Peter Dutton has personally intervened in tourist visa decisions just 14 times since taking on the immigration portfolio four years ago, a Senate inquiry into two high-profile cases has heard.
The Senate legal affairs committee is examining whether Mr Dutton misused his ministerial discretion to grant two European au pairs visas in 2015, despite the reservations of border authorities.
The first question put to senior bureaucrats at the public hearing in Canberra on Wednesday was from Labor senator Murray Watt: "Really there's only one question here today: what's the go with the au pairs?"
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Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo said Mr Dutton had used his ministerial discretionary powers to grant more than 4129 visas since assuming the role in December 2014.
The minister granted more than 2000 visas in 2015 alone.
"These powers build flexibility into an otherwise highly prescriptive visa process," Mr Pezzullo told the hearing.
However, the two young women in question came to Australia on tourist visas, and Mr Dutton has only intervened in such cases about 25 times since taking on the portfolio.
Under further questioning from Senator Watt, Mr Pezzullo acknowledged the number of tourist visa interventions could actually be as low as 14.
Mr Pezzullo also said it was possible the first time Mr Dutton had intervened in a tourist visa decision was in the case of the first au pair.
"That might well be the case, it's just a matter of checking the record," he said.
No compliance work was done by the department to see whether the au pairs were abiding by their visa conditions, but both of the young women left the country on time.
