Labor says Dutton's interventions 'anything but routine' after records reveal just 14 cases

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton intervened just 14 times to grant tourist visas to people held in immigration detention in three-and-a-half years, according to documents tabled in Parliament.

At least two of those cases are understood to relate to foreign au pairs detained by the Australian Border Force on suspicion of intending to work while in Australia.

The Labor opposition, which has aggressively pursued Mr Dutton over the matter, argues this shows it is "anything but routine" for him to intervene in such cases.

Peter Dutton granted 14 tourist visas to people in immigration detention centres in 3 and a half years.Credit: David Gray

"Australians are right in asking why there are repeated instances of people with connections to Mr Dutton getting visas for their au pairs," said Labor immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann.

However, Mr Dutton's office said he had in fact granted 25 tourist visas to people in detention from the day he became immigration minister in 2014 until August 31 this year. The available records of ministerial interventions only extend until June.

Mr Dutton can also use a different legal instrument to overturn decisions of the review tribunal and grant visas. Altogether, Mr Dutton has granted 130 visitor visas using his powers to intervene, his office told Fairfax Media.

For people held in immigration detention, Mr Dutton can use section 195A of the Migration Act to intervene and grant a tourist visa, as he did with the two au pairs.

His first such intervention was on June 17, 2015, and related to the young woman who was going to be employed as an au pair by his former Queensland Police colleague Russell Keag.

His third such intervention took place on November 1, 2015, and related to French au pair Alexandra Deuwel, who was detained in Adelaide and was going to work for a relative of AFL chief executive Gil McLachlan.

In May last year, Mr Dutton intervened to grant three-year visitor visas to a family in Ipswich. Mr Neumann had himself lobbied Mr Dutton directly and in the media on the family's behalf.

Labor's immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann says the interventions are "anything but routine".Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

As immigration minister, Mr Dutton could grant visas to people held in immigration detention if he believed it was in the public interest. The minister is required to table such decisions in Parliament twice a year.

In recent days Mr Dutton revealed he received 9000 requests for intervention on visa matters from MPs and senators alone, including 192 from shadow treasurer Chris Bowen.

Case details and the reasons for intervention are not tabled. Rather, Mr Dutton signs paperwork declaring "it is in the interests of Australia as a humane and generous society" to grant the visa.

Mr Dutton faces a Senate inquiry into the au pair decisions, with his critics asserting he stepped in after being lobbied by people he knew personally. Mr Dutton has previously denied any personal interest in the decisions and said he treats all cases on merit.

On Tuesday morning Mr Dutton confirmed he knew Mr Keag, his former police colleague, "from 20 years ago", but again denied any personal motivation for intervening in the case.

"He didn't have my mobile phone number, didn't have my private email address," he told Channel 7's Sunrise program.

"There's no personal link there. I know him from 20 years ago. I've not socialised with him. I have no recollection of having even seen him in 20 years."

On Monday, Mr Dutton said he had "kept a very good list" of MPs who had asked for his help on visa matters, and said he would be happy to detail some examples in Parliament.

On Tuesday he went further and told Sunrise that in some cases referred by to him by Labor MPs "there are links back to unions that have made donations to the Labor Party".

Mr Dutton ceased to be the immigration minister in last week's reshuffle but remains Minister for Home Affairs, the senior minister to Immigration Minister David Coleman. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he retains full confidence in Mr Dutton.