The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is an Australian Government department. In 2004, the then Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) had an annual operating budget of AUD$700 million. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for:

• immigration arrangements
• border control
• citizenship
• ethnic affairs
• multicultural affairs

DIMA and its predecessors were the centre of controversy from 2001 because it was primarily these departments that implemented the Australian governments policies of mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals and the Pacific Solution. The Department was also accused of mistreating asylum seekers at Australian immigration detention facilities. Immigration to Australia began at least 40,000 years ago, when the ancestors of Australian Aborigines arrived on the continent via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea. ... Border control Border crossing between Germany and The Netherlands Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders. ... Australian citizenship was created on 26 January 1949 by the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 (later renamed the Australian Citizenship Act 1948). ... An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of human beings whose members identify with each other, either on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry[1], or recognition by others as a distinct group[2], or by common cultural, linguistic, religious, or territorial traits. ... Multiculturalism or cultural pluralism is a policy, ideal, or reality that emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures in the world, especially as they relate to one another in immigrant receiving nations. ... Mandatory detention in Australia concerns the Australian federal government policy and system of mandatory detention, pursuant to which all persons entering or remaining in the country without a valid visa including children are compulsorily detained and may be subject to deportation. ... An unauthorised arrival is a person who has arrived in a country when they are not a citizen of that country, do not have a visa to enter that country, and have no possibility of entering by legal means. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Mandatory detention in Australia. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

History

"Machinery of Government" changes following government reshuffles:

• 26 November 2001 the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) and the Department of Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs merged to form the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).
• 27 January 2006 the Indigenous Affairs responsibility moved to the now Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.
• 23 January 2007 the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs is renamed the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is the Australian Government Department responsible for social policies and support affecting Australian society and the living standards of Australian families and from 27 January 2006 the Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination (OIPC). ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

See also

• Australian immigration
• Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
• List of Australian Commonwealth Government entities
• Cornelia Rau
• Vivian Solon

Australian immigration has a checkered history. ... In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration. ... This is a list of Australian Commonwealth Government departments, bureaus, authorities and commissions. ... Cornelia Rau at a press conference at Glenside Hospital Cornelia Rau is an Australian permanent resident and German citizen who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Governments mandatory detention program. ... Vivian Solon at the Mother Teresa Sisters mission in Olongapo, Philippines Vivian Alvarez Solon is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) in July 2001. ...

External links

• Department of Immigration and Citizenship Website