Monthly Wrap March 2025

In the media

In the community

A national poll of over 1,500 Australian voters showed majority support for asylum seekers to be given more rights while their claims are being assessed. The Refugee Council of Australia confirmed 2025’s Refugee Week theme will be Finding Freedom: Diversity in Community.

In Nauru

The government announced that Nauru will grant 30-year visas to 3 people who were released under the NZYQ High Court determination, but it refused to disclose how much Nauru was paid. The deal was immediately challenged in court. The Australian Human Rights Commissioner raised concerns about the deal. 

In detention

The government revealed that the number of Indonesian boat crew who were wrongfully detained on the basis of being adults is probably double that which they previously estimated. Serco immigration detention centre staff commenced strike action over the policy to refuse redundancy payments for anyone who accepts jobs with the new detention contractor.

International

The UNHCR published the 2024 Impact Report, a summary of the major crises that the agency was engaged in. It also marked the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with an explainer on the situation of displaced people and the assistance offered. Thailand forcibly returned 48 Uighur people to China despite sustained lobbying from the UNHCR that it would constitute a breach of non-refoulement conventions. As the number of Congolese fleeing intense conflict in the country’s east surged, Burundi agreed to provide them refugee status on a prima facie basis. President Trump announced that white South African farmers would be eligible for asylum in the USA, but the offer was not widely welcomed there.

In policy

The Saturday Paper reported on how Australia’s policy of denying tertiary study rights to asylum seekers impacts on people who arrived by boat as minors.

In research

The latest edition of the Journal of Refugee Studies aims to bring refugee law and refugee studies closer in sync with each other in the world of research. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published two toolkits; on countering misinformation, and on protection in climate disasters.

New releases and events

Life on the Migrant Barge, a documentary by Aljazeera English 

No Other Land, a Palestinian film about the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, won Best Documentary Feature film at the Oscars

Monthly Wrap Nov 2024

In the media

Permanent residence protest

On the final day of a 100-day rally for permanent residency in Melbourne, white supremacists sought to sabotage the event. The asylum seekers rallying for residency were subject to the flawed ‘fast track’ decision-making process and have been in legal limbo for over ten years. 

In court

A new class action case was brought on behalf of South Sudanese refugees who have finished their prison sentences but remain in indefinite detention because they cannot be deported to their country of origin. 

Nauru and PNG

Following the National Anti-Corruption Commission report into the offshore detention contracts to Paladin, Crikey published a 3-part series on the questions that remain outstanding. Radio National’s Late Night Live discussed the rise in the number of people that have been sent to Nauru and the conditions they are experiencing.

In Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon

The Israeli Knesset passed legislation to ban UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil. The move was widely condemned for the impact it will have on vulnerable people and the precedent it sets for conflicts elsewhere. The Conversation published a feature on the bidirectional flight of refugees between Lebanon and Syria as they seek safety from violence and conflict in their respective countries of origin.

International

The ongoing war in Sudan has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The UNHCR data portal on Sudan provides a live update on the number of people who have fled the conflict, over 11 million displaced, and their whereabouts. More than 48 people died and a further 100 were reported missing when they were apparently forced off a boat near Djibouti. The European Court of Justice found that the Taliban’s treatment of women constitutes persecution, the latest restriction being women are prohibited from praying aloud. In practical terms this means individual assessments of Afghan women are not necessary to determine their eligibility for refugee status. The EU Commissioner talked up the concept of regional “return hubs” outside of the EU based on the arrangement that Italy and Albania have agreed.

In policy

The government proposed legislation to increase the search and seize powers of staff at immigration detention centres. The Foreign Affairs Minister released Australia’s latest Humanitarian Policy. The UNSW Kaldor Centre published a Policy Brief on redesigning Australia’s asylum procedures, using Switzerland as the model. 

In research

The Scanlon Institute’s Australian Migration and Population Dashboard brings together statistics on the various aspects of migration. The Measuring Irregular Migration and related Policies project, MIrreM, published an updated working paper on irregular migration across 20 countries.

New release

Seize the Summit, a documentary directed by Arwa Damon

Monthly Wrap Oct 2024

In the media

PNG and Nauru

The men who Australia sent to PNG once again face eviction due to unpaid rent. Denmark’s Immigration Minister visited Nauru to look at the pros and cons of Australia’s offshore detention system.

Palestinians in Australia

The number of Palestinians who lodged asylum applications in Australia continued to grow. The Home Affairs Minister confirmed that he authorised temporary protection visas to a handful of Palestinian families. Documents show that all applications from Palestinians were checked by ASIO.

International

Rohingya men reported that they are being abducted and forced to serve in the Arakan Army, who are fighting the Myanmar army for control of Rakhine state. Melbourne’s Peter McMullin Centre for Statelessness will hold an online seminar on the situation of stateless people in Rakhine state. As the Taliban passed a new law that prohibits women from talking outside of their home, CNN reported on the determination of Afghan girls to get educated. The Venezuelan presidential candidate, who many states recognise as the winner of their election, fled to Spain. Germany has reintroduced border checks for a period of six months. Documents secured under freedom of information detail the situation of people who were subject to the UK’s Rwanda transfer program.

In policy

The government proposed legislation that would further limit asylum seeker’s access to AAT merits review. Submissions on the proposed change can be viewed here. Guardian Australia published a feature on the inconsistency in government treatment of people based on where they have come from. The Refugee Council of Australia urged the government to reconsider the applicants who were rejected under the controversial ‘fast track’ decision-making process in 2014.

New releases

Being stateless, an oral history podcast, a podcast series by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness.

Monthly Wrap September 2022

In the media

In detention

The ABC profiled the situation of a refugee, with an intellectual disability, who has been in detention since he was 15 years old, while his mother lives in the community. The government says that his ongoing detention is based on character grounds.

 In Court

A Federal Court judge ordered the government to reassess their refusal of a citizenship application which effectively caused a child to become stateless. The High Court agreed to hear an appeal by a convicted people smuggler who was denied a protection visa. The case will test whether Australia’s deterrence policy is punitive.

In Nauru

Leaked documents revealed that Wilson Security collected intelligence for the Australian government on the people detained in Nauru.  A company that runs prisons in America was awarded the contract for detention centre operations in Nauru.

In the community

SBS profiled business start-ups by refugees in Australia, highlighting the fact that they are more likely to start their own business than other migrant groups.   

International

NGOs in France argued that the lack of support to asylum seekers in France is causing people to attempt the channel crossing. The war in Ukraine and conflict in Myanmar appears to have caused the Japanese government to consider accepting more refugees. Refugees in Cameroon will get national ID cards that will enable them to access basic services including education, banking and healthcare. Documents revealed that of the 16,000 people who were issued with notices of their potential removal under the UK’s new inadmissibility policy, only 21 were removed have been removed.

In policy

MP Andrew Wilkie re-introduced the Ending Indefinite and Arbitrary Immigration Detention bill to Parliament and MP Dai Le said she will push the government to increase the humanitarian quota and speed up refugee processing. Advocates called for the government to implement measures that will enable skilled asylum seekers already in Australia to more easily contribute to the workforce shortage. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, more than 211,000 people  applied for resettlement to Australia. Australia welcomed the first group of refugees under the new community sponsorship program. An Australian former refugee co-founded a global organisation that advocates for refugees to have direct input into policies that affect them.  

In research

The Refugee Council of Australia published its review of access to asylum, its first report under the new global Refugee Response Index. The UNSW Kaldor Centre released a Data Lab containing data on Tribunal and Court matters concerning asylum seekers and refugees. The Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies (CONREP) published a paper into the harmful narratives used to discuss refugees, and proposed a better way forward. The Refugee Law Initiative published the webinars from their 2022 conference. Michelle Foster and Cathryn Costello examined the question of differing reactions to refugee situations against international law that prohibits discrimination. The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness opened registrations for their 2023 intensive course.

New releases

Unpacking the Australian offshore processing policy, an episode in the Australia: Inside Out podcast, published by Menzies Australia Institute, Kings College London.

Weekly media round-up No. 45

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison announced a proposal to apply a “national interest test” for permanent protection applications from people who arrive without a visa.  Refugee advocates have responded saying that a High Court challenge could be launched to refute the proposal.

There has been continued speculation about whether asylum seekers who left southern India on 13 June, and who appealed to refugee advocates last Friday, would be turned back to Sri Lanka. Human rights groups issued accusations that Australia breached international law amid reports that the Australian navy was deployed to pick up Tamil asylum seekers and hand them to the Sri Lankan authorities.

It is alleged that the asylum seekers’ claims were assessed through four questions on board via video link. The Guardian issued information from a former immigration department officer that the department has previously considered using Australian custom vessels to interview and process asylum seekers, but was advised the process could be unlawful.

Whether the vessels were turned around has not been confirmed. Sri Lankan and Indian authorities and government officials said they had not received any official information about this case, however The Australian reported that a Sri Lankan navy official claimed asylum seekers were picked up. The Australian Greens and the Labor immigration spokesman have called on the Prime Minister to give public details on the fate of the asylum seekers. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said that the department would not comment on operations. 

In a 3AW interview, Prime Minister Tony Abbott insisted Australia was acting legally within its international obligations. He said that turning boats around, returning asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and the rapid on-board screening process were all “in accordance with the international law”.

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued statistics that children account for the greatest percentage of self-harm incidents and suicidal behaviour by asylum seekers in detention. This was not confirmed by the International Health and Medical Services which is contracted to provide health care for asylum seekers in Australian detention. The AHRC also announced a third hearing for the commission’s inquiry into children in immigration detention, which would be held for “whistleblower employees” to give evidence.

PNG police are searching for a former Salvation Army employee, suspected of killing Reza Berati in the unrest in February on Manus Island, who has fled to PNG’s mainland. An asylum seeker who lost an eye during the riots has launched legal action against the federal government.

The ABC reported allegations that detainees in immigration detention facilities are put under pressure to 'volunteer' to go home before applying for asylum.