By Casey Neill
Dandenong’s immigration office will close in October.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed the move following weeks of speculation and calls to keep the Foster Street building open.
But opponents of the move have started an online petition and vowed to keep fighting.
A department spokesperson said it consulted with key stakeholders, including 15 staff and their representatives, before decided not to renew the lease beyond October.
“All affected staff will have the opportunity to remain with the department and will be provided appropriate assistance throughout the transition period,” they said.
The spokesperson said the department already provided a number of its services online, “providing clients with the convenience of accessing information, submitting applications and updating their personal details anywhere, any time and on any device”.
“We are continuing to expand online services, meaning clients do not need to come into an office,” they said.
“Where a client needs to attend an office in-person, they are able to attend our recently refurbished Melbourne CBD office which provides services to clients across the greater Melbourne area.”
Online, the Save the Dandenong Immigration Office petition calls for Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton to “intervene to stop this vital community service in Dandenong from being cut”.
“If the Dandenong office closes, the jobs and the immigration service will both be moved to the CBD, which means cutting local jobs, cutting important services for the local community, and no access to quality face to face local service,” the petition said.
“Good local jobs and accessible public services are the foundation of communities like Dandenong.”
On 11 May, the Journal reported that Mr Dutton hadn’t responded to calls to visit Dandenong to discuss plans to close the office from Greater Dandenong Mayor Jim Memeti, the Community and Public Sector Union and Bruce MP Julian Hill.
Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) organiser Nina Taylor said the decision did not make sense.
“With government policy, the goal is to keep jobs in the suburbs,” she said.
The petition is online at www.proudtobepublic.org.au/dandenong_immigration_office
