Web News » Australia

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Australia is reminding employers that it will not hesitate to take action over illegal workers.

THE number of temporary foreign workers in Australia has risen by 22 per cent over the past year and is expected to rise further, with a recent spike in applications to the federal government from companies seeking to import skilled labour.

The Australian Government has been defending both its crackdown on and policing of Australia's skilled foreign worker visa scheme.

CANBERRA — A fishing boat carrying nearly 100 asylum seekers capsized off Australia's west coast on Monday, authorities said, turning the spotlight on the sensitive issues of refugee policy and border protection ahead of a general election in September.

Labor's own immigration expert Paris Aristotle says it is ''absolutely certain'' there will be more asylum-seeker deaths at sea unless the government implements the full suite of measures recommended to it last year.

Top-ranking Australian ministers are due to meet Indonesian officials next week amid a recent surge in asylum seeker boat arrivals.

The arrival of an asylum seeker boat carrying almost 150 people near Darwin has aroused concerns that would-be refugees are trying to reach mainland Australia to avoid being sent to offshore processing centres.

The arrival of an asylum seeker boat carrying almost 150 people near Darwin has raised concerns that would-be refugees are trying to land on mainland Australia to avoid being sent to offshore processing centres.