Straight from DIAC

provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) Newsroom

Immigration visits Port Pirie
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) officers will visit Port Pirie on February 23 to provide businesses and overseas workers with information on employer-sponsored visa options. Two South Australian regional outreach officers will be available for individual appointments with regional employers and employees to answer a range of questions about skilled migrat...

Online tourist visas for Brazil and Argentina
Tourists from Brazil and Argentina will be able to apply online for a visa to visit Australia from February 15, with applications for the e676 electronic tourist visa now open to them. A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said the e676 allows people to apply for a tourist visa electronically using a fast, secure and convenient application ...

Aussies celebrate their citizenship on Australia Day
Thousands of Australians will celebrate their citizenship on Australia Day by taking part in an Australian citizenship affirmation ceremony. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said affirmation ceremonies were growing in popularity, with more than 125 local councils across the nation including them as part of their Australia Day celebrations on January 26...

Immigration operation at Sydney work site finds 23 illegal workers
Arrangements are today being made for the removal of a large group of illegal workers caught at a construction site at Homebush Bay in Sydney’s west. Compliance officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, with the assistance of NSW Police, located the men working at the site, most of whom had expired visas, or who held visas with no work rights. The...

Santa Claus signs up to labour agreement for elves
Santa Claus’s increased global Christmas workload has resulted in the establishment of an Australian operation and signing a labour agreement with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). The labour agreement will allow his workforce of highly skilled elves to enter the country, establish operations and train Australian elves. “Santa approached the dep...

Citizenship of NZ man with criminal history may be revoked
Immigration officials are considering recommending the revocation of the Australian citizenship of a New Zealand man who failed to declare his extensive list of criminal convictions a decade ago. A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship said the Australian citizen from New Zealand was sentenced today to a five-month jail term at the Mount Druitt Local...

Santa home in time for Christmas
Three-month-old baby girl, Santa Rebelo from Timor Leste, has been given the ultimate Christmas present – the gift of life from Canberra Hospital and a flight back home with her mum to join her big brother and father in time for Christmas. Santa is one of a special group of 27 young people from the Oceanic region who face a brighter year ahead thanks to a multi-organis...

Immigration hotline for relatives of Indonesian boat sinking
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) today activated a dedicated hotline – *1300 724 010* – to receive details from members of the Australian community who believe they may know someone who was a passenger on a vessel which has reported to have sunk in Indonesian waters early yesterday. The hotline will initially be staffed 24 hours a day and has the a...

Perth compliance operation nabs construction illegals
Compliance officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) located seven illegal workers in the Perth central business district today. Officers detained the six men and one woman – all Chinese nationals – at a residential property. The group, who all arrived on temporary visas and failed to depart before they expired, has been working illegally i...

First arrivals at Wickham Point IDC
The first group of detainees at the new Wickham Point Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) near Darwin arrived tonight. A spokesman for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) said the 102 single adult men were transferred to Darwin by charter aircraft from Christmas Island. “The men are now being accommodated in the first 500-bed compound that the departm...

Week of compliance operations nets 50 people in VIC, NSW and NT
Arrangements are being made today for the removal of 14 illegal workers, visa overstayers and an alleged fraudster, after immigration compliance officers detained them this week in Victoria. It brings to 50 the number of people located (44 of whom have been detained) in just one week during operations in Victoria, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. A departmen...

Wickham Point Immigration Detention Centre

Wickham Point IDC NT
Aerial view of the Wickham Point IDC. Once greenfields, all facilities have been built on site. There are currently 27 buildings and structures, and when fully operational this will increase to 40.

Wickham Point IDC NT
The department provides recreational facilities and a program of activities to encourage detainees to keep active and healthy.

NSW regional compliance operation locates 19 unlawful non-citizens
Arrangements are being made today for the removal of 14 illegal workers from Australia, after they were detained by immigration officers during an operation in the NSW mid-north coast and Hunter regions. Officers from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) conducted the operation in Port Macquarie, Woolgoolga, Taree and Forster on the mid-north coast, as w...

Wickham Point IDC NT
Meals will be cooked on site and served to clients in dining rooms.

Wickham Point IDC NT
When completed, the Wickham Point facility will have capacity to accommodate up to 1500 clients across three compounds.

Wickham Point IDC NT
The accommodation complies with detention standard guidelines which is 10 square metres per person. Each compound will have its own support amenities.

Wickham Point IDC NT
All detainees have restricted access to the internet. There are filters in place to block inappropriate content.

Inflammatory email untrue
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) today dispelled myths contained in a scurrilous email currently circulating titled: “The truth about the boat people”. The email purports to have been written by a reliable source, however, a DIAC spokesman said the information it contained was inaccurate, misleading and inflammatory. The email was a discussion item...