At last count, there are almost 60,000 unlawful immigrants currently living amongst us in Australia, a number that significantly overshadows the 4,700 asylum seekers who arrived by boat in 2010-11.

According to a report by the Herald Sun, this is enough unlawful immigrants to populate a large regional Australian city, a statistic which has prompted calls for a crackdown on those who have overstayed their visa periods in Australia.

Documents released to the Herald Sun under Freedom of Information also reveal the biggest groups of illegals are Chinese, Americans, Malaysians, Britons and South Koreans.

More than half have been here for five or more years; 20,000 for a decade or more; and two in three have evaded authorities for more than two years. (The figures do not include visitors who overstay visas by less than a fortnight.)

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria chairman Sam Afra said illegal residents attracted little of the outrage associated with boat people, despite taking jobs and housing, using public services, and not paying tax.

He said it was far too easy to stay here if you knew how to "work the system".

"It's shocking," he said.

"To have one in three who have been here more than 10 years (suggests) something's wrong with the system."

Illegal immigrants have also been involved in drug cartels, sexual slavery, and fraud. Illegals accused of guarding marijuana crops in Melbourne and regional Victoria were among 43 people arrested last year in raids focusing on a $400 million crime syndicate.

To read more at the Herald Sun, click here.

If your temporary visa is due to expire soon and you would like to extend your stay in Australia, contact Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers. Our team of friendly and professional Registered Migration Agents specialise in all visa categories and can assist and advise you on your visa options in Australia.

With the unemployment rate consistently hovering around the 14% mark in Ireland, Skilled Workers all over the country are looking to countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand to find work.

Australia alone has many thousands of jobs that need to be filled in the midst of its current resources boom, creating a significant skills gap that Australia simply cannot fill with Australian workers alone - we need skilled workers from overseas. Herein lies a wonderful opportunity for the above mentioned skilled workers from Ireland.

Less than a week ago Dublin hosted its second Working Abroad Expo for the year, with over 5,000 Irish men and women seeking opportunities abroad walking through its doors both days. The Australian Migration & Visa Lawyers (AMVL) Employment Network Team attended as an exhibitor and were overwealmed by the reponse to the 200+ jobs we currently have available to skilled workers within our network. Every job offered included an employer sponsored 457 visa at no cost to the employee, obviously a popular catch for those with dreams to live and work in Australia.

An article titled "Irish mob job expo to join NT boom" goes on to describe the situations in Ireland and Australia further, click here to read.

If you're in Ireland and are keen to learn more about migration in Australia and the jobs we have available, click here to see the details of our Employment Network's "Tour of Ireland".

The International English Language Testing Sysem (IELTS) is an internationally recognised English language testing system taken by over 1.4 million candidates each year to start their journeys in to international education and employment. Testing candidates' listening, reading, writing and speaking skills, achieving a sufficient IELTS score is a core requirement for a large portion of visas in Australia.

The following article from The Australian uncovers a story where a member of staff from a Western Australia university has been jailed for taking bribes from students who had failed the IELTS test, accessing the university's test centre computer system to manipulate students failed test results to pass levels.

A FORMER university staffer who took bribes to falsify English language test results to help foreign students applying for Australian residency has been jailed for two years.

Kok Keith Low, 32, was sentenced in the Perth District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to 15 counts of accepting a bribe as a public officer over a 10-month period in 2009-10.

He was employed at the time as an administrative support officer at Curtin University's English Language Centre which administered tests for the International English Testing System (IELTS).

The court heard that Low received about $25,000 in total for accessing the centre's computer system to change test results to pass levels for students who had failed the test.

Applicants to the Immigration Department for permanent residency and work or student visas must prove their competence under the IELTS with an average score of seven being a pass.

Low and eight others were charged over the scam following an investigation by Western Australia's Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC).

[Sentencing Judge Michael Bowden] said the public was entitled to expect public officers to act honestly and a jail term was necessary to deter other public officials from behaving corruptly.

Judge Bowden jailed Low for two years, making him eligible for parole after 12 months.

Eight other people face sentencing over the scam, including intermediaries who took larger cuts than Low from the thousands of dollars paid by foreign students to have their test scores changed.

CCC spokesman Trevor Wynn said yesterday outside court that Low's sentence reflected the seriousness of the offence.

``Mr Low essentially preyed on vulnerable people, there are a lot of people as we know who want very much to live in Australia,'' Mr Wynn said.

``He took advantage of that vulnerability for, essentially, profit and today he has received justice for his part in that.''

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has been reviewing the residency status of those involved in the scam and those whose scores were fraudulently changed.

Supplying false documents or information can lead to residency, visas and citizenship being revoked.

To read the full article, click here.