilities.
The Rudd Labor government announced the end of mandatory detention in Australia in July 2008, unless the asylum seeker was deemed to pose a risk to the wider community, such as those who have repeatedly breached their visa conditions or those who have security or health risks.
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