Australian Values compliance for One Nation voters? Well done Angus!

Angus Taylor reviewing Australian values for visa holders on social media will be costly, labour-intensive and ultimately untenable, but it is also One Nation damage control. Dr Abul Rizvi examines how such a policy might play out in practice.

OPPOSITION LEADER ANGUS TAYLOR offered to docompatibility Statement of Australian Values It is a binding requirement for visa holders…and allows visas to be refused or canceled if individuals fail to uphold these values’.

Taylor wants with:

‘…establish an advanced screening coordination center within the Ministry of Home Affairs (DHA). “This will also see social media screening of visa applicants become a standard feature of screening on the basis of required risk.”

So how big would this center need to be if such screening were carried out for all visa applicants and visa holders? Immigration Law Is it already too wide?

The first step in establishing such regulation would be to provide detailed guidance to visa processing staff at the proposed centre, with real and hypothetical examples of breaches of the Australian Charter of Values; so they know what to look for.

What types of social media posts constitute violations? For example:

Commitment to the rule of law?
Does criticism of Donald Trump’s trial on Facebook constitute a violation of this value? Does criticism of certain judges or decisions constitute a violation of this value? Will there be criticism of the prosecution? Ben Roberts-Smith Is this a violation of value?
Freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of association?
Does criticism of certain religions constitute a violation of this value? Does criticism of unions constitute a violation of this value?
Equal opportunities for all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, race, national or ethnic origin?
Does criticizing homosexuals constitute a violation of this value?
“Fair action” for all?
Does criticism of Australia’s means-tested social welfare system constitute a violation of this value?

Frankly, these will be matters of degree. A one-off shipment that breaches the Australian Value may not be deemed sufficient to lead to visa refusal or cancellation. (We don’t know because Mr. Taylor hasn’t disclosed this). Difficult decisions may need to be made about the pattern of such violations.

Many people use multiple social media sites in different languages and to varying degrees. Many people have been members of more than one social media site for more than a decade. For these people, the task may take longer.

Let’s say it takes an average of five hours to review someone’s social media posts and decide whether they breach the Australian Value. (This may involve the use of some form of artificial intelligence to assist with the review.) It will include writing up the findings from the review, any natural justice process required, and a recommendation as to whether Australian Values have been sufficiently breached. This will be in addition to existing visa processes relevant to the type of visa applied for or held.

On average there are approximately 250 working days per year. Using an average eight-hour workday, that works out to 2,000 working hours per person per year. This means that each staff member can review the social media of approximately 400 visa applicants/holders per year.

On average, DHA processes more than 500,000 visa applications per month, or more than 6 million per year. This means the proposed center would have approximately 15,000 additional operations staff, as well as auditors/educators/legal support/IT support, etc. It means you may need it. And that’s before considering the potential scrutiny of the 3 million people currently entering Australia temporarily and around 4 million permanent residents.

There will inevitably be a significant increase in processing times and backlogs, which are already extremely depleted. Many industries, including tourism, education and agriculture, will feel the effects of much longer visa processing times.

And ultimately, how many people will have their visa applications rejected/cancelled as a result of this additional social media scrutiny? If the number is small (which is quite likely), what will we actually achieve? Many Australian citizens regularly violate Australian Values on social media. This includes politicians, media personalities, influencers, etc. is included.

Taylor knew all of this. So why is there such a fuss about Australian Values’ social media review? In a word, Hanson.

Doctor Abul Rizvi He is an independent Australian columnist and former Deputy Secretary of the Immigration Service. You can follow Abul on Twitter @RizviAbul or Bluesky @abulrizvi.bsky.social.