Larking, Emma2017-01-182017-01-18Emma Larking (2017) 'Controlling irregular migration in the Asia-Pacific: Is Australia acting against its own interests?', final draft of an article forthcoming in Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, doi: 10.1002/app5.166.2050-2680http://hdl.handle.net/1885/111873Australia invests heavily throughout the Asia-Pacific region in mechanisms to control irregular people movements. Information has been leaked about conditions in the notorious detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, and aspects of the Bali Process are well known and publicised, but the nature and extent of much of Australia’s investment has not been widely aired or scrutinised. This article canvasses the range of Australia’s engagement in irregular migration controls, and discusses how policies initiated by it have influenced policies developed by other countries. The article considers the implications of Australia’s irregular migration control efforts in the context of other forms of regional engagement. It points to inconsistency between Australia’s irregular migration regime and other law and justice programs. It also considers the impact of the irregular migration regime on regional relationships and stability, and for the rule of law.application/pdf© 2017 The Author. Asia and the Pacific Policy Studiespublished by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd and Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permitsuse, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercialpurposes.irregular migration controlAsia-PacificAustralian policyregional relationshipsrule of law201710.1002/app5.166