[Australia]: Department of Home Affairs Media Centre

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Overview​

The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, law enforcement, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The portfolio also includes federal agencies such as the Australian Border Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters as laid out in an Administrative Arrangements Order: National security policy and operations, including: Countering terrorism policy and coordination Countering foreign interference Countering violent extremism programs Law enforcement policy and operations Immigration and migration, including: border security entry, stay and departure arrangements for non-citizens customs and border control other than quarantine and inspection Multicultural affairs Transport Security Cyber policy coordination Protective Services at Commonwealth establishments and diplomatic and consular premises in Australia Critical infrastructure protection co-ordination Commonwealth emergency management Natural disaster relief, recovery and mitigation policy and financial assistance including payments to the States and Territories and the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment

 

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SMARTGATES ROLL OUT ACROSS TEN AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS​

10 October 2004

From today, holders of Australian ePassports and ePassport holders of certain foreign nationalities will be able to use SmartGates when entering and leaving Australia. They will be available at the following airports: Sydney-Kingsford Smith International Airport Melbourne-Tullamarine International Airport Brisbane International Airport Perth International Airport Adelaide International Airport Cairns International Airport Darwin International Airport Canberra International Airport Gold Coast-Coolangatta International Airport Melbourne-Avalon Airport SmartGates will allow those individuals to clear immigration controls more rapidly, and to enhance travel security by performing passport control checks electronically. The requirements will be as follows: Be aged 16 years or older for foreign passports Be aged 10 years or older for Australian passports Hold a valid biometric passport issued by one of the following jurisdictions or regions and to not be travelling on official military orders: Australia Argentina Austria Belgium Botswana Canada Chile China Colombia Denmark Ecuador France Fiji Finland Global Assembly Hong Kong Indonesia Ireland Italy Japan Korea Luxembourg Macao Malaysia The Netherlands New Zealand Niger Nigeria Oman The Philippines Qatar Rwanda San Marino Singapore Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States ​

 

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PACIFIC ENGAGEMENT VISA LAUNCHED​

1 September 2005

The Pacific Engagement Visa is a new permanent residence visa for participating countries and territories across the Pacific which will deepen connections between Australia and the region. Up to 3,000 visas, inclusive of partners and dependent children, will be available annually to Pacific and Timor-Leste nationals through a ballot process. The Pacific Engagement Visa will grow the Pacific diaspora in Australia with ongoing connections to their home countries, strengthen people-to-people links, and encourage greater cultural, business and educational exchange. To be eligible to apply for a Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa, primary applicants will need to first be randomly selected in the ballot. To register for the ballot, applicants must: be aged between 18 to 45 hold a valid passport for a participating country have been born in, or have a parent who was born in, an eligible country pay a $25 registration fee If randomly selected in the ballot, the primary applicant or their spouse/partner must secure a formal ongoing job offer in Australia and meet basic English language requirements. Passports currently participating in the Pacific Engagement Visa include: British Overseas Territories citizens (Pitcairn Islands passport) French citizen (with residency in New Caledonia) French citizen (with residency in French Polynesia) French citizen (with residency in Wallis and Futuna) United States national (with residency in American Samoa) United States citizen (with residency in Guam) United States citizen (with residency in the Northern Mariana Islands) Country: Allocations: New Caledonia 1,000 French Polynesia 1,000 Guam 515 American Samoa 200 Northern Mariana Islands 200 Wallis and Futuna 80 Pitcairn Islands 5