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Australia to tighten screws on
migration agents
An Indian
journalist working undercover with ABC to expose the alleged scams
was threatened and hit by an unidentified man over the weekend
WSN Network
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An Indian journalist working undercover with ABC to expose the
alleged scams was threatened and hit by an unidentified man over
the weekend |
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 Melbourne:
Australia has promised a zero tolerance approach on dealing with
alleged migration and education scams after a TV channel expose
claimed that many foreign students, including Indians, were being
"duped" of thousands of dollars by dubious agents and colleges.
The 'Four
Corners' programme of ABC News reported on Monday night that
hundreds of private colleges in Australia were offering courses such
as hairdressing and cooking, luring Indian students with false
promises of permanent residency.
The channel,
which conducted a sting operation, also claimed that a number of
migration agents were offering "fake" work experience certificates
to students.
An Indian
journalist working undercover with ABC to expose the alleged scams
was threatened and hit by an unidentified man over the weekend, an
incident which has sparked an outrage in India.
Foreign Minister
Stephen Smith said the scams of ripping off foreign students would
be looked into by immigration and education authorities and dealt
with "no tolerance".
"On the
migration front, when we were in Opposition we did express
significant concerns about the regulation of migration agents, and
as a consequence we've recently seen a migration regulatory
authority come into existence to regulate that industry better," Mr.
Smith said.
"But any of
these abuses, of course, we won't tolerate and don't tolerate. And
the cracking down, so far as the migration agents' regulatory
arrangements are concerned, will assist in that process," Mr. Smith
said.
 The
'Four Corners' programme said migration agents told the undercover
reporter that she could buy a fake English language certificate
needed to gain residency for between $2,400-4,100.
The ABC said it
has evidence that several agents were offering to help students
cheat in English proficiency tests and provide fake experience
certificates.
The report also
claimed Indian students aspiring to be pilots have been left in the
lurch by a Sydney-based aviation college as their dreams of
acquiring commercial pilot license remained unfulfilled even after
paying thousands of dollars.
The expose were
the latest to hit Australia's $14.2 billion international student
sector — the nation's third largest export earner — after 22
racially motivated attacks on Indian students in Melbourne and
Sydney in over a month.
Migration
Institute of Australia (MIA), a professional association of
migration service providers, today strongly urged the government to
improve the existing regulation framework which it said was not good
enough.
"The big issue
facing us at the moment isn't the people that are currently being
regulated, but what we haven't got is any real action when someone
steps outside of the regulatory framework and is acting illegally,"
MIA CEO Maurene Horder said in a statement.
29
July 2009
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