The Australian Immigration Department has celebrated 65 years of planning and delivering a world-class migration program.
Bookmark 
Print
15 July 2010
Australian immigration program celebrated after 65 years
The Australian Immigration Department has celebrated 65 years of nation building and the planning and delivering of a world-class migration program.
After World War II ended in 1945 Australia had a population of only seven million people.
Ben Chifley was elected Australia’s 16th prime minister and he established the Australian immigration Department on 13 July 1945. The first minister for immigration, Arthur Calwell, was appointed and he began putting in place an ambitious planned migration program to attract skilled workers to the country.
This framework has led to more than seven million people from around the globe migrating to Australia, including more than 750,000 of whom were refugees.
“Over many years, these migrants have contributed to Australia’s reputation as a powerful emerging economy and one of the world’s most culturally diverse, tolerant and accepting nations,” the Australian Immigration Department Secretary Andrew Metcalfe said.
Mr Metcalfe said through Australia’s migration and humanitarian programs, the department will continue to deliver the skills Australia needs, provide opportunities for families to reunite and establish new lives for those most in humanitarian need.
The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australian Visa applications with the Australian High Commission.
