Financing the Smuggling of Migrants into Australia

In 2010, new offences were added to Australia’s Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and Criminal Code (Cth) to criminalize financially supporting the smuggling of migrants (or ‘people smuggling’ as it is locally referred to). Further reforms followed in 2011 to prevent and suppress the use of alternative remittance systems to finance migrant smuggling. These measures have significant implications for Australia’s migrant communities who frequently use the informal financial sector to support their families in their countries of origin. It is also not uncommon for migrant communities to provide the funds that will enable future migration of their relatives. This article explores and analyses the relevant laws designed to combat the financing of migrant smuggling and reflects on the actual and potential impact on the remittance flow between diaspora and home communities, and the ability of the legislative and regulatory measures to reduce the levels of migrant smuggling to Australia.