Australia's Immigration Minister called on for stiffer penalties for employers hiring illegal aliens. Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans said that hiring illegal workers is disadvantageous for those people who work legally in Australia. He claimed that current laws failed to penalize business owners that employ illegal aliens.

In a media release, Senator Evans said that, "The government is determined to identify and prosecute those employers who use illegal workers." "Illegal labor hire practices will not be tolerated. They are criminal in nature and can result in the exploitation of vulnerable people."

The senator said authorities have caught more than 1,200 people found working in the agriculture, construction and hospitality industries without proper documentation. The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) has stepped up its drive against illegal workers in various industries and even detaining a number of them.

"Latest figures reveal immigration compliance officers have detained 1271 illegal workers across a range of industries in the last nine months leading to 31 March 2010," Senator Evans said.

"While most Australian employers do the right thing, there is emerging evidence that some are using illegal workers in an organized and criminal way; such behavior will not be tolerated by this government." He said that a review of the current sanctions facing Australian employers recruiting and employing illegal workers would be conducted.

"While we have had success in locating illegal workers, there has been little progress in penalizing employers and labor hire intermediaries who use them," Senator Evans said.

Evans is eyeing for tougher penalties that will also means prosecuting employers who hire illegally. Various stakeholders will be consulted by the review and these include the Australian employers, union and industry representatives as well as relevant Commonwealth, state and territory agencies.

He adds that the government needs to address deficiencies in the employer sanctions legislation, introduced by the Howard government. "I have appointed independent legal expert Stephen Howells to provide options for giving the legislation more teeth and strengthening the suite of penalties available."

The Howells' review said he said will examine the following: the effectiveness of the legislative offences and current penalties; the effectiveness of current systems and operations to assist employers to comply with their obligations; the effect of the employer sanctions provisions on business; and the level of community understanding and acceptance of the need for an employer sanction regime.

He alleged that the Howard administration ignored crucial immigration programs. The Senator said that the Rudd government restored the integrity of visa programs such as, the temporary skilled 457, general skilled migration, and student caseload visa programs.

Only Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia and New Zealand citizens who have entered Australia on a valid passport are allowed to stay and work in Australia without restriction, according to the official website of the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship. The site adds that all foreign nationals who want to travel to and stay in Australia must obtain visas before arriving.