Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke landed in Jakarta last night ahead of the 11th Australia–Indonesia Ministerial Council Meeting on Law and Security, co-chaired with his Indonesian counterpart Mohammed Mahfud. The two-day gathering (27–29 January) places people-smuggling, cyber-enabled migration fraud and maritime surveillance at the top of a packed agenda that also covers counter-terrorism and critical-infrastructure protection.
Burke told reporters Australia is experiencing a “concerning uptick” in organised boat departures from Indonesian launch points after a three-year lull. While the numbers (57 arrivals in 2025) are a fraction of post-2012 peaks, intelligence suggests syndicates are testing enforcement gaps left by resource redeployments during the pandemic. Canberra will propose a new A$45 million capacity-building package: expanding joint patrols in the Sunda Strait, upgrading Indonesian Coast Guard command-and-control software and funding a biometric verification hub in Surabaya to vet intercepted migrants in real time.
For corporate mobility teams the talks matter because any sustained increase in unauthorised maritime arrivals typically triggers stricter on-shore visa compliance sweeps and lengthier background checks for employer-sponsored categories. Home Affairs officials confirm that additional integrity screening—rolled out quietly in December—has already added two to three days to standard processing of subclass 482 and 400 short-stay activity visas.
![Australia and Indonesia Re-Energise Security Pact With Focus on Irregular Migration]()
In this fast-shifting environment, companies can streamline their workforce travel planning through VisaHQ’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/). The platform consolidates up-to-date entry requirements, document checklists and real-time tracking for visas such as the subclass 482, 400 and the APEC Business Travel Card, while its experts pre-screen applications to minimise costly delays or refusals.
Indonesian officials will press Australia to share more advanced satellite imagery and to accept faster turnaround of deportation charters for nationals denied entry at Australian airports. In return, Jakarta appears open to reinstating a fast-track business-visitor lane for APEC Business Travel Card holders at Soekarno-Hatta, suspended during COVID-19.
A joint communiqué is expected late on 28 January. Observers anticipate language committing both sides to “zero deaths at sea” and to exploring a regional digital travel credential that could eventually dovetail with Australia’s Incoming Passenger Card replacement programme.
Burke told reporters Australia is experiencing a “concerning uptick” in organised boat departures from Indonesian launch points after a three-year lull. While the numbers (57 arrivals in 2025) are a fraction of post-2012 peaks, intelligence suggests syndicates are testing enforcement gaps left by resource redeployments during the pandemic. Canberra will propose a new A$45 million capacity-building package: expanding joint patrols in the Sunda Strait, upgrading Indonesian Coast Guard command-and-control software and funding a biometric verification hub in Surabaya to vet intercepted migrants in real time.
For corporate mobility teams the talks matter because any sustained increase in unauthorised maritime arrivals typically triggers stricter on-shore visa compliance sweeps and lengthier background checks for employer-sponsored categories. Home Affairs officials confirm that additional integrity screening—rolled out quietly in December—has already added two to three days to standard processing of subclass 482 and 400 short-stay activity visas.
In this fast-shifting environment, companies can streamline their workforce travel planning through VisaHQ’s Australian portal (https://www.visahq.com/australia/). The platform consolidates up-to-date entry requirements, document checklists and real-time tracking for visas such as the subclass 482, 400 and the APEC Business Travel Card, while its experts pre-screen applications to minimise costly delays or refusals.
Indonesian officials will press Australia to share more advanced satellite imagery and to accept faster turnaround of deportation charters for nationals denied entry at Australian airports. In return, Jakarta appears open to reinstating a fast-track business-visitor lane for APEC Business Travel Card holders at Soekarno-Hatta, suspended during COVID-19.
A joint communiqué is expected late on 28 January. Observers anticipate language committing both sides to “zero deaths at sea” and to exploring a regional digital travel credential that could eventually dovetail with Australia’s Incoming Passenger Card replacement programme.
