Contested ground : migration intermediaries' experiences of network governance in the Australian migration industry

Abstract

This thesis explores the experiences of migration intermediaries in the network governance setting of the Australian migration industry. Although migration intermediaries have been subjected to considerable stigmatisation as part of an exploitative system that commodifies vulnerable migrants and abuses the migration program, this thesis argues that their roles and experiences are significantly more complex. Despite the increasing importance of Australia's migration industry, there has been very little academic inquiry into migration professionals' own perceptions of the role they play and the challenges they face. This thesis attempts to fill this important gap. After providing a detailed introduction to the concept of 'network governance', both as a theoretical framework and as a socio-political reality, attention turns to Australian migration agents' lived experiences as operators within a complex, multi-tiered, and fiercely contested professional space that includes various types of intermediaries such as education agents, offshore agents, and migration lawyers. Using in-depth interviews with ten migration professionals currently working in the migration sector, this study attempts to provide a rich understanding of the intricacies and complexities of individual experiences and perceptions. Placing migration intermediaries at the meso-level of analysis, between macro_ level forces of the state and the micro-level agency of their clients, I argue primarily that migration intermediaries are embedded within complex negotiations with the state, regulatory frameworks, and industry bodies. This study further provides insights on how these intermediaries negotiate their legitimacy and hierarchy in a stigmatised profession in relation to other actors in the network. The analysis suggests that network governance in the Australian migration sector has resulted in a dynamic and contested industry, operating in a political and institutional environment that involves complex intersections of negotiation, hierarchy, and autonomy. The concluding chapter prompts a range of questions for future research, that have important implications for both the industry and the state in one of Australia's most economically and politically significant sectors.

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English