The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was a department of the

Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...

that was responsible for

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

and

border control Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

(including visa issuance). It has now been subsumed into the Department of Home Affairs, which combines its responsibilities with a number of other portfolios. The final head of department was Secretary Michael Pezzullo, who reported to the

Minister for Immigration and Border Protection The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is a ministerial post of the Australian Government and is currently held by Tony Burke since July 2024 in the First Albanese ministry, Albanese ministry. The post was created in 1945 and its inaugur ...

, the Hon

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...

and the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Alex Hawke MP.

History

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection was formed by way of an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013 and replaced the majority of the functions previously performed by the former Department of Immigration and Citizenship; with the exception of most settlement and multicultural affairs programs that were assumed by the Department of Human Services. Additionally, the

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs (Australia), Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control, border enforcement, investigations, comp ...

and associated policy was assumed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (previously managed under the authority of the Attorney-General's portfolio), a move intended to ensure stronger integration of border protection resources. Following

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

in 1901,

immigration to Australia The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago. European colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of a B ...

was handled by the Department of External Affairs. In 1916 responsibility shifted to the newly created Department of Home and Territories. Migration was handled from 1928 until 1932 by a recreated Department of Home Affairs and from 1932 until 1945 by the Department of the Interior, except that between January 1925 and January 1928

Victor Wilson Sir Reginald Victor Wilson KBE (30 June 1877 – 13 July 1957) was an Australian politician and businessman. He served a single term as a Senator for South Australia (1920–1926) and was an honorary minister (1923–1925) and Minister for Ma ...

and

Thomas Paterson Thomas Paterson (20 November 1882 – 24 January 1952) was an Australian politician who served as deputy leader of the Country Party from 1929 to 1937. He held ministerial office in the governments of Stanley Bruce and Joseph Lyons, represent ...

were Ministers for Markets and Migration. In July 1945, the Department of Immigration was established as Australia launched a massive immigration program following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The then Minister for Immigration,

Arthur Calwell Arthur Augustus Calwell King's Counsel, KC (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party through three federal elections, l ...

promoted mass immigration with the slogan "populate or perish". Since 1945, the department's names, functions and responsibilities have changed several times. : The present departmental title, Department of Home Affairs, refers to a combined department covering law enforcement, national and transport security, criminal justice, emergency management, multicultural affairs and immigration and border control. Departmental writing guide mandates the use of "Home Affairs" as a shortened form of the Department's name. DHA is exclusively used by Defence Housing Australia. Over the years, the department has been the centre of controversy in regards to the Australian Government's policies of mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals, the

Pacific Solution The Pacific Solution is the name given to the Australian Government, government of Australia's policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention centres on island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Austral ...

, and the treatment of asylum seekers that was criticised in the Palmer Inquiry reports in 2005. The

Rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. The fishes in this genus are commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without ...

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

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. On 1 July 2015, the Migration Review Tribunal, the Refugee Review Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal became divisions of the

Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was an Australian tribunal that conducted independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT reviewed decisions made by Australian G ...

Operational activities

In an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 18 September 2013, the functions of the department were broadly classified into the following matters: *Entry, stay and departure arrangements for non-citizens *Border immigration control *Citizenship *Ethnic affairs *Customs and border control other than

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

and inspection

Migration program

The size and composition of Australia's permanent migration program is reviewed annually to maximise its potential. The 2010–11 migration program was set at 168,700 places—an overall total which was unchanged from 2009 to 2010. Within this total, the skill stream was allocated 113 850 places to address current and emerging skill shortages in critical occupations and regions. The family stream was set at 54 550 places, recognising the benefits that accrue when Australians have their parents, partners, carers or children join them to live in Australia permanently. On 1 July 2010, a new skilled occupation list was introduced for the general skilled migration. A new points test emphasising the importance of English language proficiency, work experience and higher level qualifications was announced and implemented on 1 July 2011. In addition, state migration plans were implemented for each state and territory to provide greater flexibility for state and territory governments to nominate skilled migrants in a broader range of occupations specific to their skill shortage needs than are currently offered through the skilled occupation list. According to the 2014-15 migration program, 68 per cent are skilled migrants and 32 per cent are from family visa streams.

Humanitarian program

Australia is within the top three humanitarian resettlement countries in the world. Under the humanitarian program, the department granted 13,799 visas in 2010–11. Of these, 8971 were granted offshore and 4828 were granted onshore. The Woman at Risk target of 12 per cent of refugee grants (720 grants) was exceeded, with 759 visas granted. The introduction of complementary protection legislation into parliament on 24 February 2011, was a development in relation to Australia's commitment to fulfilling its international obligations under the Refugee Convention. This was expected to improve the efficiency of decision-making by providing more accountable assessments of asylum seekers’ protection claims.

Citizenship

The department's citizenship course provides an alternative pathway for taking the final step towards becoming an Australian citizen. In 2010–11, 27 citizenship courses were delivered across metropolitan and regional areas in Australia, and about 74,000 citizenship tests were administered globally during the year. On 26 January 2011,

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

, approximately 13,000 people became Australian citizens in about 325 citizenship ceremonies hosted by local councils and community groups across the country.

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

City Council, despite the devastating floods, hosted the largest Australia Day 2011 citizenship ceremony with more than 1,000 people becoming citizens at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Border security

The department collects biometrics to help verify the identity of visa applicants in any future visa encounters. From December 2010, biometrics began to be collected across 15 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. This initiative was undertaken in collaboration with the predecessor of

UK Visas and Immigration UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system. History The then Home Secret ...

Immigration detention

A new immigration detention services group was established in 2011 to implement policy, manage contractors and coordinate detention operations.

References

External links

* {{authority control Immigration and Border Protection Border control Adoption in Australia Australia, Immigration and Border Protection 2013 establishments in Australia Immigration services Public policy in Australia Multiculturalism in Australia Migration-related organisations based in Australia