The president of the Migration Institute of Australia has expressed alarm over reports of rampant migration fraud in the country.
A report by Fairfax Media claims that up to 90 percent of skilled migration visas may be fraudulent, while more than nine in 10 Afghan visa applicant cases involved "fraud of some type".
National MIA President Angela Chan said in a statement that the report highlighted serious concerns.
"Unregistered migration advice is illegal but still continues in Australia, and the Department must be given more resources to deal with this unacceptable behaviour," she said.
In its report, Fairfax Media cited secret government files that allegedly showed "entrenched immigration department failings".
It claimed allegations of fraud and migration scams were not properly investigated because the department did not have enough resources.
Ms Chan said that while the report contained references to out-of-date information, it did draw attention to the amount of possible fraud and to the department’s lack of resources for dealing with it.
“Unfortunately, the department’s resources do not seem to allow to it properly deal with all of its main functions: dealing with fraud: processing very large numbers of visa applications, dealing with irregular maritime arrivals and controlling unregistered migration practice," she said.
"Each of these functions is vital to Australia’s security and economy, and the Department should not be placed in the position of having to juggle resources. There has to be a rethink about the level of funding for the Department, and the allocation of that funding."
Immigration Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday ordered an urgent investigation into reports of rampant visa fraud and migration crime involving plane arrivals into Australia.
Morrison said the issues dated back to when the the former Labor government was in office, but called for answers from his own department.
"The government takes its responsibilities to ensure the integrity of our immigration programme very seriously," he said.
"Given the government's strong commitment in this area, I have sought an urgent report from my department on these matters and will consider what further action is then necessary after receiving this initial response."
He added in an interview with Fairfax radio that ensuring the integrity of the country's skilled migration programme was as important as stopping asylum-seeker boats.
"It's an important programme for Australia, to have proper, skilled migration to Australia through a process with integrity so people can come the right way and don't rort it," he said.
"I'm as serious about that as I am about stopping the boats."
Since coming to office last September, the government has taken a tough stance on border security.
Asylum-seekers arriving by sea are now sent to Papua New Guinea and Nauru for processing and denied resettlement in Australia even if found to be genuine refugees.
Among revelations in the documents was an alleged migration-crime network involving a facilitator with suspected Pakistan terrorist links, along with "migration agents, employers and education providers who are linked to a significant level of organised fraud and crime", Fairfax said.
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