My telegram No.15 of 14th January. [1] Assisted migration.

We have been informed by the Australian High Commissioner's Office
here that the Commonwealth Government desire an early announcement
of completion of arrangements for the schemes of assisted
migration to Australia to come into operation on an agreed date.

If in the case of the assisted passage agreement the Commonwealth
Government's acceptance is forthcoming of the additional clause
concerning social service benefits for approved migrants and also
the amended final clause renumbered 13 [2] which are referred to
in Dominion's Office letter to Australia House of 6th February,
His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom would be prepared
to conclude both the free passage and assisted passage agreements.

Please telegraph the Commonwealth Government's views as to these
clauses and, provided that the proposed clauses are acceptable,
whether 5th March would be a convenient date for a public
announcement to be made simultaneously in this country and in
Australia following the formal completion of the agreements. [3]

The text of the announcement by the United Kingdom Government is
as follows:-

1. Arrangements have recently been agreed with the Government of
the Commonwealth of Australia for the assisted migration of
suitable British subjects who desire to settle in Australia and
whom the Australian Government are willing to receive.

2. These arrangements which will operate only so long as
favourable conditions for settlement in Australia are known to
exist deal respectively with-
(a) The grant of free passages to suitable British men and women
who were resident in the British Isles or were in the United
Kingdom forces overseas on the 1st September, 1938 and have served
in a whole time capacity in the armed forces or Merchant Navy of
the United Kingdom during the period of the recent war and their
dependents,
(b) a scheme under the authority of the Empire Settlement Acts of
1922 and 1937 for passage assistance to approved migrants and
their dependents who are normally resident in the United Kingdom
and who do not come within the scope of the free passage scheme.

Persons of 19 years of age and over will be required to contribute
10 and juveniles of 14 to 18 years of age 5 towards the cost of
a passage, the remainder of the cost including free passages for
children under 14 years of age being borne equally by the United
Kingdom and Australian Governments.

3. The announcement of these schemes which will come into
operation on a date to be agreed upon by the United Kingdom and
Commonwealth Governments does not imply that ships will now be
freely available to take migrants to Australia. The existing
shortage of passenger accommodation is likely to continue for some
considerable time.

4. Applicants under these arrangements will have to be accepted by
the Commonwealth authorities as medically fit and otherwise
suitable for settlement in Australia. Men and women who were
released from the forces for work of civilian importance,
including those released in class 'B', may require the permission
of the Ministry of Labour and National Service to leave their
employment in the United Kingdom before they can be granted free
passages under scheme (a). It will be open to the Ministry of
Labour and National Service to withhold approval to the grant of
assisted passages under scheme (b) in the case of men and women
possessing certain qualifications who are in short supply here and
urgently needed in the interests of the United Kingdom.

5. The Commonwealth Government will provide free transport from
the port of disembarkation to the settler's destination in
Australia and accommodation for a limited period if necessary.

They will arrange for co-operation with the appropriate
authorities in Australia for the reception, placement and
aftercare in Australia of the settlers approved under these
schemes who will also be eligible for certain social service
benefits as from the date of arrival in Australia.

6. Settlers under these schemes will not normally obtain
employment with individual employers until after their arrival in
Australia but a settler will not receive a passage unless there is
a reasonable assurance that he will obtain employment on arrival.

The settlers will have at their disposal the services of the
Australian Employment Exchanges [4] but will not be eligible for
the employment preference now granted for a period of seven years
to Australian ex-service men under the Commonwealth Act No.11 of
1945.

7. Until the date on which the schemes are opened no applications
can be received but leaflets giving fuller particulars will be
available at all local offices (including re-settlement advice
offices) and regional appointments offices of the Ministry of
Labour and National Service in Great Britain. This Department will
be responsible for administering the free passage scheme in detail
jointly with the office of the High Commissioner for Australia,
Australia House, Strand W. C.2. The leaflets will also be
available at local offices of the Ministry of Labour of Northern
Ireland and similar information will be circulated by the Service
Departments for the information of men and women still in the
forces.

8. The Dominions Office will remain responsible for all matters of
policy
relating to migration to the Dominions including the negotiation
of agreements with overseas Governments and voluntary societies
operating overseas. [5]