Key Briefs From Supplementary Estimates Hearing: ABF-09 Operation Sovereign Borders; IG-01 Net Overseas Migration; IG-02 International Students; IG-03 Community Protection; IG-05 Visa Responses To…

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This supplementary estimates brief covers Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB), the joint agency maritime border enforcement operation led by Rear Admiral Brett Sonter of the Royal Australian Navy. The brief reports statistics from September 2013 to October 2025, showing 103 total maritime people smuggling ventures resolved, with 22 classified as "successful" (not disrupted or intercepted). Since February 2025, there were 15 ventures with zero successful completions. Of 2,518 potential irregular immigrants encountered since OSB establishment, 693 were turned back to departure countries, 700 to countries of origin, and 1,125 transferred to regional processing countries. The mission's stated objective is denying irregular maritime pathways to permanent settlement, with the brief emphasizing no known deaths at sea since December 2013. Additional disruptions included 138 ventures disrupted in source and transit countries and 3,976 individuals disru