Australia’s Response to Refugees
News, Policy, Commentary, Research
[More articles focused particularly on Women Refugees can be found here]
Privatised refugee detention centres: a billion dollar failure
October 9: While Labor seems to be uninterested in arguments in favour of refugees which are based on ethical and humanitarian grounds, Kim Wingerei, writing in Michael West Media, presents an economic argument that might be more effective. Don’t forget: it’s your money.
Coalition plans to halve the Humanitarian intake
October 6: The ABC reports that the Coalition will halve the humanitarian intake to 10,000 amongst other cuts to immigration numbers.
Coalition promises deep cuts in race to the bottom with One Nation
“Secure Journeys” $2.3B detention contract in doubt
October 1: Australia’s $2.3B contract with MTC subsidiary, Secure Journeys, is in doubt after its mismanagement of immigration detention centres and its connections with the US’s ICE regime have become apparent. Read more in Politico‘s report.
Australia eyes ripping up $2.3B immigration detention contract
ICC board regrets Naoero’s withdrawal
September 30: The Manila Times reports on Naoero’s plan to withdraw from the ICC amidst pressure from the US on other countries to follow suit. The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute which set up the ICC and has refused to allow the ICC to investigate allegations its citizens may have committed war crimes.
Climate Change and Refugees
September 30: The Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law has released a kit, Australian Toolkit on International Protection in the context of Climate Change and Disasters, to provide practical guidance for decision-makers and legal practitioners navigating international protection claims in which climate change and disasters play a role. It is also a useful guide for those advocating for better treatment of refugees through letter writing.
Resolution of Status Visas: The Government is acting
September 27: The Australian ($), a misnamed newspaper if ever there was one, claims “Policy in tatters: Labor gives out 30,000 visas to boat arrivals”. These permanent visas have gone to people who arrived between 2009 and 2014 seeking asylum and who had been living for years on Temporary Protection visas and Safe Haven Enterprise visas. The largest cohorts receiving the Resolution of Status (RoS) visa are from Iran and Afghanistan. Health, character and security requirements must be met for RoS visas. The Opposition responding to the newspaper article claimed the visas weaken Australia’s border policies.
Every migrant and refugee child deserves the chance to thrive
September 24: In Eureka Street, National St Vincent de Paul president Mark Gaetani writes “My hope for this Sunday, as the world marks Migrant and Refugee Sunday, is for all Australians to pause and see every migrant and refugee child first as a child, not as a visa category, a statistic or a political football. A child with talents, friendships and hopes for the future.” Read more …
The Saturday Paper editorial ($)
September 19: Analysing Tony Burke’s announcements earlier this week on Immigration, the Editorial writer points out that once again, asylum seekers and refugees are excluded: “… he will not explain his plans for asylum seekers, the class of migrant most exploited by political opportunism.”
RCOA’s response to Tony Burke’s announcements
September 18: The Refugee Council of Australia has published a response to the Government’s announcement earlier this week on changes to Immigration numbers and rules. At the heart of its response is that the new rules do not guarantee onshore protection for asylum seekers despite Tony Burke’s assurances of that he does not want to create problems for them, and that the Government is committed to increasing its draconian detention systems, increasing the number of “compliance officers” and using immigration detention to expedite the removals.
RCOA: Minister’s migration policy speech leaves refugee protection questions unanswered
The human face behind Australia’s inhumane treatment of refugees
September 17: An article in Michael West Media by Kim Wingerei, a long time critic of Australia’s refugee policies, looks at the effect of those policies on Ahmed Mahmoud, a Syrian refugee who came to Australia in 2005. Ahmed was convicted of assault and gaoled when he was 17 and since 2014, has been in and out of immigration detention on “character grounds”. Last week, in a dawn raid by the ABF, he was again detained and may be sent to Nauru (Naoero) next week. That’s a 30 year sentence based on something stupid (and violent) that he did when he was a teenager.
Work rights for asylum seekers
September 17: Rennie Lee and Professor Janeen Baxter from the University of Queensland, writing in The Conversation, examine the proposals to limit work rights for asylum seekers and the effect that would have on their livelihoods and well being. Apart from this being in breach of Australia’s obligations under the international agreements it has signed up to, evidence based research shows that everyone, the asylum seekers, employers and the economy, benefit from granting asylum seekers early access to work rights.
The government might strip some asylum seekers of their work rights. Here’s why it shouldn’t
ABC report on new detention centre “service provider”
September 14: The ABC reports on Secure Journeys, the international company engaged by the Australian Government to manage its detention centres. Since taking over, monthly incidents involving harm, violence and drugs have doubled. Workers at Villawood who have worked under old and new companies highlight the changes, with significant reductions in staffing levels. Little wonder when a for-profit company is tasked with managing vulnerable people.
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre staff claim conditions deteriorated under private company
Labor’s detention policy brings new refugee crisis in Naoero
September 4: Ian Rintoul, well known to many, writes in Solidarity about the challenges facing refugees on Naoero, the result of the Labor Government’s relentless demonisation of asylum seekers and refugees. Some of those sent to Naoero now face forced repatriation.
Eight days that triggered a dark Australian legacy
August 29: An AAP article summarises the events surrounding the MV Tampa 25 years ago, that incident triggering the formation of the BMRSG. Sadly, the need for a group like BMRSG is perhaps even greater now. Populism and a lack of moral strength then, populism and a lack of moral strength now.
Commonwealth National Preventive Mechanism Post Visit summary report on Villawood
August 29: This link is to a 50 page summary of the CNPM’s visit to Villawood as mentioned below (on August 22).
CNPM: Post Visit Summary: Villawood Detention Centre and Miowera Village (APOD)
In this hour of need, contemplating a cut to Australia’s refugee intake is cruel populism
August 28: The Guardian’s Ben Doherty analyses Labor’s flip-flops and how politics rather than policy is driving them.
A very succinct commentary on Labor’s flip-flops on the humanitarian numbers
August 29: The editorial in this weekend’s The Saturday Paper provides an excellent commentary on the Labor government’s chaotic Thursday, when the humanitarian intake was being cut … and then it wasn’t. The fact that it wasn’t is, of course, good news. The fact that Labor’s policy platform (agreed to at its National Conference just weeks ago) committed to increase the intake but isn’t doing so is not good news. The numbers are so small, the difference would be miniscule.
Drug-dealing, makeshift weapons and a ‘culture of fear’ at Villawood detention centre, report warns
August 22: From The Guardian: Drugs are being openly dealt inside Villawood detention centre; makeshift weapons are being manufactured amid intimidation, standover tactics and a “culture of fear”; people are sleeping outside under CCTV cameras for their own safety and children are being prevented from attending school. Prolonged detention of children, insufficient staffing and hazardous damage to buildings are also among the ombudsman’s concerns.
Afghan refugees are being deported back to face the Taliban. What can Australia do to help?
August 22: Over the past few years, Pakistan has beefed up deportation laws, citing national security concerns. As a result, more than two million Afghans without a valid passport or visa have been forcibly returned. Iran has similarly implemented a large-scale campaign targeting undocumented migrants, expelling more than one million Afghans. SBS News reports
Fake agents at centre of latest unlawful migration crackdown
August 19: SBS News reports that hundreds of lodged visa applications have been processed by fake or unregistered migration agents.
Australia’s migration agent watchdog has vowed to remove “fake agents”
Asylum seekers’ rights to work under challenge
August 16: SBS News reports on Labor’s proposed legislation which will take work rights away from people seeking asylum, and make it more difficult for them to lodge appeals against adverse decisions. The situation for many is already bad enough, with little or no access to Medicare or housing support. This will make things considerably worse not just for them but for all the Community organisations currently supporting them. ASRC is urging everyone to write to Minister Burke, their local Labor member and/or Labor Senators in protest at this heartless act which panders to a view of Australia that is anathema to most and fails to show any leadership.
China expresses concern about Chinese citizen held in an MTC centre who died by suicide
August 10: The US private prison company running Australia’s immigration detention system was warned that a newly detained Chinese citizen expressed suicidal ideation and had a history of self-harm less than 24 hours before she died by suicide in a Melbourne detention centre. The Guardian reports on yet another failure within Australia’s mandatory detention regime.
ABC podcast: what it’s like growing up as a refugee in Australia
August 6: Interviewed by the ABC’s Hack program host Dave Marchese, “Yasmin” talks about her life as a refugee on Nauru, then trying to build a life in Australia with no prospect of any permanency because she arrived by boat. (approximately 19 minutes)
Health professionals who worked in Nauru describe a system in which advocacy cost them their jobs.
July 30: Writing in Independent Australia, Dr Kim Elkovich explains new research that reveals how Australia’s offshore detention system placed health professionals in ethical conflict, discouraging patient advocacy and punishing those who spoke up.
Labor has the capacity. Why won’t it act?
July 28: The Albanese government is being urged to grant work and study rights to nearly 15,000 people seeking asylum to help address workforce shortages in industries such as healthcare, construction and early childhood education.
The Kaldor Centre acknowledges the 75th birthday of the Refugee Convention
July 27: The anniversary occurs tomorrow and, in recognition of that special birthday, the Kaldor Centre has created a curated dedicated web page with all you need to know about the Convention past, present and future.
The ABC reports on the more than 8,000 stateless people living in limbo in Australia
July 25: Australia is home to more than 8,000 stateless people, whose lack of citizenship means they struggle to access education and employment. The persecuted Rohingya minority represent the world’s largest stateless population because the Myanmar military regime denies them nationality. Migration legal experts and refugee advocates are calling for Australian law to clearly define and protect stateless people.
At a time of harder borders and ‘ruthless’ rhetoric, the Refugee Convention is more important than ever
July 25: The Kaldor Centre’s Jane McAdam, writing in The Conversation: “At 75, the Refugee Convention does remain fit for purpose. But refugees will continue searching for protection until the root causes of displacement disappear. That is why steady political will and renewed international cooperation are needed to allow the treaty to serve its vital role.”
A view from a different place but still relevant
July 24: The New Humanitarian reports: Lesvos has all but faded from the headlines, this island of pebble beaches, olive groves, and rugged mountains in the north-eastern Aegean Sea. Not that long ago, it was constantly in the news – first as the main gateway in 2015 for people forced to flee their countries who were searching for safety and stability in Europe, and then as a potent symbol of the inhumanity of European policies aimed at stopping that migration.
The Guardian also reports on the ASRC report
June 20: Sarah Basford Canales from The Guardian explores why many of the more than 100 people awaiting processing on the tiny Pacific island are skipping meals to make ends meet.
ASRC releases report on refugees on Nauru without enough to eat
July 20: The report, Hungry for Freedom, interviews 78 people on Nauru, 99% of whom cannot access adequate food.
Hungry for Freedom: Food deprivation among people seeking asylum on Nauru
Children and young people’s experience of parental detention and deportation
July 16: A new report by the University of Sydney and the Australian Human Rights Commission highlights the impacts on children and young people when their parents and caregivers are placed in immigration detention or deported. The report centres the voices and perspectives of children and young people “growing up in the shadow of Australia’s immigration detention and deportation systems”.
Labor rejects the vast majority of the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Council in its Periodic Review
June 28 (amended July 13): Human Rights Watch reports that, of the 332 recommendations made in the Review, covering areas such the incarceration of children, offshore detention of asylum seekers, and phasing out fossil fuels, Labor has accepted just 128, despite repeated calls from United Nations member countries. The first article details just where and how Albanese’s government continues to fail in its obligations to human rights, not just in regard to refugees but to indigenous Australians and young people, rarely matching its rhetoric with action. The second link takes you to the Kaldor Centre’s submission to the Attorney General’s Department in response to the Periodic Review document.
A Hazara refugee’s sense of responsibility towards Australia
July 11: Today’s The Saturday Paper ($) includes an interview with Ali Amiri, a Hazara refugee who received his Australian citizenship a month ago. “Australia has given us protection, treated us kindly, and I have taken an oath. I want to serve this country. Australia’s future hinges much on the contribution of migrants and refugees to this country, in building this country, in enriching its culture.”
Report from the Senate Committee inquiry about Offshore Processing is now available
July 7: And it’s depressing reading – vague recommendations about more transparency (with a commercial in-confidence caveat) but nothing about morality. The Asylum Seekers Resource Centre has started a letter writing campaign as a result. The link to that is below:
ASRC’s response, and statements from other advocates and advocacy groups
What refugees can bring
June 25: Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Australians are marking survival, settlement and contribution with a world-first museum in Melbourne dedicated to the refugee journeys that helped reshape multicultural Australia. Luke Hunt, writing in Pearls & Irritations, investigates.
Australia’s long history of externalisation
June 23: The Australian government’s longstanding arrangements with Nauru regarding asylum processing have garnered renewed criticism and media attention. Australia has a long history of externalising its international protection obligations to asylum seekers and refugees, denying asylum seekers access to its territory or removing asylum seekers from its territory to a third state. This commentary from The Refugee Law Initiative (University of London) reviews how we came to this.
Successive Australian Governments have resorted to “externalising” human rights obligations.
Australia to pay millions to compensate asylum seekers
June 22: The Straits Times reports on the outcome of the High Court decision that refugees unlawfully detained by Australia are owed compensation.
Australia agrees to pay millions to compensate asylum seekers locked in desert
The UN Refugee Convention turns 75
June 22: A 75th birthday should be a cause for celebration, not a time to question one’s ongoing relevance. Yet, the major anniversaries of the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol have tended to (re)ignite discussions about their continuing pertinence. Alongside perennial cries from political quarters that they have outlived their utility, we also hear that the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol remain relevant to identifying and protecting refugees, and that their basic principles constitute the foundation stone, or the cornerstone, or even the keystone, of the system of international refugee law. Two researchers from the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law review the current situation for refugees.
Employers step up to support refugees
Jun 20: SBS celebrates Australia’s one millionth refugee with a report on how refugees continue to enhance Australia though their skills and work ethic. IKEA is one employer that has benefited.
The real Australia: how a small town came together to provide safety and support for an Afghan family
June 20: The Guardian’s Ben Doherty, a staunch long term advocate for refugees, visits Apollo Bay to meet the community which ensured an Afghan family could be brought safely to Australia.
Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee report into offshore detention delayed once again
June 20: In another Saturday Paper article, Martin McKenzie-Murray reports that the Committee, which should have published its findings already, has again put that off until July 2 amid Labor’s secretiveness and “serial invocation of public interest immunity”. Who are they protecting?
A couple of positive stories about Afghan women
June 20: Reporter Liz Gooch from The Saturday Paper writes about the Afghan Women’s football team who escaped from Kabul as the Taliban took over. On that theme, last week’s ABC Four Corners program told the tale of the Afghan Women’s Cycling team and the amazing story of their escape from Afghanistan.
Refugee team spreads hope to oppressed women in Afghanistan ($)
The state of stateless refugees
June 18: Here’s an analysis from The Conversation of the situation that thousands of stateless refugees face because of Australia’s poor policy settings. The second link is to the actual report on which the article is based.
An explainer on Australia’s Humanitarian intake and why it is lacking
June 15: SBS has a deep look into the Humanitarian Program, its pluses and its minuses, and especially how long it takes to move to permanency after arrival.
The long wait for permanency in Australia’s shrinking humanitarian program
CRISP delivers again
June 15: The Guardian reports on more groups providing assistance to refugees under the successful CRISP initiative. Both volunteers and refugees involved are benefiting from the experience, as are the communities where these programs take place. What would be even better is if those refugees brought to Australia under CRISP were not counted in Australia’s Humanitarian intake.
Rohingya refugees in Malaysia
June 15: The SMH ($) has a report today on Rohingya refugees who have made it to Malaysia but, like those in Indonesia, are left in limbo: unable to work or find education for their children, and with little prospect of finding a safe haven anywhere else.
More commentary on the High Court decision earlier this week
June 14: Greg Barns SC writes in Pearls & Irritations: The High Court’s latest ruling on false imprisonment exposes the legal, financial and human consequences of Australia’s punitive immigration detention system, and the political refusal to abandon cruelty as policy.
High Court strikes down Commonwealth on long-detained refugees
This is what happens when refugees are treated as political pawns
June 10: The Guardian reports that the Government may be up for millions of dollars in compensation to refugees who were detained arbitrarily as part of the NZYQ cohort, until the High Court intervention in 2024 forced their release. This ultimately led to the “Nauru solution” which will cost billions of dollars over the coming years. Surely there is a better way?
Non citizens held in indefinite detention receive compensation
Nauru hits the headlines (again): hunger strikes, allegations of violent threats against deportees and why Labor’s policy is in breach of international law
June 5: Reports from the ABC and The Guardian explain what is happening in relation to a whistleblower’s allegations of threats, and a report from Refugee Action Collection details how a hunger strike on Nauru is pointing the finger at Labor’s awful policy. Katie Robertson from the Asia Institute further explains how Labor’s policy breaches international law.
RAC: Hunger strike shows barbarity of Labor’s Nauru policy
ABC: Andrew Wilkie uses parliament to reveal threats against NZYQ deportees
The Guardian: Nauru defends itself against allegations of violent threats
Why the transfer of stateless refugees to Nauru is concerning
The Nauru “solution” has significant impacts on the partners and children of those exiled
June 4: An article in The Guardian today looks at the impact that exile to Nauru will have on the children and partners of those banished there under this Government’s policies.
The value of refugees
June 3: While not directly related to Australia’s responses to refugees, this article from The Guardian looks at the contribution a German Jewish refugee made to Britain’s war effort and contrasts that with attitudes towards refugees in Britain now.
The experiences of Timorese asylum seekers in the 1990s have been explored in a new book launched at the NT Writers Festival
May 31: The book, written by academic Vanessa Hearman, was launched at the NT Writers Festival over the weekend. The ABC has more.
NT Writers Festival: Timorese asylum seekers tell their stories
First payment to Nauru: business class flights, aircraft purchases, conflicts of interest
May 29: The ABC reports from Senate estimates, with the Nauru president’s son being appointed to co-manage the trust fund alongside an Australian representative. So far, funds have been put aside for politicians to use for business class flights and to pay off a loan taken to expand Nauru’s national carrier to seven planes.
Government faces questions about first payment to Nauru under NZYQ deportee deal
Coverup on how much the Government fined MTC for its failures
May 28: The Guardian continues its reporting into MTC’s failures, with the Government refusing to say how much it fined the company for its ongoing failures in its management of immigration detention facilities.
US firm fined for Australian immigration detention failures.
MTC’s failures and the consequences for its staff and detainees
May 25: The Guardian today has a detailed report about MTC’s ongoing problems managing immigration detention centres around Australia. (See also the item posted below on April 25). Is this really worth the billions we are paying them?
Escapes, fires, stabbings: MTC’s catastrophic security failures revealed
Lawyers of Hazara man who was allegedly sexually abused by carer launch bid to prevent imminent deportation to Nauru
May 25: The Guardian reports that the Albanese government’s $2.5bn deal with Nauru, under which hundreds of non-citizens will be sent to the tiny Pacific island, will face another legal challenge prompted by an alleged child abuse survivor.
Survivor of alleged child abuse takes on the Albanese government’s Nauru deal
Australia remains committed to Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar
May 25: Visits from Australian diplomats to Cox’s Bazar, where over a million Rohingyas fled from Myanmar/Burma, have reaffirmed support for Rohingya refugees. This report is from the Daily Sun newspaper in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Kaldor Centre examines how skilled refugees can fill critical employment gaps in regional Australia
May 19: A policy brief released today examines what happens when highly skilled refugees are connected with employers facing critical workforce shortages, including through the Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement Pilot, which enables Australian employers to recruit displaced talent for hard-to-fill roles.
Labour mobility for skilled refugees: Kaldor Centre Policy Brief
Advocacy groups’ response to last week’s budget
May 18: RCOA and ASRC have published a response to last week’s budget, noting in particular the $400 million blowout in the costs of offshore processing, with an expected total expenditure this year of over $1 billion. Is there no better way to spend this money?
RCOA: Refugee Council “troubled by offshore detention cost blowout”
Refugee, asylum seeker and immigrant women get some help, and refugees in Victoria “give back”
May 17: Here’s a nice report from the ABC on a program which helps these women build skills for a more positive future. As well, the Herald Sun reports on refugees working hard to contribute to Australian society, including an Iraqi doctor treating patients for free as a way of giving back.
Gillian Triggs considers breakdown of the rules based order and the effect on refugees
May 16: From Pearls and Irritations: In a speech delivered at the Restoring Democracy launch in Melbourne on Thursday, Gillian Triggs says that weakening respect for international law, human rights and democratic institutions is placing both global stability and Australian democracy under pressure. She then looks at what can be done.
High Court rules that “procedural fairness” was not obligatory in sending refugees to Nauru
May 6: The High Court has decided that the Commonwealth was not obligated to provide procedural fairness to TCXM (who had brought the action to the High Court) when they entered into an interim third country arrangement with Nauru in February 2025. The Court found an officer can remove TCXM to Nauru even if he faces an imminent risk of premature death from a fatal asthma attack.
TCXM vs The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship: High Court ruling
Explosive testimony on grooming and abuse by guards on Nauru
May 6: ASRC reports on testimony made to the Senate Offshore Processing inquiry last week.
Allegations that Australian paid guards engage in grooming and abuse on Nauru
Human Rights Act: where is it?
May 10: Two years ago, the Federal Government received a report from a parliamentary committee set up by Labor to consider a Human Rights Act. BMRSG (and various members) made a submission to the committee in support of such an act. But nothing happened. John Menadue, writing in Pearls and Irritations, reviews the lack of political will and the reasons behind it.
Australian values migration: a commentary on the LNP’s “policy”
May 7: Asylum Insight’s Jemima McKenna analyses the Coalition’s policy on bringing in migrants based on Australian “values” (not virtues – see the second link)
Offshore processing and Nauru
May 6: The Canberra Times (you may need to set up a free account) provides an update on what is happening in regard to Nauru, MTC and the billions Australia is spending on a problem more easily resolved here in Australia. David Shoebridge follows in the foot steps of Don Chipp.
Kaldor Centre Submission to the Senate Offshore Detention inquiry
May: Here is a link to the submission made by the Kaldor Centre to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee’s inquiry into offshore processing and resettlement.
SBS podcast on refugees and their experience in Australia
May: SBS’s podcast program, SBS Examine, looks at how the refugee experience in Australia has changed over time.
Permanent visas
May 4: Many of you will have seen the story on A Current Affair about Ailin, a young woman who is caught up with 700 others in a visa limbo, facing an empty future. There’s an ASRC petition on our Blog here and a link below to an ASRC article with some background. The Human Rights Law Centre is also hosting a petition to urge Tony Burke to provide certainty for them by granting a Resolutiion of Status Visa.
A good background to how Australia started on this road of detention
April 28: The ABC’s series on High Court decisions today looks at the Cambodian refugees who brought their case to the Court when mandatory detention was first imposed by Labor in 1990 and the aftermath. Watch it on iView
Immigration detention worsens under US operator
April 25: From today’s Saturday Paper: For a year now, a United States-based private prison provider has been running Australia’s immigration detention centres. In that time, they have been plagued by poor healthcare, safety hazards and the increased use of handcuffs and body belts by default. Read more ($)
MTC is paid $460 million each year to “manage” onshore detention
Owner of PNG hotel where Manus refugees have been staying sues Australian Government for missing payments
April 15: The ABC reports that the owner of the hotel which has housed many refugees originally detained on Manus Island is seeking $11 million in payments not received since the Australian Government abrogated its responsibility for the refugees in 2021. Some of the men abandoned in PNG are suffering physical and mental health issues. The UNHRC determined in January 2025 (second link) that Australia cannot export to other countries its responsibility for people it has detained or sent to offshore detention.
PNG hotel owner looks to sue Australian Government
UN ruling on Australia’s responsibility for people transferred to Nauru
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
April 9: Refugee lawyer Kerry Murphy, writing in Eureka Street, comments on the speed with which Tony Burke and his department responded to the plight of the Iranian footballers facing punsihment on their return after the Women’s Asian Cup finals. While much has already been written on this topic (and linked below), Murphy always has a new and interesting perspective on matters to do with refugees and asylum seekers.
What seven Iranian footballers revealed about Australia’s refugee policies
The Coalition’s immigration plan includes policies affecting asylum seekers
April 18: The Coalition’s asylum plan repackages familiar measures that have failed before, while sidestepping its role in creating a large and growing backlog of unsuccessful applicants. Abul Rizvi writes in Pearls and Irritations
On asylum, the Coalition offers old fixes to problems of its own making
How AI affects asylum seekers’ applications for sanctuary
April 13: Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly being integrated into international asylum procedures, with early trials promising faster processing, reduced backlogs and more uniform outputs. Yet in migration contexts shaped by power imbalances and security concerns, this seemingly efficient solution hides a profound risk: AI systems, which are driven by pattern recognition rather than understanding, are ill-equipped to handle the dynamic and human complexities of asylum decisions. Lucy Haley from the Lowy Institute explains:
A sad story of how a years long wait for protection ended in tragedy
April 10: The Saturday Paper ($) reports today on Amamuddin Sadar, an Afghani man who came to Australia on a boat seeking protection 13 years ago. Sadar was killed in a random stabbing in Merrylands in February, an hour before his visa approval came through. He had been caught up in the horribly misnamed Fast Track process which effectively ruined any chance he had for certainty except through ministerial intervention.
The impact of temporary migration status on access to refuge
April 1: Researchers at Melbourne University and ACU have explored how visa status impacts refugees’ access to safe accommodation in Victoria. The conditions placed on their visas make it very difficult for them to even find refuge, let alone find something safe, especially for those fleeing domestic violence. The report makes several recommendations to improve this situation, including providing more support for organisations working in the sector.
The Impact of Temporary Migration Status on Access to Refuge: Barriers to Safety and Support
Another positive story in the SMH/Age ($)
April 5: A Muslim Somali mother and her son have been brought to Australia by a group of Jewish friends under the CRISP program, showing again how successful CRISP can be in supporting refugees in their first few years in Australia. Although the Government has now extended the program beyond the initial pilot, those brought to Australia under the program are still included in the humanitarian intake limits, even though the numbers are small.
($) “We are one family”: Jewish friends help Muslim refugees call Australia home
Monthly statistics from Department of Home Affairs and Border Force
March 27: Here is the ABF report on February’s statistics on “unauthorised maritme arrivals” though nothing on those who come by plane or overstay their visas. The last line is telling (sadly)
The impact on children of Australia’s immigration policies
March 27: The ABC reports on what happened to some of the children who Australia detained after Rudd reintroduced offshore detention in 2013.
Forgotten children: the legacy of Australia’s immigration detention policies
It has started: Iranian visitor visa holders stopped from coming to Australia
March 25/26: Tony Burke has closed the borders to Iranian visitor visa holders to come to Australia, except in some very limited circumstances. It has been coming after the legislation was pushed through Parliament two weeks ago (See March 13 items below). Presumably, all those who have these visas were given them well before the US and Israel attacked Iran, and were coming to Australia for valid reasons. The first link takes you to the ABC’s first report on this, the second to an ABC report on the groups and people who are against this and why.
Iranian Visa holders remporarily banned from travelling to Australia (ABC)
Some positivity: Settling Well in Regional Australia: experiences of people from refugee backgrounds
March 25: Researchers from the University of Melbourne have published some interim results from their interviews with almost 1,000 people living in regional areas of Australia in which they explored the experiences of both refugees and “locals”. Consistently, they encountered stories of welcome, belonging, and regional Australian towns embracing refugee communities – and benefiting from their contributions. Our politicians need to read this.
[The first link takes you to an article in The Conversation written by the researchers describing their findings. The second link is to the Interim Report and Executive Summary.]
From The Conversation: What refugees told us about settling in Australia
SBS reports on Labor’s hypocrisy in its dealings with long term Iranian refugees
March 24: Ferdos had mixed emotions when Australia granted Iran’s soccer players asylum — relief at their safety but confused at her own visa application being in limbo for 14 years.
The High Court decision on laws which restrict former detainees highlights the poor thinking behind Labor’s immigration policies
March 21: A new High Court ruling has struck down the Albanese government’s restrictions on former immigration detainees – exposing the risks of rushed, politically driven lawmaking. Greg Barnes SC, writing in Pearls & Irritations, considers the consequences.
The SMH may be gaining a conscience
March 17: Bevan Shields, a previous editor at the SMH, writes about Iranian asylum seekers waiting years for some sort of decision. Why can’t they be now accepted as the footballers were?
($) Iranian soccer players got asylum overnight: these refugees reveal a very different story
The horrible complexity of our immigration laws are told in this story
March 14: This is an ABC report on an Iranian political refugee who risked his life at Bondi in December but who is threatened with deportation under the “character test”.
Iranian political refugee faces deportation despite his bravery at Bondi
Iranian refugees waiting years to be given asylum in Australia
March 14: The ABC reports on Iranian asylum seekers who have waited for years to be granted protection visas in Australia but who don’t have a high profile.
Iranian refugees waiting years to be given asylum in Australia
Human Rights Law Centre: explainer on the new Refugee Ban Bill and the implications for temporary visa holders
March 13: This brief explainer details the practical operation of the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No 1) Bill 2026 (the Bill) (or the Refugee Ban Bill), introduced to Parliament on 10 March 2026. It gives the Australian Government the power to block temporary visa holders from travelling to Australia, in order to prevent them remaining in Australia beyond their temporary stay (including by claiming asylum).
Waleed Aly and Abul Rizvi write about the Government’s latest hypocritical actions
March 13: The Federal Government passed legislation in the House of Representative this week allowing it to stop people from “designated” countries who already have Australian visas from coming to Australia, on the off chance that they may claim asylum. The Bill has gone to the Senate where, with Coalition and One Nation support, it will probably be passed. There is no sunset clause in this Bill and the Minister is the sole arbiter on which countries can be designated. Waleed Aly in the SMH and Abul Rizvi in Pearls & Irritations write about the evident hypocrisy in what the Government is doing.
($) Waleed Aly: The Iranian soccer team is a feelgood story that perfectly suits Trump
Abul Rizvi: Treatment of Iranian asylum seekers reeks of contradictions
Human Rights Watch: submission to Senate Offshore Detention inquiry
March 1: Australia’s government should invest in community-based alternatives to immigration detention rather than spending millions of dollars per person each year on its abusive offshore regime, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee of the Australian Senate. (Read BMRSG’s submission here)
Refugee Council appeals to the Government to support Iranian refugees
March 3: The Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) has written to Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke and Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong regarding the significant escalation of conflict in Iran and other countries in the region. The letter asks about the Australian Government’s plans to support refugees who have been granted Australian Humanitarian XB sub-class visas but are unable to depart Iran or regional countries.
In the same vein, there are also Iranian refugees seeking asylum already in Australia on short term or bridging visas. Just like Bob Hawke did after Tianenmen Square, could our government not simply grant them permanency?
RCOA’s letter to Ministers Burke and Wong re refugees with Australian visas trapped in Iran
Australia, refugees and the colonial hangover in the Asian century
March 2: George Adams, writing in Pearls and Irritations: From offshore detention to uneven moral outrage abroad, Australia’s political instincts still reflect an older colonial logic – one that sits uneasily in an Asian century shaped by multipolar power and shifting global authority.
Australia, refugees and the colonial hangover in the Asian Century
Another excellent article on visa cancellation and arbitrary detention
February 23: This fine article from Sanmati Verma, Josephine Langbien and James Clarke, writing in the quarterly literary magazine Overland, summarises how visa cancellation legislation and forced exile to Nauru are interlinked. The last paragraph encapsulates why we must continue to resist, to stand up and be counted.
A silent discipline: why we all need to hold the line against deportations to Nauru
How did we get here?
February 22: John Menadue, writing in Pearls and Irritations, takes us through Australia’s history on immigration policy and its impact on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from the abolition of the White Australia policy to the current situation. This is a good summary of how we got to where we are.
On a more positive note …
February 16: The Star Weekly, based in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, reports on refugees who were helped by the AMES Employment program now paying it back by becoming employment mentors, helping new arrivals in their own search for work which will give them dignity and a future.
Human Rights Watch calls out Australia’s abusive refugee policies in its annual report for 2025
February 9: In the 36th edition of its annual World Report, HRW has highlighted Australia’s abuse of human rights in its policies which deport “non-citizen” refugees and asylum seekers to Nauru.
Onshore Detention Facilities run like prisons to improve profits
February 9: The Guardian reports that the United Workers Union, whose members work in detention centres, claim that Australia’s new onshore immigration detention operator uses unsafe and ‘deliberate’ levels of understaffing, as the number of critical incidents in the centres increases.
Workers claim the new company operating onshore detention facilities run them “like prisons”
Updated Statistics for Asylum Seekers in Australia
January 30: The Refugee Council of Australia has updated its statistics on people seeking asylum in Australia, including newer figures on plane arrivals and data on Bridging Visa E numbers.
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Preliminary Findings
January 29: As noted further down, the UN Working Group visited Australia in December to investigate Australia’s in-practice commitment to its obligations under the various treaties Australia has signed up to. This was at the invitation of the Australian Government. The Group was refused entry to prisons in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, a not altogether surprising situation. The Group’s preliminary report can be read by following this link:
The possibility of a Human Rights Act
January 25: If Australia had a Human Rights Act enshrined as the basis of its other laws, the situation for refugees and asylum seekers would probably be very different. BMRSG made a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in June 2023, but little appears to have happened since then. This commentary by Andrew Fraser, published in Pearls and Irritations on Thursday, explores the way in which a Human Rights Act could be achieved with bipartisan support.
A summary of key events in November this year
This summary, published December 2, comes from the good people at Asylum Insight.
UNHCR marks its 75th birthday
The Kaldor Centre and Refugee Council Of Australia have issued a joint statement on the occasion of the 75th birthday of the UNHCR. Despite an increase in the number of refugees worldwide, funding cuts have forced the Commission to shed jobs, and threaten programs that not only assist refugees but also challenge countries which fail to uphold their commitments. Australia is one of those.
Kaldor Centre and RCOA Statement on UNHCR’s 75th Anniversary
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: alarming report
The WGAD has been in Australia over a number of weeks and has inspected prisons in a number of states. They were prevented from visiting prisons in the NT (The excuse for refusing them access is that they have been before. The NT Corrections Commissioner said “My experience is that we have a robust oversight mechanism, there are numerous groups that come into the prison”!!!)
The group has raised alarm about Australia’s treatment of children, First Nations people, people with disabilities and migrants in detention, all in the context of Australia’s obligations to human rights treaties it has voluntarily signed up to.
This ABC report gives the details in these two reports:.
More from Michael West Media’s Janet Pelly on the Nauru tapes
December 10: Some more digging, some more commentary, and for those who write letters or talk with their representatives, some more information.
Nauru truth bomb, Government lies. Playing with money, power and refugee lives
It’s not just boat arrivals who are being savaged by our Immigration/”Home Affairs” department
December 6: A report from SBS looks at the underbelly of PALM (Pacific Islands Labour Mobility) scheme which provides opportunities for Pacific Islanders to work in Australia and send money home to support their families. What sounds like a great opportunity becomes a nightmare for any who are injured at work or mistreated by their “employers”.
SBS report on the legacy cases: visa limbo for people paying taxes and contributing to Australia
December 2: A report from SBS News outlines the challenges facing refugees who have been denied commonsense treatment despite having established effective and contributive lives in Australia. Rudd’s arbitrary pronouncements in 2013 carry lasting legacies for people desperately seeking a place to live in peace.
Senate institutes a full inquiry into Australia’s Nauru deal
December 2: Janet Pelly, from Michael West Media, reports on a Senate decision to investigate Asutralia’s offshore processing and resttlement arrangements.
From Tampa to Nauru: Billion dollar deal to be scrutinised at last
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention urged to investigate Australia’s harmful detention policies
December 1: A national coalition of legal, academic and advocacy organisations has today called for an urgent reform of Australia’s immigration and detention system, releasing a joint submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. (Also linked is the statement from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights about the visit of the delegation, which includes a press conference at Rydge’s Hotel in Sydney on December 12)
UN visit sparks renewed calls for an immigration policy overhaul
Some ammunition to counter the anti-migration rhetoric
December 1: Here’s an article from ANU which clearly outlines the misinformation being peddled by groups and individuals who are trying to bring back the White Australia policy.
Incorrect reporting of ABS data fueling false claims about Australia’s “immigration crisis”
More from the Sydney Morning Herald on bikie gangs being paid from our taxes
November 27: The Herald continues its investigation into the links between the Finks motorcycle gang, the Nauru Government and the $2.5 billion being paid to keep refugees on Nauru for 30 years – or shorter if the Nauru president can manage it.
Watchdogs spent millions with security firm linked to Finks bikie gang ($)
It’s your money but apparently, you mustn’t know what it’s being wasted on
November 19: Tony Burke, Minister for Home Affairs, has said the details of the secretive deal with Nauru will not be released without a court challenge or an agreement between Australia and Nauru to do so. That includes how the Finks bikie gang managed to get their snouts in the trough. It’s interesting to watch how new appointees to the Home Affairs Ministry become different people after just a short while from what we had seen from them in their previous ministries.
$2.5b Nauru deal won’t be made public without court challenge or agreement, says Burke ($)
Writing to a politician about Nauru, corruption and waste? Read this first
November 19: Michael West Media reporter, Janet Pelly, goes through whistleblower information about Australia’s Nauru “solution” and how successive Governments have failed the character test in their responses to what they have been told.
Bikie Gangs in Nauru. The hypocrisy of Australian visa character tests
More on Nauru as a financial millstone and a repudiation of the High Court
November 13: Two articles published in Michael West Media yesterday delve into the Nauru legislation, its enormous but murky cost (surely better spent here in Australia) and how the High Court’s decision on indefinite detention is being ignored by sending people there.
No oversight on Nauru financial arrangements
Nauru legislation a breach of the High Court decision on indefinite detention
The Nauru “solution”
October 31: Meg Randolph, Lorena Rivas and Henrietta McNeill-Stowers, from Asylum Insight, analyse the Labor Government’s Nauru strategy and its punitive and restrictive policies targeting “non-citizens”.
UNHCR report on strategic approaches to strengthen national asylum systems
October 28: A close look at asylum systems around the world shows that where they are well resourced, are better managed and implement effective approaches, asylum systems can work. This report considers strategic ways in which nations can improve the systems they use to deal with asylum seekers and refugees. There’s a clear lesson here for our Federal politicians.
Kaldor Centre Conference report
October 24: The Kaldor recently hosted a conference considering ways to protect refugees in a time when misnofrmation and disinformation makes refugees targets for misdirected attacks.
An Asian perspective on Australia’s Nauru policies
October 18: This article from the Straits Times (Singapore) reports on the deportation of asylum seekers to Nauru, providing some insight into how Australia’s policies on migration, refugees and asylum seekers are viewed in Asia.
Asylum seekers facing homelessness because of safety net cuts
October 11: Steep funding cuts to the government’s ‘safety net’ are pushing asylum seekers awaiting resolution of their immigration status into poverty and homelessness. Sarah Price reports in the Saturday Paper ($)
An interesting commentary on the cat and mouse game our politicians play with the High Court
October 3: Australia’s High Court only examines legislation when specifically challenged in court, meaning Parliament can pass substantially similar laws that take months or years to challenge. Juan Zahir Naranjo Caceres, writing for the Lowy Institute, investigates.
When democracies override their own courts: Australia’s dangerous precedent
Immigration as the scapegoat of every crisis
October 2: Alan Gamlen, foundation professor of the ANU Migration Hub, comments on the propensity to blame immigration for all the ills the world faces and the effect that “turn back the boats” has had on Australia’s refugee problems.
The Perfect Storm: Why immigration has become the Scapegoat for our age of crisis
The UN Refugee Convention under threat
September: The US and other countries are considering revising or withdrawing from the Convention, an alarming development that would have significant impacts on refugees around the world. Australia is probably more in breach of its obligations than many other countries but at least pays token attention. This article, by Susan Fratzke and Meghan Benton from the Migration Policy Institute, suggests a better approach.
Where your money goes
September 29: MTC, the private US company engaged by Australia to operate its detention regime on Nauru, has had its contract boosted by another $350 million. Read more in this report from The Guardian.
US private prisons operator paid $790 million to hold 100 people in Nauru
And a follow up
Allison Battisson and Janet Pelly, writing in Michael West Media, follow up their earlier commentary on Labor’s Nauru decision with more analysis and criticism.
Another analysis of Labor’s appalling Nauru decision
September 10: Michael West Media’s Allison Battisson reports with Janet Pelly: Australia’s deal to deport hundreds of refugees to Nauru will cost billions and further damage our already tattered reputation as a defender of human rights.
READ IT HERE: Pay to deport: Australia’s shameful return of penal colonies
A thoughtful commentary on Labor’s latest ethical black hole
September 3: Frank Brennan, writing in Eureka Street, analyses Labor’s Denial of Procedural Fairness bill and its likely impact on those affected and on Nauru.
Some background on how it came to this
September 1: Mary Anne Kenny and Lisa van Toor, writing in The Conversation, go back over the events that have led to the Labor Government’s abandonment of its principles and Australia’s obligations under international law and conventions to send non-visa holders to Nauru, and what this will cost Australia in the coming years.
READ IT HERE: By sending non-visa holders to Nauru, Australia is shifting its responsibilities
Labor sinks to new lows in its latest deal to export our problems to Nauru
September 1: A variety of depressing reports have come out in the last few days about Labor’s latest attempts to destroy lives by denying refugees and asylum seekers procedural fairness in order to “export” them to Nauru. Anthony Albanese, in his victory speech in May, said “I want to find that common ground where together we can plant our dreams … our shared values of fairness and opportunity, and hard work and kindness to those in need.” The hypocrisy is staggering.
FOLLOW ANY OF THESE LINKS: Human Rights Commission response RACS expresses its concerns
Michelle Grattan in The Conversation Jane McAdam in the SMH ($) Jane Martinson in The Guardian
A new chapter in Australia’s shameful history of cruel offshore detentions
August 13: An article in Crikey last week details the Australia’s system for dealing with asylum seekers and refugees relies on indefinite detention, harsh visa regimes and neo-colonial arrangements with Pacific nations — and the Albanese government is seemingly not much different from its predecessors.
READ IT HERE: Australia’s ongoing attempts to export its problems to Nauru
Race Discrimination Commissioner addresses National Press Club
August 8: Race Discrimination Commissioner Giridharan Sivaraman delivered an address to the National Press Club titled “There’s nothing casual about racism: Getting serious about racial equality in Australia”. In it, he outlined his plan for racial equality in Australia, including the need for the Federal Government to adopt the National Anti-Racism Framework, and for each of us to see respect as an action in tackling racism. Watch the full address on iView (available only until September 5.)
WATCH ON iVIEW: Address to the National Press Club
OR READ IT HERE: Text of the Address to the National Press Club
Australia’s laggard pace in response to indefinite detention
August 2: Sarah Price writes in the Saturday Paper ($) about the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s report on indefinite detention, which was handed to the Government nine months ago and has only just been tabled by Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke. Her article contains distressing stories on the cruel practices inflicted on detainees at the Government’s behest, including physical punishment, the use of mechanical restraints to hold people onto the floor and the use of drugs against the detainee’s will. This is all in our name.
READ IT HERE ($): The slow response to indefinite detention
A philosophical view of our ethical obligation to refugees
August 2: Bradley Hillier-Smith, a philosopher based in Edinburgh, reflects on the moral basis of our obligations to refugees. Although written from a UK perspective, it is nevertheless worth reading, discussing the way in which our biases are reflected in how we treat people, often based on where they come from or, in Australia’s case, how they got here.
READ IT HERE: Moral refuge: you can believe in border control yet protect those fleeing to safety
Credit where credit is due
July 28: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR launched a program on July 21 to boost employment for displaced people in the Asia-Pacific region, funded by the Australian government for an initial 22-month period. The program will provide selected refugees with skills training tailored to sectors with labour shortages, aligned to medium- to long-term employment needs in Australia and other countries.
READ MORE HERE: IOM and UNHCR launch Train-to-hire Initiative funded by the Australian Government
A surprise in the Sydney Morning Herald today
July 26: There’s hope, and there’s Zach Hope, the SMH’s South East Asia correspondent, who has written a moving article about the more than 5,000 refugees stuck in Indonesia (see item below). Many have had their claims recognised by UNHCR but there is nowhere for them to go. Hope details the journey made by one of them and the sacrifices her family made to get her there. After more than 11 years in Indonesia, and having arrived before 1 July 2014, Bibi has finally been accepted by Australia. So far this year, there have been only 175 refugees of the 5,000 who have found sanctuary somewhere in the world. At that rate, it will take about 17 years to resettle the rest, assuming there are no more arrivals. Hope makes all too clear what Australia is missing out on by denying them access.
READ IT HERE ($): Bibi’s father sold everything to save his daughter
The penalty for being late
July 25: Duncan Graham, a journalist and long time Indonesia resident, writes in Pearls and Irritations about those refugees who arrived in Indonesia by boat after 1 July 2014, when the Australian Government’s policy preventing them from ever seeking safety in Australia commenced. If only they had arrived before then, or by plane.
READ IT HERE: The penalty for being late is to be doomed forever
Australia’s Human Rights record under scrutiny
July 21: The Human Rights Law Centre reports that Indigenous, LBGTIQ+, refugee and climate activist organisations have submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council about the slide of human rights in Australia ahead of a major UN review into Australia’s record.
READ MORE HERE: Australia’s Human Rights record sliding backwards
Two reviews covering the last 12 years of Australia’s cruel refugee policies
July 19: Sophie Singh, writing in Pearls and Irritations, provides a summary of the cruel policies Australia has inflicted on refugees and asylum seekers since Kevin Rudd’s statement that asylum seekers arriving by boat would never be allowed to settle in Australia. And Amnesty International has a leader covering the same topic.
READ HERE: Sophie Singh: 12 years on – Australia’s cruel policies persist
AND HERE: Amnesty International Australia: Refugees in Limbo with no hope for the future
Forced repatriation of 1.4 million Afghanis from Iran and Pakistan
July 5: The situation for Aghanis is getting increasingly dire as many are being forced from what were previously relatively safe havens. In particular, many young women studying in Iran are left with no option but to return to a regime that treats women with contempt. Australia could assist these women, many of whom are studying in fields such as medicine and engineering where Australia has a significant need.
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR’s Afghanistan Representative Arafat Jamal at a July 4 press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
READ THE SUMMARY: Needs intensify for Afghanis forced back to Afghanistan
UNHCR on anticipated resettlement needs for 2026
The UNHCR has published a report on the Projected Global Resettlement Needs (PGRN) for 2026. Resettlement enables refugees to relocate to another country which has agreed to admit them with a legal status ensuring international protection and ultimately permanent residence.
Through the PGRN, UNHCR estimates the number of refugees who require resettlement in the following year. The situation in Syria has actually reduced the number of people looking for resettlement but it remains at over 2.5 million. The UNHCR is looking for States to be clearer and more agile in providing ways in which these needs can be more effectively met.
READ IT HERE: 2026 Projected Global Resettlement Needs
Kaldor Centre submission to the UN Special Rapporteur
Madeline Gleeson, Senior Research Fellow at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, and Natasha Yacoub, a PhD student at UNSW, have made a submission to Gehad Madi, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, highlighting the illegalities inherent in Australia’s Offshore Processing regime.
READ IT HERE: Externalization of Migration and the Impact on the Human Rights of Migrants
Marie Sellstrom articles
Marie Sellstrom AM, a long-time member of Rural Australians for Refugees, has written two powerful articles published in Pearls and Irritations on the Department of Home Affairs’ failures in the area of humanitarian visa processing. These are a must-read for anyone who cares about how our Government has been suborned by the mindset of Home Affairs and Immigration, and a wake up call for politicians of all stripes.
First article (June 19): Home Affairs and the bleak hole of humanitarian visa processing
Second article (June 20): Humanitarian visa processing – Is it who you know, rather than what you know?
The ongoing plight of the broken men Australia has renounced
In Port Moresby, there are still 37 asylum seekers whose lives are a misery and for whom Australia denies responsibility, even though they are there because of Australia’s decisions. Letter writers to the Department of Home Affairs are all too familiar with that department’s claim that PNG is now responsible for them, despite the UNHCR clearly stating that Australia retains responsibility for the welfare of those it has sent to third countries, and that this responsibility cannot be transferred (see further below). Yet we spend millions keeping them there, rather than bringing them here and giving them the support they deserve, probably for much less. Ben Doherty at The Guardian highlights Australia’s ongoing mistreatment of these men.
READ THE ARTICLE: The broken men Australia left behind
Where Labor can start to make things better for refugees and asylum seekers
With a large majority in the new Parliament, Labor has the opportunity to improve the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. This article from Associate Professor Mary Anne Kenny at Murdoch University, dated 22 May, outlines what Labor could now do, although omitting the need to resolve the situation for those currently detained in PNG and Nauru. For the letter writers, this could be the basis for your next letter!
READ MORE: Labor now has the political clout to reset Australia’s refugee policy
Tackling Australia’s asylum seeker backlog
People who apply for asylum in Australia face significant delays in having their claims processed. These delays undermine the integrity of the asylum system, erode public confidence and cause significant distress to people seeking asylum. The Kaldor Centre has an excellent article on ways in which this process could be made fairer and consequently, faster. (May, 2025)
READ MORE: Five ways to tackle Australia’s backlog of asylum cases
What mental health services are available to refugees and asylum seekers?
An article by three professionals in this area, published on May 2 in The Conversation, looks at what support is provided by Australia for people who have been severely traumatised in their attempts to find asylum.
READ MORE: Mental Health services for refugees and asylum seekers
Major political parties and their stance on refugee and asylum issues
Leading in to the Federal election on May 3, the Refugee Council of Australia has compared the policies and positions of the Australian Labor Party, the Liberal/National Coalition and the Australian Greens on issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers. Links to the websites of independents and minor parties are also included.
DOWNLOAD: 2025 Election Policy Comparison on Refugee and Asylum Issues
Children in Immigration Detention
A study led by psychologists from Sydney University and published in April 2025 in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that there is no “safe” way to hold children in immigration detention, including onshore and non-custodial detention.
Australia is still responsible for refugees it has detained or sent to Nauru and PNG
The UN Human Rights Committee has ruled that Australia retains responsibility for the arbitrary detention of asylum-seekers redirected or transferred to Nauru or elsewhere. Its obligations under international law remain firmly in place and cannot be transferred.
READ MORE: UN ruling on Australia’s responsibility for people transferred to Nauru
An evidence based way of countering misinformation about refugees and migrants
There will be much said about immigration and refugees in the lead up to the Federal election in May of this year. The Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law has produced this practical report to help you understand how misinformation works and what to do about it in relation to refugees and immigration.
READ MORE: Kaldor Centre Guide
High Court overlooks suffering of prolonged detention of asylum seekers
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, April 2025
The High Court decided this month that asylum seekers who had been recognised as needing protection could continue to be detained in certain circumstances.
READ MORE: ASRC report
Safety Net for People Seeking Refugee Protection (March, 2025)
Refugee Council of Australia
This is a recent publication (March, 2025) from the RCOA on how to address destitution and homelessness for people seeking refugee protection.
DOWNLOAD: RCOA briefing paper
Kaldor Centre Report (March, 2025)
The Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law is marking a decade of championing principled solutions for, and with, displaced people.
In a polarised refugee debate, the Centre understands the importance of having a voice grounded in evidence and principle. This has been the foundation of the past 10 years of impact. The Centre has answered the big questions, informed public debate and connected and resourced others to generate lawful, sustainable and humane solutions to displacement.
DOWNLOAD: 10 years of impact
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Migration Amendment Bill (Prohibiting items) (November, 2024)
This report from the Parliamentary Library provides background to that section of the Bill that means those in Immigration Detention may have items such as phones arbitrarily confiscated.
PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY LINK: Migration Amendment Bill (Prohibiting items)
Migration Amendment Bill (November, 2024)
This link is to a Parliamentary Library report on the Migration Amendment Bill and its implications for non-citizens, including the ability of the Minister to send them to foreign countries.
PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY LINK: Migration Amendment Bill 2024
The Failings of Australia’s Refugee Assessment Process (September 2024)
This FLAGPOST from the Parliamentary Library, written by Dr Peter Prince, looks at the ASF17 case brought to the High Court which exposed gaps in the Immigration Act 1958, meaning a person with a genuine fear of persecution may not obtain a protection finding.
Refugees and Asylum Seekers (2022):
2022 has seen global human displacement rise to record levels. Australia offers resettlement to refugees through the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), but the number of places available under this program remains relatively low, particularly in the context of increasing demand.
Australia also faces the question of resolving the status of almost 20,000 people currently living here on temporary protection visas, and that of the offshore processing cohort who have not yet been granted permanent resettlement in any country.
PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY: Refugees and Asylum Seekers (2022)
Legacy Caseload (2019)
The Australian Human Rights Commission calls on the Australian Government to make urgent changes to improve protections for approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers living in the Australian community.
A new report Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’ reveals the human rights situation of approximately 30,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including families and children, who arrived in Australia by boat before 1 January 2014.
DOWNLOAD: Lives on hold: Refugees and asylum seekers in the ‘Legacy Caseload’
Boat Turnbacks (2017)
Parliament of Australia, A research paper, Boat ‘turnbacks’ in Australia: a quick guide to the statistics since 2001 Updated 16 November 2017
This guide provides statistics on the number of boats that have been ‘turned back’ since the practice of removing unauthorised maritime arrivals in Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels (SIEVs) from Australian waters was introduced by the Howard Government (from 2001–2003) and reintroduced by the Abbott Government (in December 2013). It updates boat ‘turnback’ data provided in another Parliamentary Library publication, Boat arrivals and boat ‘turnbacks’ in Australia since 1976: a quick guide to the statistics (January 2017).
DOWNLOAD: Boat ‘turnbacks’ in Australia: a quick guide to the statistics since 2001
UNHRC NGO Alternative Report (2017)
Edmund Rice Centre assisted their international partners in the preparation of this NGO Alternative Report as part of the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee’s review of Australia.
The submission focuses on Australia’s treatment of refugees and people seeking asylum, especially as this relates to the right to life and prohibition of torture and of other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, rights of non-citizens (articles. 3, 6, 7, 9 and 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) Australia, NGO Alternative Report.
Submitted by Franciscans International Edmund Rice International 121st Session Human Rights Committee Geneva, Switzerland September 2017
DOWNLOAD: NGO Alternative Report
Law Council Regional Processing Proposals (2017)
Law Council releases Regional Processing Policy, calls for initiative on regional approach.
With the closure of the Manus Regional Processing Centre imminent, the Law Council is calling on the Australian Government to work with countries in the Asia-Pacific region to establish a cooperative, transparent approach to address the flow of asylum seekers.
The Law Council’s Regional Processing Policy, “Proposal for Australia’s role in a regional cooperative approach to the flow of asylum seekers into and within the Asia-Pacific region,” October 2017
DOWNLOAD: Proposal
THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
Afghanistan’s current situation, drivers of migration and returnees experience,
Edmund Rice Centre, July 2017
This report is the continuation of the Edmund Rice Centre’s determination to investigate Australia’s most recent deportations to Afghanistan by providing an overview of Afghanistan’s current security, political, and socio-economic situation, the drivers and trends of migration, and the returnees’ experience, compiled from both primary and secondary sources.
DOWNLOAD: Deported to Danger Update – The Responsibility to Protect – 10 July 2017
PLAYING GOD the Immigration Minister’s Unrestrained Power
Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project, April 2017
This report was written by Lauren Bull, Elizabeth Colliver, Emily Fischer, Shawn Rajanayagam and Edmund Simpson as members of Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project (‘RAP’). RAP is a community of lawyers and activists working to advance human rights in Australia. RAP works across a range of issues including equality, government accountability, refugee and asylum seeker rights and criminal justice reform.
The foreword has been written by Ian Macphee AO Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1979–82)
DOWNLOAD: PLAYING GOD The Immigration Minister’s Unrestrained Power
Senate Committee Report on Nauru and Manus Island (2017)
Report of the Senate Committee: Serious allegations of abuse, self-harm and neglect of asylum seekers in relation to the Nauru Regional Processing Centre, and any like allegations in relation to the Manus Regional Processing Centre 21 April 2017
DOWNLOAD: Senate Report April 2017
Other reports
Australian Human Rights Commission, Asylum seekers, refugees and human rights
SNAPSHOT REPORT (2ND EDITION) • 2017
Commonwealth Ombudsman, The Department of Immigration and Border Protection THE ADMINISTRATION OF SECTION 501 OF THE MIGRATION ACT 1958 December 2016
Moss, Philip; Review into recent allegations relating to conditions and circumstances at the Regional Processing Centre in Nauru
FINAL REPORT April 2015. Known as the Moss Review
Australian Human Rights Commission; The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention (2014)
The ASIO Negative Dilemma,G, Graeme Swincer OAM for Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group March 2015
Beyond the boats: building an asylum and refugee policy for the long term
Report following high-level roundtable 2014
Authors: Bob Douglas, Claire Higgins, Arja Keski-Nummi, Jane McAdam and Travers McLeod.
Facts about Refugees
List of papers 2009 – 2011 Facts about refugees
Detention Statistics
Statistics on the number of detainees in immigration detention are updated on a regular basis. Current and previous statistics are available.
DOWNLOAD: Immigration Detention Statistics
Other Organisations
United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his mission to Australia and the regional processing centres in Nauru
24 April 2017
United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on his mission to Sri Lanka,
27 February-24 March 2017
