Operation Aegis $255m Package Announced

The Government is providing Australian agencies with the resources required to ensure the safety of the community following the High Court’s decision in NZYQ v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs & Anor.

The $255 million package announced today includes funding for Operation AEGIS – the joint Australian Federal Police / Australian Border Force operation established by the Department of Home Affairs.

This includes around $150 million for the ABF to provide additional staff in compliance, investigations, removal and surveillance functions, and around $88 million for the AFP including funding for regional response teams and personnel to investigate breaches of visa conditions.

This package of funding will secure the ability of agencies to ensure individuals are abiding by visa conditions that apply to them, including curfews and wearing ankle monitors, and increase capacity to bring prosecutions against those who breach conditions through expanded funding for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil:

“We have only one priority and that is protecting the safety of the community within the limits of the law.

“This funding will ensure that our agencies are able to dedicate the time and resources that will be required to manage this cohort into the future.

“We will continue to work with law enforcement and immigration agencies to make sure they have the resources they need to do this difficult work.”