Overseas, please contact your nearest Australian diplomatic office . Stowaways Stowaways constitute a small number of the people who seek to enter Australia without authorisation each year.
Stowaways usually board ships illicitly when they are in a foreign port.
When they are detected, usually by crew members at sea, DIMA is advised and makes arrangements for the stowaways to be interviewed on arrival to determine whether they have any grounds to enter Australia. Where stowaways are assessed as not having any grounds to enter they must be removed. The carrier is responsible for the removal of stowaways and the majority are removed by the shipping company or their agents. DIMA arranges removal if the vessel that brought the stowaway cannot be identified. Responsibility for the costs associated with their removal falls on the carrier.